TheTank, Heavy, TOG 1was a prototype Britishsuper-heavy tankproduced in the early part of theSecond World Warin the expectation that battlefields might end up like those of theFirst World War.It was designed so it could cross churned-up countryside and trenches. A single prototype was built, and followed by an improved model (theTOG 2), but interest faded with the successful performance of another cross-country design, theChurchill tank,and the mobile war that was being fought.
| Tank, Heavy, TOG I | |
|---|---|
 TOG1 tank during trials, shown straddling a ditch | |
| Type | Super-heavy tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | William Foster and Co. Ltd. |
| No.built | 1 |
| Specifications (as built) | |
| Mass | 80long tons(90short tons;81t) |
| Length | 10.1 m (33 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 8 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, 4x sponson gunners) |
| Armour | 62 mm (2.4 in) |
Main armament | 75 mm (2.95 inch) howitzer[1] |
Secondary armament | QF 2 pdr |
| Engine | Paxman-Ricardodiesel12TP driving English Electric generator 600 hp (450 kW)[2] |
| Transmission | 2English Electricmotors |
| Suspension | Unsprung |
| Maximum speed | 14 km/h (8.7 mph) |
History
editIn July 1939, the Special Vehicle Development Committee was drawn up for future tank designs suitable forGreat Warconditions under SirAlbert Gerald Stern;who had been on the originalLandship Committeeand head of the Tank Supply Depot duringWorld War I.The committee included others who had been instrumental in the development of the tank during the Great War: formerDirector of Naval Construction,SirEustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt,Major-general (retired) SirErnest Swinton[a],engine designerHarry Ricardo,the gearbox and transmission expert MajorWalter Gordon Wilson.Unsurprisingly they got the nickname "The Old Gang" and the initials TOG were applied to their designs.
Together, they proposed the development of aheavy tankdesign, which they entrusted to another of the first tank's developers and builder of the first tank, SirWilliam TrittonofFoster's of Lincoln.
Their specification was comprehensive. As well as being able to operate across ground waterlogged and broken up by shelling, it was expected to resist 47-mm anti-tank guns and 105-mm field guns or howitzers at 100 yd (91 m). Main armament would be a field gun mounted in the front – effective against 7-foot (2.1 m) thick reinforced concrete – and two 2-pounder guns, the latter in sponsons. For use against infantry, there would beBesa machine gunscovering "all arcs"[1]– one firing forward, one in eachsponson,and one firing to the rear. The design was later revised with smaller sponsons containing only the Besa machine guns. To provide cover, four 2-inch (51 mm) smoke mortars were included.[3]
Design work by Fosters began in December 1939, resulting in a wooden mock-up. Designed with trench crossing abilities to the fore and the capability to carry infantry as well, the design as built was a large hull with side doors supported on broad tracks, with a 2-pdr-gun-armedMatilda IIinfantry tank turret. The front plate of the hull carried the 75 mm gun and mounting as used on the FrenchChar B1tank.[4]Neither of the planned sponson designs was ever actually installed on the prototype hull.
It was realised that running the track drive over the top of the hull was not necessary and work began on a follow-up design in June 1940. The prototype TOG I was delivered in late September 1940. Testing began on September 27th of 1940, with an official public demonstration of the vehicle on October 6th. This public demonstration did not have theQF 2-pounder guninstalled in the turret. It is unknown if the gun was installed into the turret at any point during testing.
Due to the weight, electrical drive was used – the engine driving two generators connected to an electrical motor for each track. The steering wheel was connected to apotentiometerthat varied the voltage to the track motors. This strained the drive and track. Due to these problems, it was converted to ahydraulicdrive designed by Fluidrive Engineering, a process that took until May 1943 after which it was called TOG 1A. The fluid drive was not satisfactory either.[1]The prototype was sent toChobhamand seems to have no traceable history beyond that point.[5]
Notes
edit- ^Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Corps, 1934 to 1938
References
edit- White BT,British Tanks 1915-1945Ian Allan Publishing, London
- Fletcher, David(1989).The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 1.HMSO.ISBN978-0-11-290460-1.
- Chamberlain, P; Ellis, CBritish and American Tanks of World War II1969. Arco Publishing