A7 medium tank

The A7 Medium Tank[lower-alpha 1] , (or Medium Tank A7), was a British experimental medium tank design of the period between the two World Wars.

The A7, known as the "14-tonner" was intended as a cheaper design to previous tanks, including the A6 Medium Tank, by not using separate machine gun turrets.[1]

They were designed under the Chief Superintendent of Design at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich who built three prototypes. A7E1 and A7E2 were complete by end of 1929. They differed in the gearbox used; E1 had a 4-speed gearbox as used on the Medium Mk III the E2 a Wilson planetary gearbox. Both used epicyclic steering. In 1934 work was started on A7E3 which was required to be a "fast" tank and needed a more powerful powerplant.[1] The A7 never went into production as all prototypes proved mechanically unreliable. The turret design, altered to take a 2-pounder (40mm) gun was carried forward onto the A9 (Cruiser Mk I) and A10 (Cruiser Mk II) specification tanks, the E3 engine design was used for the Matilda II infantry tank.[1]

Variants
Type	Engine	Gearbox	Suspension	Speed	Weight (tons)	Armament
A7E1 (1929-1931)	Armstrong Siddeley 120 hp V8 petrol air cooled	4-speed Armstrong Siddeley	compensated leaf springs	40 kph theoretical (24 kph during trials)	14	One QF 3-pounder gun and two .303in Vickers machine guns
A7E2 (1929-1931)	Armstrong Siddeley 120 hp V8 petrol air cooled	Wilson hydraulic planetary	single bogies with vertical volute coil springs	40 kph (24 kph during trials)	16.8	One 3pdr gun and two .303in Vickers machine guns
A7E3 (1934-1937)	Associated Equipment Company 280 hp Twin 6-cylinder CI (diesel) 7.74 L actual 252 hp[1]	Wilson hydraulic planetary	helical coil spring on single wheel trailing bogies	39 kph on roads and 26 kph off-road theoretical	18.2	One 3pdr QF gun and two .303in Vickers machine guns

Notes

the A7 was the British General Staff number identifying the specification

Duncan, 1973

References

Rickard, J (22 February 2012). "Medium Tank A7". historyofwar.org.
"The First Cruiser". Tank Archives. 5 January 2019.
White, B. T. (1963). British Tanks 1915–1945. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 799775831.
Duncan, N.W. (1973), Mediums Marks I-III, AFV Profile No. 12, Windsor: Profile Publications

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[1] the A7 was the British General Staff number identifying the specification

[:0-2] Duncan, 1973

Tanks of the interwar period
Tankettes	AH-IV Carden Loyd L3/33 L3/35 R-1 T-27 T-32 (Š-I-D) Tančík vz. 33 TKS Type 92 Type 94 Type 97 Te-Ke
Light	7TP 38M Toldi I Char D1 Disston Tractor Tank Fiat 3000 H35 L-60 Light tanks Mk I–V Light Tank Mk VI Light Tank Mk VII LT vz. 34 LT vz. 35 LT vz. 38 M1 combat car M2 Light Tank Panzer I Panzer II R35 T-18 T-26 T-37 T-38 Type 95 Ha-Go Vickers 6-Ton Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank Vickers T-15
Medium	Char D2 T-24 T-28 Type 89 I-Go Type 97 Chi-Ha Vickers Medium Mk I Vickers Medium Mk II
Cavalry, cruiser, fast	AMC 34 AMC 35 AMR 33 AMR 35 BT tank Cruiser Mk I Cruiser Mk II Cruiser Mk III SOMUA S35
Infantry	FCM 36 Hotchkiss H35 Matilda I T-26
Heavy, super-heavy	Char 2C Char B1 T-35
Prototypes, experimentals	10TP FCM F1 Grosstraktor Kolohousenka Landsverk L-120 Leichttraktor Medium Mark III Medium Mark D Medium Tank A7 Morris-Martel Neubaufahrzeug PZInż 130 Škoda MU-4 SMK Straussler V-4 Stridsvagn m/31 ST vz. 39 T1 Light Tank T2 Medium T7 Combat Car T-19 T-42 T-100 Type 87 Chi-I Type 91 heavy Type 95 heavy Type 97 Chi-Ni Type 98 Chi-Ho Verdeja Vickers A1E1 Independent
Interwar period tanks List of interwar armoured fighting vehicles Background: History of the tank, Tank classification, interwar period

A7 medium tank

See also

Notes

References