AC4 tank

Australian Cruiser Tank Mk. 4
A 1943 artist's illustration of the AC MkIV tank based on the production drawings
Type Cruiser tank
Place of origin Australia
Production history
Designed 1943
Manufacturer New South Wales Government Railways
Specifications
Weight 30 long tons (30.5 t)[1]
Length 21 feet 6 inches (6.55 m) (Maximum)[2]
Width 9 feet (2.7 m) (Maximum)[2]
Height 9 feet (2.7 m) (Maximum)[2]
Crew 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader/Operator, Driver)[2]
Armour Hull front 2.5 inches (64 mm)
sides and rear 1.75 inches (44 mm)
Turret 2.5 inches (64 mm) all round[2]
Main
armament
 17 pounder with 50-60 rounds,[2] or 25 pounder tank gun
Secondary
armament
 one .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun, 2,500-4000 rounds[2]
Engine Perrier-Cadillac
397 horsepower (296 kW)[1]
Power/weight 13.2 hp/ton
Suspension Horizontal Volute Spring
Operational
range
 150 miles (240 km)[2]
Speed 30 miles per hour (48 km/h)[2]

The Australian Cruiser Tank Mk IV was a cruiser tank designed in Australia in World War II as the intended successor to the AC3 Thunderbolt. Like its predecessors the AC4 was to have a one piece cast hull and turret. The AC4's most important charateristic would be the use of a 17 pounder tank gun.

History

AC E1 development vehicle with a test turret and 17 pounder gun

Reservations about the utilty of the 25 pounder in the AC3, and the 25 pounder's limited ability to pierce armour led to experimentation with a 17 pounder mounted on an Australian cruiser.

A turret was built and mounted on one of the earlier development vehicles to assess the vehicle's ability to mount the foremost Allied anti-tank gun of the day – the British 17 pounder (76 mm, 3 in). This was achieved by mounting two 25 pounder gun-howitzers which when fired together would significantly exceed the recoil of a 17 pounder.[3] In this configuration the tank was tested on the 2nd of November 1942. It fitted with a 17 pounder and after successful gunnery trials on the 17th of November 1942 the 17 pounder was selected for the AC4 design. For the AC4 the 17 pounder was to be mounted in a new and larger turret, attached by a 70 inch (1778 mm) diameter turret ring, the space for which was accommodated by changes to the upper hull permitted by the compact nature of the "Perrier-Cadillac".[4]

A design for the tank had been established, however it was subject to a redesign to alter the internal stowage, and include new features not previously considered such as removal of the turret basket, addition of a gyro-stabiliser, and swapping a hydraulic traverse for the electrical system, and torsion bar suspension for the volute spring used up until that point.[5]

The programme was authorised to build a total of 510 AC4 tanks.[6][1] The design was not yet finalised when the programme was terminated in July 1943.[4]

See also

Tanks of comparable role, performance, and era

Notes

Footnotes
    Citations
    1. 1 2 3 "MP730/13, 7 A) Australian Tank Production Report by Colonel G A Green: B) Related Documents". National Archives of Australia.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 General Staff Specification for Cruiser Tank A.C.4.
    3. ↑ Bingham 1972, p. 66.
    4. 1 2 "MP508/1, 325/703/3084 G.S. Specifications Cruiser Tank AC3 and AC4". National Archives of Australia.
    5. ↑ "MP730/13, 18 Tank Production in Australia: Stage V. Liquidation of Armoured Fighting Vehicles Directorate". National Archives of Australia.
    6. ↑ Mellor 1958, p. 319.

    References

    • Bingham, James (1972). Australian Sentinel and Matildas. AFV/Weapons Profiles 31. Windsor, United Kingdom: Profile Publications. OCLC 220833374. 
    • Mellor, D.P. (1958). The Role of Science and Technology. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil. Volume V. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 4092792. 
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