TOG2

50.69553°N 2.24371°W / 50.69553; -2.24371

Heavy Tank, TOG II
TOG II* at The Tank Museum, Bovington
TypeSuper-heavy tank
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Production history
Designed1940[1]
ManufacturerWilliam Foster & Co.[1]
Produced1941[1]
No. built1 prototype
Specifications (TOG 2*)
Mass80 long tons (81.3 metric tons)[2]
Length10.13 m (33 ft 3 in)[2]
Width3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)[2]
Height3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)[2]
Crew6 (Commander, gunner, 2 loaders, driver, co-driver)
Armour114 mm at the front of the turret and hull
76 mm at the sides of the hull, 50 mm at the rear of the tank[3]
cemented armour on 12.7 mm (0.5 inch) mild steel
Main
armament
Varied over course of development
Secondary
armament
7.92 mm Besa machine gun
EnginePaxman-Ricardo 12-cylinder diesel-electric
600 hp (450 kW)
Power/weight7.5 hp/t
Transmission2 electric motors
Suspensionunsprung
torsion bar (TOG II*)
Operational
range
50 mi (80 km)[2]
Maximum speed 8.5 mph (13.7 km/h) (achieved)[2]
15 mph (24 km/h) (theoretical)[4]

The TOG2, officially known as the Heavy Tank, TOG II, was a British super-heavy tank design produced during the early stages of World War II in the case that the battlefields of northern France devolved into a morass of mud, trenches and craters as had happened during World War I. When this did not happen, the tank was deemed unnecessary, and the project terminated. A development of the TOG I design, only a single prototype was built before its termination.[5]

History

The second design to come out of the Special Vehicle Development Committee (nicknamed "The Old Gang" as it was made up of people who had worked on the original British tanks of the First World War) the TOG 2 was similar to the TOG 1 and kept many of its features. Instead of the track path arrangement of the TOG 1 which - like that of the First World War British tanks - ran up over the top of the hull and back down, the track path was lower on the return run and the doors were above the tracks. Ordered in 1940, built by Foster's of Lincoln, the prototype ran for the first time in March 1941. In April 1941 an enquiry was made by the Deputy Director-General of Tanks and Transport to the English Electric Company see if 100 could be produced.[6] In June 1941 the Minister of Supply enquired about the production of 50 tanks.[6] Neither of these enquires lead to production orders.[6]

The design included a 6-pounder gun and side sponsons. For "initial trials" it was fitted with a mockup turret with a dummy gun and later with a simplified turret mounting a QF 3-inch 16 cwt anti-tank gun.

In 1942 the tank was given a turret that was under development for the Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tank design with the QF 17-pounder (76.2 mm) gun. The turret "in modified form" was used on the Challenger. The planned sponsons were never fitted.[7][8]

Although equipped with the same electro-mechanical drive as originally fitted to the TOG 1, the TOG 2 used twin generators and no problems were reported. It was modified to include, among other things, a change from the unsprung tracks to a torsion bar suspension and went through successful trials in May 1943. No further development occurred, although a revised version, the TOG 2 (R) was proposed. The 'R' would have been 6 ft (1.8 m) shorter, used torsion bar suspension and had no sponsons.[7]

The single TOG 2 prototype can be seen at The Tank Museum.[5]

See also

References
  1. White p68
  2. Tank Museum accession record
  3. Garth, Mike. "TANK HEAVY, TOG II* (E1951.49)". The Tank Museum. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  4. Hills (2017)
  5. "The Tank Museum". The Tank Museum Online. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  6. Coombs, Benjamin (2011). "2". British tank production, 1934-1945 (PDF) (PhD). Kent Academic Repository. p. 68. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  7. Chamberlain & Ellis (1969) p 78
  8. Chamberlain & Ellis (1969) p 79

Bibliography
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