British Heavy Tanks and Prototypes - WWII and Post War
Click on the Pictures.
For Partial List of British FV Numbers, visit:
Arcaneafv.com - website
British A45 - FV200 serie - (1947 initial concept)
Information from several websites on internet
Next variants were proposed - all vehicles were based on the FV200 chassis
FV201 - the Universal Tank
FV202 - AVRE (T)
FV203 - AVRE (L)
FV204 - Universal Flail
FV205 - SPMedium Anti-Tank Mounting
FV206 - SP Medium Artillery
FV207 - SP Heavy Artillery
FV208 - Universal Bridgelayer
FV209 - Universal ARV
FV210 - Tractor Heavy Artillery
FV212 - Assault Personnel Carrier
FV213 - Beach armoured recovery vehicle
FV214 - Conqueror Mk 1 or MK2
FV215A - Heavy armoured vehicle, Royal Engineers
FV215B - SPG heavy, 183mm anti-tank gun
FV216 - Tank, heavy, Royal Engineers, flail
FV217 - SPG medium, No 1, 120mm anti-tank gun
FV219 - Conqueror ARV Mk 1
FV221 - Caernarvon MK 1
FV221 - Caernarvon Mk 2
FV222 - Conqueror ARV Mk 2
FV223 - Bridgelayer ARK
A45 with 17 pounder gun and Centurion MKIII turret- (Prototype)
The A45 has the hull following the shape of A41 Centurion but with vertical hull sides and four new suspension units per side. The prototype would be ready
by mid 1946.
The A45 use a remote operated .30 mg on the front left track guard
FV214 - Conqueror with 120mm gun in new turret
Remaining example from Belgian Warmuseum
Pictures built Cromwell Models kit
FV215b - Nightmare on tracks - (with a auto-loading 183mm gun)
The FV215b is a prototype variant of the FV 214, or its other name, the conqueror. The 183mm was first tested on the FV 4005 1e variant, but after tests
failed the gun would attempted to be mounted on the conqueror as the FV215b. There is very little information around, and you would be better off
looking at the Conway to figure out the performance of the gun. The only one of these that was ever built was a full sized mock up.
(for more info about this vehicle visit: http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/38433-british-tank-tree-discussion-pictures-and-info/page__st__140
FV221 - Caernarvon with 20-pounder gun in Centurion MKIII turret
Pictures built 1/35 model - owner unknown
FV222 - ARV version
British A46 - FV300 serie - (1947 initial concept)
The FV300 series were intended as a range of light vehicles analogous to FV3800 series
The masters of the models below were after research by Kees van Meel and David Fletcher from The Tank Museum, Bovington, built by
HenkofHolland with additional work from Henry Klom. There are no original examples of these tanks anymore. Also the most of the documentation i.e.
photographs and drawings in the British Military Archives are lost. The models are not for sale and not in my collection, The masters and moulds are
damaged and lost
Next variants were proposed - all vehicles were based on the FV300 chassis
FV301 - Light Tank
FV302 - Command Post
FV303 - 20pnd SP Gun
FV304 - 25pnd SP Gun
FV305 - 5.5" SP Gun
FV306 - Light ARV
FV307 - Radar vehicle
FV308 - Field Artillery Tractor
FV309 - Ammunition Vehicle
FV310 - Light APC
FV311 - Armoured Load Carrier
FV301 with 77mm gun
FV302 GPO/CPO or FV310 Light APC or test chassis from the FV300 series
FV303 with 20 pounder SPG
British FV304 with 25 pounder SPG
A46 Prototype
The British A46 started in 1943 when the Tank Board called for a British
Light Tank to be in production by 1945 to replace the USA's Stuart, and later
Chaffee, in British service. A contract was place with Vickers for a tank
of 14 to 16 tons mounting a 77mm (as subsequently in Comet). This was the
first time that a machine of this category was to have armament suitable
for the task it would have to carry out, which was in reconnaissance troops
of tank regiments.
Transmission and suspension were kept as simple as possible to reduce power
loss at the sprokets, and the tank owed a good deal to the experience which
had been hained from Harry Hopkins and Tetrarch. A46 was intended to be air-portable
in unladen form, and the possibility of carrying the turret, gun and even
tracks separately in another aircraft was seriously considered. Even then,
it would have been necessary to lift a 10-ton load, and thereby to accept
much reduced strategic range in any transport aircraft available at that
date. The air-portability requirement was therefore dropped, and as the order
was only for 80 production tanks, progress was extremely slow. The wooden
mock up led to many modifications, among them being the substitution of a
Meteorite V-8 350 h.p. engine in place of the 210 h.p. GMC6-71 motor originally
proposed. The engine and gearbox were moved to the right front of the hull,
leaving the final drive at the back, to bring the gun layout into line with
that selected for the SP's and other variants.
FV300 series
1946 saw a revived interest in the project, and it was brought into new series
as FV301. By 1947 further changes had been made. The Rolls-Royce Meteor petrol-injection
500 h.p. engine coupled to a TN10 gearbox in place of the earlier Spicer
box was to be used, on a sub-frame for easy removal as a unit. Torsion bar
suspension was used, in preference to the Christie type, The turret was composite-built,
with a front casting and rolled plates for the rest. The 77mm gun had a new
concentric recoil system, promising even better accuracy, and it was mounted
well forward in the turret to provide room for the crew. An equilibrator
was used to compensate for the out-of-balance. Eighty rounds could be stowed
in the hull, a considerable design feat, considering the size of the ammunition.
But frontal armour was reduced to 2"actual thickness, the all up weight of
the machine having risen to 21 tons.
However in 1950, doubts arose about the value of such lighly armoured vehicles
on the modern battlefield. In parenthesis, one may be permitted to wonder
why these doubts had not been properly evaluated earlier; but the result
of the later vieuws led to the cancellation of the entire FV300 series by
1953.
British FV3800 serie - (1950 - 1955 concept)
The masters of the models below were after research by Kees van Meel and David Fletcher from The Tank Museum, Bovington, built by
Andre Crutchly. The masters and moulds are made many years ago and possible damaged and/or lost
Next variants were proposed - all vehicles were based on the Centurion Components
FV3801 - Gun Tractor
FV3802 - 25pdr SP Artillery Field Equipments
FV3803 - Command Post Vehicle
FV3804 - Ammonution Vehicle
FV3805 - 5.5 inch SP Gun - built two prototypes
FV3806 - 7.2 inch SP Gun
FV3807 - 120mm SP AT Gun
FV3808 - SP Mounting, Medium
FV3809 - 155mm SP AT Gun
FV3802 - 25pdr Artillery Field Equipments
Master by Andrew Crutchly
FV3805 - 5.5 inch SP Gun
Master built by Andrew Crutchly
British FV4000 serie - Centurion - (medio 1956 concept)
Next variants were proposed
FV4001 - Centurion Mineclearer
FV4002 - Centurion MK5 Bridgelayer
FV4003 - Centurion MK5 Avre 165
FV4004 - Conway
FV4005 - FV4005 stage 1 & Stage 2 - (183mm JS Killer)
FV4006 - Centurion ARV MK2
FV4007 - Centurion MK1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8/1, 8/2
FV4008 - Centurion DD
FV4009 - Tank Medium
FV4010 - Tank Destroyer, medium
FV4011 - Centurion MK5
FV4012 - Centurion MK 7/1, 7/2
FV4013 - Centurion MK3 ARV
FV4014 - Tank Medium
FV4015 - Centurion MK9
FV4016 - Centurion Ark
FV4017 - Centurion MK10
FV4018 - Centurion Barv
FV4019 - Centurion MK5 Bulldozer
FV4202 - 40 ton Centurion
FV4203 - Centurion AVRE 105
FV4207 - Centurion MK9 VHF
The Centurion MK-III - (built by HenkofHolland)
British FV4004 & FV4005 - (medio 1956)
FV4004 - Conway
FV4005 Stage I was the 183 mm gun mounted on a Centurion chassis (or more correctly, its hull). It was unprotected and the ghun was fixed.
It was purely for research tests. The stage II was the 183 mm gun, minus the auto-loader, with a large turret around it - Note Tony Sheffield (South-Africa)
FV4005-1 - Stage 1
FV4005-2 - Stage 2 - (183mm JS-Killer)
British Vickers MK-I "Vijayanta"
Master by Andrew Crutchly
FV4202 Prototype Chieftain MK-I - (medio 1959)
Master by Andrew Crutchly
120mm "JagdChieftain" Concept T.D. - (CTR Concept Test Rig)
Master by Andrew Crutchly
Comments: Rob Griffin - Author Chieftain
As for name I understand it to be a CTR Concept Test Rig, that is what I used when I
wrote about it in the book and no one has questiones it. The real vehicle was never totally complete and I understand from David Fletcher that it was
going to have 2 drivers very much like the Combat engineer tractor. As it needed the whole vehicle to move to lay the gun a hydrostatic steering
system was fitted, but was not very brilliant, Col. John Gillman who save the vehicle for the Museum states it could be driven like and ordinary tank
if the hydrostatic was removed.
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