Morris-Martel

Last updated

Morris-Martel
Morris-Martel Two-Man Tankette, IMW.jpg
Morris-Martel Tankette 2-man variant
Type Tankette
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1927-1928
Used byUnited Kingdom (prototypes only)
WarsNone
Production history
DesignerSir Giffard Le Quesne Martel
Designed1925
Manufacturer Morris Commercial Cars [1]
Produced1927
No. built8
Variants1-man and 2-man variants
Specifications
Mass2.25 long tons (2.29 t) [2]
Crew1-2 depending on model

Armour 0.3 in (7.6 mm) [3]
Main
armament
Lewis Gun
EngineMorris "16hp"
16  bhp (12 kW)
SuspensionLeaf spring
Ground clearance18 in (460 mm)
Maximum speed 30 mph (48 km/h) on road

The Morris-Martel was a British inter-war tankette developed from prototypes designed by Lieutenant-General Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel. Intended for reconnaissance, eight were constructed for the Experimental Mechanized Force and were tested on Salisbury plain in 1927, against experimental models of the Carden Loyd tankette built by John Carden and Vivian Loyd as a response to Martel's work. [4] The project was abandoned after testing with the Carden Loyd design chosen instead; during its short existence the tankette attracted "quite a lot of publicity" and was a pioneer of the tankette concept. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tankette</span> Small tracked armoured fighting vehicle

A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting. Colloquially it may also simply mean a small tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TKS</span> Polish tankette

The TK (TK-3) and TKS were Polish tankettes developed during the 1930s and used in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type 94 tankette</span> Japanese tankette

The Type 94 tankette was a tankette used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in World War II. Although tankettes were often used as ammunition tractors, and general infantry support, they were designed for reconnaissance, and not for direct combat. The lightweight Type 94 proved effective in China as the Chinese National Revolutionary Army had only three tank battalions to oppose them, and those tank battalions were equipped only with some British export models and Italian CV-33 tankettes. As with nearly all tankettes built in the 1920s and 1930s, they had thin armor that could be penetrated by .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun fire at 600 yards (550 m) range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruiser Mk III</span> British WWII cruiser tank

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk III, also known by its General Staff specification number A13 Mark I, was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. It was the first British cruiser tank to use the Christie suspension system, which gave higher speeds and better cross-country performance; previous cruiser tank models had used triple wheeled bogie suspension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giffard Le Quesne Martel</span> British Army officer (1889–1958)

Lieutenant-General Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel was a British Army officer who served in both the First and Second World Wars. Familiarly known as "Q Martel" or just "Q", he was a pioneering British military engineer and tank strategist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light tanks of the United Kingdom</span> Light tank

The Light Tank Mark I to Mark V were a series of related designs of light tank produced by Vickers for the British Army during the interwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T-27</span> Tankette

The T-27 was a tankette produced in the 1930s by the Soviet Union. It was based on the design of the Carden Loyd tankette, bought under license from the United Kingdom in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carden Loyd tankette</span> British tankette

The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British tankettes of the period between the World Wars, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers. It became a classic tankette design worldwide, was licence-built by several countries and became the basis of several designs produced in various countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanks of the interwar period</span>

Tanks were initially deployed in World War I, engineered to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare. Between the two world wars, tanks were further developed. Although they had demonstrated their battlefield effectiveness, only a few nations had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after World War I, Britain and France pioneered tank technology, with their models generally serving as a blueprint for other countries. However, this initial advantage would slowly diminish during the 1930s, shifting in favor of the Soviet Union and, to a lesser degree, Nazi Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T-37A tank</span> Soviet amphibious light tank

The T-37A was a Soviet amphibious light tank. The tank is often referred to as the T-37, although that designation was used by a different tank which never left the prototype stage. The T-37A was the first series of mass-produced fully amphibious tanks in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type 92 heavy armoured car</span> Weapon

The Type 92 heavy armoured car, also known as the Type 92 cavalry tank, was the Empire of Japan's first indigenous tankette. Designed for use by the cavalry of the Imperial Japanese Army by Ishikawajima Motorcar Manufacturing Company, the Type 92 was designed for scouting and infantry support. The Type 92 was thin armored and lightly armed. Although actually a light tank, it was called sōkōsha in Japanese due to political sectionalism within the Japanese Army. Exactly the same device was used in America with the M1 Combat Car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir John Carden, 6th Baronet</span> English aviator, inventor, automotive engineer

Sir John Valentine Carden, 6th Baronet MBE was an English tank and vehicle designer. He was the sixth baronet of Templemore, County Tipperary, from 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experimental Mechanized Force</span> Military unit

The Experimental Mechanized Force (EMF) was a brigade-sized formation of the British Army. It was officially formed on 1 May 1927 to investigate and develop the techniques and equipment required for armoured warfare and was the first armoured formation of its kind in the world. It was renamed the Armoured Force the following year. The Royal Air Force (RAF) took part in the exercises and demonstrated the value of ground–air co-operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tančík vz. 33</span> Tankette

The Tančík vz. 33 was a Czechoslovak-designed tankette used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Seventy-four were built. The Germans seized forty when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939; there is no record of their use. The Slovak Republic inherited thirty at the same time when it declared independence from Czechoslovakia. In Slovak service it only saw combat during the Slovak National Uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light tank</span> Class of tank

A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of transport and logistics. They are primarily employed in the screening, armored reconnaissance, skirmishing, artillery observation, and supplementing landing operations in a fire support role of expeditionary forces where larger, heavier tanks are unavailable or have difficulties operating safely or efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank</span> Amphibious tank

The Vickers-Carden-Loyd light amphibious tank, was a series of British experimental pre-World War II light tanks, which, although not taken into British service, were sold to a number of other countries which produced modified versions which were then taken into service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PZInż 130</span>

PZInż 130 was a prototype of Polish amphibious tank of the 1930s. Only a single prototype was built.

Captain Vivian Graham Loyd MC was an English soldier and engineer who designed armoured vehicles including the Carden Loyd tankette and Loyd Carrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Škoda MU-4</span> Tankette

The Škoda MU-4 Tankette was a Czechoslovakian tankette design of 1933. It was designed as a successor to the Škoda MU-2 tank.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Ford (1997) p. 25.
  2. "Morris-Martel Tank". Ordnance. American Defense Preparedness Association. XI–XII: 27. 1930. OCLC   5671311.
  3. "Morris-Martel Tank". National Defense. American Defense Preparedness Association. XII: 27. 1931. ISSN   0092-1491.
  4. Harris (1995) p. 210.

Sources