TOG2
| Tank Heavy, TOG II | |
|---|---|
 TOG II* at Bovington tank museum | |
| Type | super-heavy tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1940[1] |
| Manufacturer | William Foster & Co.[1] |
| Produced | 1941[1] |
| Number built | 1 prototype |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 80 long tons (81.3 metric tons)[2] |
| Length | 10.13 m (33 ft 3 in)[2] |
| Width | 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)[2] |
| Height | 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)[2] |
| Crew | 6 (Commander, gunner, 2 loaders, driver, co-driver) |
|
| |
| Armour | 2.5 inch cemented armour on 0.5 inch mild steel |
Main armament | QF 17 pdr (76.2 mm) gun |
Secondary armament | 7.92 mm BESA machine gun |
| Engine |
Paxman-Ricardo 12-cylinder diesel-electric 600 hp (450 kW) |
| Transmission | 2 electric motors |
| Suspension |
unsprung (TOG II) torsion bar (TOG II*) |
Operational range | 50 mi (80 km)[2] |
| Speed | 8.5 mph (13.7 km/h)[2] |
The Tank, Heavy, TOG II was a prototype British tank design produced in the early part of the Second World War in case the battlefields of northern France turned into a morass of mud, trenches and craters as had happened during the First World War.
A development of the TOG 1 design, only a single prototype was built before the project was dropped.
History
The second design to come out of the Special Vehicle Development Committee, or as it was called "The Old Gang", the TOG 2 was similar to the TOG 1 and kept many of its features but mounted the turret of the Challenger A30 cruiser tank with the QF 17-pounder (76.2 mm) gun. Instead of the track path arrangement of the TOG 1 which was like that of the First World War British tanks, 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.
Although equipped the same electro-mechanical drive as 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 for a torsion bar suspension and as the TOG 2* trialled successfully in May 1943. No further development occurred, although a shorter version, the TOG 2 (R) was mooted. The TOG 2 can be seen at the Bovington Tank Museum.
See also
- Panzer VII Löwe
- M6 Heavy Tank
- Super Heavy Tank
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- White BT, British Tanks 1915-1945 Ian Allen
- Tank Heavy, TOG II* (E1951.49), Tank Museum, Bovington