Black Prince (tank). Infantry tank A43 Black Prince (Great Britain)

16-12-2016, 23:41

Good day and welcome to the site! Tankers, today we will talk about one of the most disliked vehicles of the majority, a heavy tank of the seventh level of Britain - in front of you Black Prince guide.

Of course, this machine has a lot of certain shortcomings, some of them are really serious, however, if everything is done correctly, the prince is capable of serious accomplishments. To understand this, let's look at Black Prince TTX, we will equip it properly and talk about the tactics of fighting on this heavy.

TTX Black Prince

First of all, our British royal has a very good health margin, and also boasts a good base viewing range of 370 meters.

Now let's talk about the main feature of each heavy tank, namely, consider Black Prince characteristics booking. Of course, let's start with the frontal projection, and here it is immediately clear that not everything is unambiguous. The strongest part of the tank is the turret, in the forehead it has a large gun mask, and in general it is protected very seriously, the reduction here reaches 250, 300, and in some places even 390 millimeters, which makes it possible for us to tank even opponents of a higher level.

Forehead of the hull Black prince world of Tanks it is worse protected, all the plates are located at right angles, have practically no slopes, their thickness is approximately 152-164 mm. When turning the hulls, you can tank classmates, but not all of them, and levels 8 and 9 break through us very easily.

There is one more unpleasant nuance for Black Prince. If you look at the screenshot above, where the display of caterpillars is disabled, you will understand that if you shoot our prince directly at the harp, there is a high probability of inflicting damage, because there is a hull right behind it.

Of course, if we consider Black Prince heavy tank from the side, it will not be difficult to break through it, however, the side armor with a thickness of 95 millimeters makes it excellent to tank when placing a tank in a rhombus and you should try to use this.

And now let's pay attention to the mobility of this device and from this side the Briton looks completely unprofitable. Black prince tank received a very low maximum speed, mediocre dynamics and maneuverability, for this reason many players do not like the prince.

By the way, for such a maximum speed Horse power enough with the head, the car reaches the maximum speed quickly and is able to support it, you just won’t be able to drive fast.

gun

The most important part of every combat vehicle is a cannon, because otherwise it would not be combat. In our case, the weapons are very non-standard, take at least the fact that Black Prince gun has a very low alpha strike. However, due to the high rate of fire, we are still able to deliver about 1800 damage per minute without a rammer, which is an average figure by the standards of the TT-7.

Something else interferes much more - British heavy tank Black Prince WoT has the worst penetration parameter at the level of the base projectile. For this reason, it is better to carry about 15-20% of gold supplies with you.

However, poor penetration is compensated by very good accuracy, because we have the opportunity to aim vulnerabilities in enemy armor. Black Prince World of Tanks it has a small spread, converges quickly, and stabilization is not bad here, apparently due to the low speed of movement.

By the way, despite all its squareness and external clumsiness, Black prince tank able to lower the implement 8 degrees down, which is very comfortable. True, when turning the gun to the stern, the declination angle deteriorates to 4.5 degrees.

Advantages and disadvantages

This British-made device can be called as simple as five kopecks, most of the strengths and weaknesses Black Prince World of Tanks visible immediately, however, for ease of perception, it is better to break these nuances into points.
Pros:
Good frontal armor of the turret;
A significant margin of safety;
High rate of fire and good DPM;
Excellent accuracy;
Comfortable vertical aiming angles.
Minuses:
Lack of armor slopes;
Weak protection of the forehead of the hull;
Very poor mobility;
Small one-time damage;
Weak penetration by the base projectile.

Equipment for Black Prince

As usual, in order to correctly equip the tank with additional modules, it is necessary to look at the existing advantages and disadvantages. Since among the minuses, there is really nothing to compensate, for Black prince equipment should improve it strengths, and it will look like this:
1. - will make our damage per minute even more significant, respectively, we will become a more dangerous opponent in battle.
2. - it is with this module that it will be possible to shoot very effectively on the move, very often hitting the target even at medium distances.
3. - have good review is very important in our game, so it would be quite logical to stop at this option.

However, you can go the other way, give preference to the maximum damage inflicted, in which case the third item changes to . In this case, our vision range is deteriorating, but we get even faster reloading, mixing, as well as a slight increase in vision.

Crew training

In fact, we will pursue the same goals when training the crew, but it’s worth adding a few skills, thanks to which the vehicle will become more tenacious, after all, we have a heavy tank in our hands. The good news is that there are 5 tankers in the tank, each with their own specialization, thus Black Prince perks should be taught in the following order:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner - , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Loader - , , , .

Equipment for Black Prince

With our mobility and the fact that the prince often happens to hold back the enemy, taking damage and tanking in every possible way, it is necessary to have at least , , . However, even more the right choice, which will allow you to get out of the most difficult situation, will carry on Black Prince gear from , , , where the last option, if desired, can be replaced by .

Tactics of the game on Black Prince

Despite all the sticks thrown into this tank, it cannot be called frankly weak, rather specific. Black Prince World of Tanks has one really serious minus - slowness. More than once there will be situations when you did not have time to get there, and your team has already killed everyone, or vice versa, while you were driving, they killed all the allies, and then the crowd took on you.

For Black Prince tactics combat starts with the fact that you must choose the direction to attack, because in our hands there is only one direction of the tank, which you need to press to the last, or not move far from the base if you feel that you have to defend it.

Of course, at the top of the list Black Prince heavy tank is able to tank very well and the most ideal solution would be to play from the tower. If you manage to take a position in which the hull is completely hidden, and the enemy artillery cannot attack you, even higher-level vehicles can be deterred. And in those cases when it is impossible to play from the tower, the Black Prince tank must turn the hull, increasing the reduced armor, and constantly dance.

Regarding the fights at the bottom of the list, our armor becomes much less impressive, you can only tank well with a tower, but it can also be penetrated. For this reason, it is better to distance yourself and fire from afar, since an accurate weapon allows. By the way, when fighting against nines, you can also keep the damage pretty good, leaving a reverse rhombus because of a building or other obstacle. Black Prince has thick enough sides for such a feint.

For the rest, try to follow the mini-map, be very afraid of enemy artillery and do not go to open spaces, because of the limited speed of movement, getting out of the fire will be a real miracle.

Creation severe Tank Black Prince was due to the urgent need to arm the British army on the eve of the Normandy landings with a combat vehicle that would have sufficient firepower and would be able to effectively deal with the latest Wehrmacht tanks. The creation of such a tank, later called the Black Prince, began in 1943.

Description

Prior to the creation of the Black Prince, the British made active attempts to modernize their main heavy tank, the Churchill, in order to increase firepower tools. This led to the rearmament of the Churchills with more powerful guns, as well as the creation of a self-propelled gun based on these tanks. artillery mount with the same name. All these solutions proved to be unsuccessful, and the Churchill's design no longer had enough potential for an even more radical modernization - the too short hull did not allow a turret with an even more powerful gun to be placed on the tank. It was then that the British designers came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a tank with an expanded hull to eliminate the above disadvantages. The A43 tank project, which would later be called the Black Prince, was essentially an improved modification of the Churchill and a temporary option for the British army, since more advanced tanks, such as the Centurion, were still in a state of initial development. Alternatives to the Black Prince, such as the Challenger, did not suit the army due to a number of shortcomings that did not allow them to quickly expand their production. Under these conditions, the A43 project was developed, as it was the fastest option for installing a powerful 17-pounder gun on a well-armored hull. This gun would allow the tank to successfully fight against any German technology, including "Tigers" and "Panthers". The tank largely repeated the design of the latest modifications of the Churchills, it used many units and components previously installed on these tanks. In particular, the Black Prince used the same 350 horsepower engine as the Churchill VII, and this had a very bad effect on the already weak mobility parameters, since the Black Prince had an even more impressive mass than Churchill. There were also a number of differences from the Churchill, the main of which was, of course, the increased width of the hull, which made it possible to install a more powerful gun in the extended turret. Perhaps the Black Prince would have been a good temporary solution for the British army during the fighting in Europe, but the British did not have time to establish a mass production of this tank until the end of the war. It was assumed that initially about 300 "Black Prince" tanks would be produced. However, with the end of the war, the urgent need for a tank with a 17-pounder disappeared, and only six were actually produced. Further production of the Black Prince tanks was curtailed, since the British had a more promising model - the Centurion. As for the general assessment of this tank, its design was typical for many British combat vehicles of that period - fairly good armor, though without rational tilt angles that increased projectile resistance, a very large mass and low speed. Again, a bet was made on booking, but unlike the Churchills, this tank had enhanced armament. However, all positive features were practically nullified by extremely low speed and maneuverability, which limited tactical options and turned the tank into a convenient target on the battlefield. Conclusion: the tank could hardly be fully compared with the latest German heavy tanks, such as, for example, the "King Tiger", but theoretically it had the opportunity to fight them due to a more powerful gun than its predecessors. However, as mentioned earlier, it was planned as a temporary interim solution in the conditions of war, respectively, its history ended in May 1945, along with the end of the Second World War.

Review video guide Black Prince World of Tanks

Tank Black Prince or A43 was born only in May 1945. And for the first time, it was planned to install a more powerful anti-personnel gun on a Churchill tank back in September 1941, but then this led to the appearance of self-propelled guns based on Churchill with a 76-mm gun. In 1943, in connection with the preparations for the invasion of Europe, the need for an infantry support tank appeared again. Firm Vauxhall offered to return to the consideration of the tank based on "Churchill". Even at the design stage, it became clear that the base of the "Churchill" tank was too narrow for a turret with a 17-pounder gun. Then Vauxhall decides to increase the width of the Churchill base. So the first prototype appeared with the name A43 or "Super Churchill", and later "Black Prince". Although new tank and used many components and assemblies of the Churchill 7 tank, in the end it turned out to be a completely new machine. Outwardly very similar to its "parent", the Black Prince World of Tanks tank had an extended 24 inch tracks, air intake grilles were located on the roof of the hull, and the engine was located in the stern. The first samples of the A43 were presented in May 1945, after the end of the war in Europe and the need for it disappeared. A total of 6 prototypes were produced.

TTX Black Prince

stock condition

Maximum weight: 51 tons

Engine power: 350 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 18/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 77mm Gun Mk. II

Penetration: 148/226/38

Damage: 140/140/190

Rate of fire: 14.29 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 450 m

Top condition

Maximum weight: 53 tons

Engine power: 600 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 20;/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 17-pdr Gun Mk. VII

Penetration: 171/239/38

Damage: 150/150/190

Rate of fire: 12 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 700 m

pros

• circular armor of the tower, excellent for its level, allows less distraction from the "fireflies"
• very accurate and fast-firing cannon allows you to fire from long distances
• great shooting on the go
• Highest HP at your level
• stock tower is top
• great review for your level
• easy to get to the top

Minuses

• very slow and clumsy (hello Mouse)
• huge sizes always attract art
• low gun penetration will force you to learn all the weak points of the enemy
• low alpha damage
• straight sides and stern rarely ricochet and will not allow you to play "swing" from around the corner
• VLD has vulnerabilities

Crew and additional skills

1. Commander
2. Driver mechanic
3. radio operator
4. gunner
5. Charging

Like any heavy, the first thing we need is repairs. Gusli perfectly eat damage, so we will shoot them down regularly. Then everyone pumps from their desires, but I would advise you to pump a “light bulb” from the commander, it often saves from artillery, the mechanics to pump the off-road king or a virtuoso, the gunner must pump the sniper skill, because. we hit weakly, we will knock out modules. Because we often hit from long distances, and we have a good view, then the radio operator needs to pump radio interception.

Penetration of the Black Prince of the penetration zone

Additional modules.

We have an excellent rate of fire and accuracy, so we need to improve our strengths. I advise you to install a rammer (with it the rate of fire increases to 13.2), it also makes sense to set ventilation (the rate of fire increases to 13.86), I usually put a repair box as the third module, but after pumping the repair skill by 100%, it can be replaced with stabilizer.

Tactics

Tactics primarily depends on where you are on the list. Playing in the TOP, you can safely tank and storm, at our level we are "gods" and we are only afraid of the Frenchman. Do not forget to place the tank in a rhombus and substitute the harp, this will complicate the task of the enemy. But be also attentive to your rear, we count the feed from the "cardboard" therefore we go only with the cover of medium and light tanks, so that we would not be spun. Playing at the bottom of the list on Black Prince World of Tanks, the tactics are radically different. Our circular armor will no longer save us. It is best to play on the "second" line, having an accurate and rapid-fire cannon you can bite and annoy the bands while they butt heads with our allies on the front lines. Knowing the penetration points, we can even damage the IS-3. Separately, let's talk about art, it is our main headache. As soon as you light up you are the number one target for arta. No one can resist throwing a “suitcase” at a huge and slow tank, which is almost impossible to miss. The roof of the hull in the stern has almost no armor, and even such art as can cause significant damage.

Conclusion

For our level, we got a pretty good tank that knows how to pick its opponents well. But a weak weapon makes adjustments to the game, we are forced to learn weak spots the enemy and aim them more carefully, since accuracy allows us to do this. Having low mobility, it is necessary 30 seconds before the battle to be able to analyze and determine the direction of the attack of enemy forces. You should also learn all the places where art does not hit.

Years of production Number of issued, pcs.

6 prototypes

Main Operators Dimensions Length with gun forward, mm Hull width, mm Height, mm Clearance, mm Booking armor type

steel rolled homogeneous

Forehead of the hull (top), mm/deg. Forehead of the hull (middle), mm/deg. Forehead of the hull (bottom), mm/deg. Hull board, mm/deg. Hull feed (top), mm/deg. Hull feed (bottom), mm/deg. Bottom, mm Hull roof, mm Tower forehead, mm/deg. Turret board, mm/deg. Cutting feed, mm/deg. Tower roof, mm Armament Caliber and make of the gun gun type

rifled

Barrel length, calibers machine guns Mobility engine's type Engine power, l. With. Highway speed, km/h Cross-country speed, km/h Cruising range on the highway, km Specific power, l. s./t suspension type

individual, on vertical springs

Passable wall, m Crossable ditch, m Crossable ford, m

Infantry tank A43(English) Tank, Infantry A43), also known as "Black Prince"(English) Black Prince listen)) - British experimental infantry tank of the period of the Second World War. It was created in - years on the basis of the Churchill tank, from which it differed by the increased width of the hull necessary to accommodate a new turret with a more powerful QF 17 pounder gun. Despite a significant increase in armament, the increase in mass due to an increase in size led to a sharp drop in mobility, which was already not distinguished by high driving performance cars. In 1944-1945, 6 prototypes of the Black Prince were manufactured, several of which were sent to the front for military trials in May 1945, but these vehicles did not have time to take part in hostilities. It was planned in May - June of the same year to order 300 copies of the tank, but by that time prototypes of the promising Centurion tank had also been tested, in connection with which further work on the Black Prince, which had lost its relevance with the end of hostilities in Europe, was terminated.

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Literature

• M. Baryatinsky. Infantry tank "Churchill". - Moscow: Model designer, 2003. - 32 p. - (Armor collection No. 6 (51) / 2003). - 3500 copies.
• D. Fletcher. The Universal Tank. British Armor in the Second World War. - London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1993. - Vol. 2. - 130 p. - ISBN 0-11290-534-X.
• P. Chamberlain, C. Ellis. Tanks of the World 1915-1945. - London: Arms and Armor Press, 1972. - 256 p. - ISBN 0-30436-141-0.

Light tanks Infantry tanks Cruiser tanks Super heavy tanks Anti-tank self-propelled guns tank destroyers Self-propelled howitzers armored personnel carriers Intelligence “You have everything on your tongue to attack, but you don’t see that we don’t know how to make complex maneuvers,” he said to Miloradovich, who was asking to come forward. - They didn’t know how to take Murat alive in the morning and arrive on time at the place: now there’s nothing to do! he replied to another. When Kutuzov was informed that in the rear of the French, where, according to the reports of the Cossacks, there had been no one before, there were now two battalions of Poles, he glanced back at Yermolov (he had not spoken to him since yesterday). - Here they ask for an offensive, they offer different projects, but as soon as you get down to business, nothing is ready, and the warned enemy takes his measures. Yermolov screwed up his eyes and smiled slightly when he heard these words. He realized that the storm had passed for him and that Kutuzov would confine himself to this hint. “He’s amused at my expense,” Yermolov said quietly, pushing Raevsky, who was standing beside him, with his knee. Shortly thereafter, Yermolov moved forward to Kutuzov and respectfully reported: “Time has not been lost, Your Grace, the enemy has not left. If you order to attack? And then the guards will not see the smoke. Kutuzov did not say anything, but when he was informed that Murat's troops were retreating, he ordered an offensive; but every hundred steps he stopped for three-quarters of an hour. The whole battle consisted only in what the Cossacks of Orlov Denisov did; the rest of the troops only lost a few hundred people in vain. As a result of this battle, Kutuzov received a diamond badge, Benigsen also received diamonds and a hundred thousand rubles, others, according to their ranks, also received a lot of pleasant things, and after this battle, new changes were made in the headquarters. “This is how we always do it, everything is upside down!” - Russian officers and generals said after the Battle of Tarutino, - just like they say now, making it feel that someone stupid is doing it upside down, but we would not have done it that way. But people who say this either do not know the business they are talking about, or deliberately deceive themselves. Every battle - Tarutino, Borodino, Austerlitz - everything is not carried out in the way that its stewards intended. This is an essential condition. An innumerable number of free forces (for nowhere is a man more free than in a battle where life and death are at stake) influence the direction of the battle, and this direction can never be known in advance and never coincide with the direction of any one force. If many, simultaneously and diversely directed forces act on some body, then the direction of movement of this body cannot coincide with any of the forces; but there will always be an average, shortest direction, that which in mechanics is expressed by the diagonal of the parallelogram of forces. If in the descriptions of historians, especially French ones, we find that their wars and battles are carried out according to a predetermined plan, then the only conclusion that we can draw from this is that these descriptions are not correct. The Tarutino battle, obviously, did not achieve the goal that Tol had in mind: to bring the troops into action in order, according to the disposition, and the one that Count Orlov could have had; capture Murat, or the goal of instantly exterminating the entire corps, which Benigsen and other persons could have, or the goals of an officer who wanted to get into business and distinguish himself, or a Cossack who wanted to get more booty than he got, etc. But , if the goal was what really happened, and what was then a common desire for all Russian people (the expulsion of the French from Russia and the extermination of their army), then it will be completely clear that the Battle of Tarutino, precisely because of its incongruities, was the very , which was needed during that period of the campaign. It is difficult and impossible to think of any outcome of this battle more expedient than the one that it had. With the smallest exertion, with the greatest confusion and with the most insignificant loss, the greatest results in the entire campaign were obtained, the transition from retreat to attack was made, the weakness of the French was exposed, and that impetus was given, which was only expected by the Napoleonic army to start the flight.

The heavy infantry tank Mk IV Churchill, which was actively used by Great Britain and friendly states, had a number of characteristic flaws that seriously limited its combat capabilities. First of all, the claims were caused by insufficiently powerful weapons of early modifications and a relatively weak engine. To get rid of the existing shortcomings, modernization of the existing machine was repeatedly carried out. In addition, new projects of armored vehicles with improved performance were proposed, based on the existing Churchill. One of the attempts to carry out a deep modernization of the existing tank was the A43 Black Prince project.

By 1943, it became clear that current form infantry tank Churchill does not meet the requirements of the time. Several of the first modifications of this machine carried guns of 45 and 57 mm caliber, the power of which no longer made it possible to deal with various targets on the battlefield, primarily with existing enemy tanks. The simplest and most obvious solution to this problem was to use more powerful weapons. As part of the development of the Churchill, several new modifications were soon created with guns up to 95 mm in caliber. In addition, in parallel with the improvement of the existing vehicle, it was proposed to create a new tank model with the required characteristics.

Experienced tank A43 Black Prince. Photo Weaponsandwarfare.com

The development of a new project was entrusted to Vauxhall specialists. The objective of the project was to create a new infantry tank based on the design of the existing Churchill armored vehicle and having more powerful weapons. It should be noted that new project eventually became the last attempt to create the so-called. infantry tank. Soon the British military became disillusioned with the existing concepts of armored vehicles, as a result of which work began on the so-called. universal tanks.

A promising tank capable of replacing the Churchill machine received the working designation A43 and the name Super Churchill. Subsequently, the project was renamed Black Prince - in honor of the English historical figure Edward Woodstock, nicknamed the "Black Prince". It was under the new name that the latest project of an infantry tank became widely known.

Front view, the forehead of the tower is not covered by a cover. Photo by C Ward / Flickr.com

The goal of the new project was quite simple. Designers were required to equip an existing heavy tank with a new Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun with increased power. To install a larger gun, certain changes had to be made to the design of the tank. A preliminary analysis of the possibilities showed that in order to install a new gun, it would be necessary to rework not only the existing turret, but also the armored hull. As a result, the promising A43 tank was indeed based on the design of the existing Mk IV, but at the same time it had to differ from it in size and other features.

To install a 17-pound gun in the framework of the A43 project, a new larger turret with a larger diameter shoulder strap had to be developed. The last feature of the new project led to the need for some increase in the width of the hull. Other features of the hull design remained almost unchanged. The existing design was corrected only in connection with the installation of one or another new equipment.

Outwardly, the tank looked like a serial Churchill car. Photo aviarmor.net

The result of this approach to the creation of a new model of armored vehicles was the preservation of the existing shape of the hull while changing its size. In addition, it was proposed to increase the level of protection of the machine by using thicker bookings. The hull retained the wedge-shaped profile of the frontal part with an inclined upper part mated with a vertical sheet. The bottom sheet of the forehead was 140 mm thick, the middle one 57 mm, and the top one 152 mm. The hull of the tank had side niches located inside the track. The side parts of such units had a thickness of up to 95 mm. From above and behind the hull was covered with a 19-mm roof and aft sheets up to 51 mm thick.

The tower of the "Black Prince" was supposed to be a modified unit of the serial "Churchill". From the existing product, the dome of the new tower differed in more powerful protection and increased size. In addition, some contours of the structure were finalized. The maximum thickness of the turret armor reached 152 mm in the frontal part, the minimum - 20 mm of the roof. The tower had a frontal unit with an inclined front and an embrasure, in which there was a swinging mask of the internal location. The sides were formed by two sheets placed at an angle to each other. It was planned to use a small feed niche.

View of the starboard side. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Being a deep modernization of a serial infantry tank, the new A43 was to be built according to the same layout. In front of the hull there was a control compartment, behind it - a tower and a fighting compartment. The aft compartment was completely allocated for the engine, transmission units, fuel system, etc.

For some reasons that are not entirely clear, probably because of the desire to obtain the maximum degree of unification, the new heavy tank had to receive exactly the same engine compartment equipment as the serial Churchill. It was proposed to leave a two-row 12-cylinder Bedford gasoline engine in the rear of the hull, developing power up to 350 hp. Two radiators were placed next to the engine, and it was also mated with a single-disk main dry friction clutch, a four-speed manual gearbox, a turning mechanism and other transmission units.

Car at the landfill. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

According to some reports, the issue of equipping a heavy tank with an 600 hp engine was considered. However, apparently, this proposal never left the stage of preliminary studies. As a result, the specific power of the machine remained at the level of 7 hp. per ton, although it could be increased by one and a half times with the corresponding consequences for mobility.

used chassis existing structure. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

On the side niches of the hull, 10 small-diameter road wheels with individual spring suspension were attached from below. In front of the main rollers and behind them, the project provided for the use of two similar parts suspended at a certain height above the ground. Guide wheels were placed in front of the hull, and drive wheels in the stern. Instead of traditional support rollers, special guides were used on the corresponding surface of the body. For the tank, new tracks had to be developed to compensate for the increase in combat weight. The tracks, in general, retained the existing design, but differed in width increased to 24 inches (610 mm). Increasing the track width by 10 inches reduced the specific pressure to an acceptable level.

The main idea of ​​the A43 Black Prince project was to use the powerful Ordnance QF 17-pounder tank gun. This gun had a 76.2 mm barrel with a length of 55 calibers. A muzzle brake and advanced recoil devices were provided. The gun was to be mounted on modified mounts in the frontal part of the turret. In the fighting compartment of a relatively large volume, it was possible to place stacks and racks for 89 unitary shells.

Front view, the tower received a cover. Photo aviarmor.net

With the help of a relatively long barrel, the QF 17-pounder gun could accelerate a high-explosive fragmentation projectile to a speed of 880 m / s, an armor-piercing one - up to 1200 m / s. Depending on the type of armor-piercing projectile used, the gun at a distance of 900 m could penetrate from 130 to 190 mm of homogeneous armor. In some cases, the gun retained the ability to destroy an enemy tank at distances up to 2-3 km.

As an auxiliary weapon, the crew of the new tank was to use two rifle-caliber BESA machine guns. One of them was mounted on gun mount and performed the functions of a pair. The second was located in the course setting of the front sheet, to the left of the longitudinal axis of the machine. The total ammunition load of two machine guns consisted of several thousand rounds.

Tank at the range. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Being an improved version of the existing vehicle, the new A43 tank retained a similar crew composition. The Black Prince was to be driven by five tankmen. The driver (on the right) and the gunner (on the left) were placed in the front compartment of the hull control. The latter also served as an assistant driver and radio operator. The commander and gunner were located inside the tower, at its left side. To their right was the loader. The crew had hatches in the roof of the hull and turret: the control compartment and the fighting compartment each had two hatches. The driver's workplace also had a front inspection hatch for driving on the march. In case of emergency evacuation, the tank had auxiliary hatches in the sides of the fighting compartment.

The installation of a new, more powerful gun, with the accompanying modifications to the turret and chassis, resulted in the new tank being noticeably larger and heavier than the base vehicle. The total length of the A43 infantry tank, including the gun, was 8.81 m, width - 2.9 m, height - 3.44 m. The combat weight reached 50 tons, which was about 10 tons more than the corresponding Churchill parameter. Given the preservation of the 350-horsepower engine, the increase in weight led to a noticeable drop in power density. The mobility of the "Black Prince" was to be provided with only 7 hp. per ton.

Right view. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Insufficiently powerful engine did not allow to obtain acceptable mobility. Max Speed tank on the highway was only 10.5 miles per hour (18 km / h), on rough terrain - 7.5 miles per hour (10-11 km / h). The design of the undercarriage ensured climbing a wall 75 cm high and crossing a trench 3 m wide. Without preparation, the tank could cross a ford 1 m deep.

The Vauxhall A43 Black Prince project started in 1943. The pace of development of a promising tank left much to be desired. The project was completed only by the beginning of 1945, after which the construction of the first prototype began. The prototype was brought to the test only at the beginning of the 45th. The tank went to the training ground, where it confirmed all the most serious fears. In practice, it was found that, along with the growth of firepower and the level of protection in the new project, a noticeable reduction in mobility was obtained. Due to the low driving performance, the tank could not compete with other modern armored vehicles of British or foreign design.

The turret is deployed "in marching", the gun is fixed. Photo Weaponsandwarfare.com

For testing and future testing at the front, six experimental Black Prince tanks were built. By the time the fighting in Europe ended, these prototypes remained at the manufacturing plant or training ground. Equipment with enhanced combat characteristics simply did not have time for the war. At the same time, the military and industry got the opportunity to carefully study new models of armored vehicles and draw the necessary conclusions. Considering the characteristic problems of the project, it was hardly worth hoping for a positive decision from the customer.

Even before the start of testing of experimental A43 tanks, the military was considering the possibility of signing a contract for the supply of three hundred serial vehicles of this type. A similar document was supposed to appear after testing prototypes, in late spring or early summer of 1945. However, by this time, the insufficient characteristics of the equipment had been confirmed, and in addition, the end of the war made it possible to reduce the pace of development of new combat vehicles. As a result, plans to order production tanks were rejected. Vauxhall never received an official order to launch full-scale production of the Black Princes.

Machine diagram. Figure Weaponsandwarfare.com

Further development of the project was also considered inappropriate. To improve mobility, it was necessary to rework the project, which took some time. At the same time, the British army has already managed to get several hundred Sherman Firefly medium tanks with a 17-pounder gun and acceptable mobility. In addition, by 1945, the medium-weight cruising tank Comet was created and put into series, which was a further development of the older Mk VIII Cromwell. This tank carried the 77 mm HV gun, a shortened QF 17-pounder with slightly lower penetration performance. Finally getting ready mass production medium tanks Centurion.

All existing tanks with similar weapons favorably differed from the A43 in higher speed and maneuverability. The only advantage of this machine was more high level protection provided by armor up to 152 mm thick. However, the combination of such armor with low speed was considered unacceptable for new technology. According to some reports, the possibility of additional modernization of the Black Prince tank was studied by installing the Centurion turret with a 76-mm cannon, but this idea did not reach practical implementation.

The only prototype in the Bovington Museum. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

By the middle of 1945, the development company and the army had six experimental A43 Black Prince tanks at their disposal. After testing and deciding to close the project, this technique began to be used as test platforms to test other new developments. As the resource developed, experienced infantry tanks were decommissioned and dismantled as unnecessary. In a few years, five tanks were disposed of. Only one prototype, built fourth in its series, managed to avoid this fate. After for long years idle tank transferred to the museum military equipment in Bovington. Repairs were carried out there, after which the armored vehicle again got the opportunity to move independently.

The A43 Black Prince project was a promising attempt to significantly increase fighting qualities existing heavy infantry tanks Mk IV Churchill through the use of a more powerful 76-mm gun. However, in practice, the original proposal encountered a number of serious difficulties that did not allow the desired armored vehicle to be quickly obtained. The required results in the form of an increase in firepower were achieved at the cost of an unacceptable weighting of the tank and a drop in mobility. Such a machine, which has advantages over other equipment only in protection and gun power, was not of interest to the army. Moreover, by the middle of 1945, other tanks with similar combat qualities were created, which made the promising A43 simply unnecessary. Not the most successful project eventually put an end to the so-called. infantry tanks.

According to the websites:
http://tankmuseum.org/
http://militaryfactory.com/
http://aviarmor.net/
https://weaponsandwarfare.com/
http://tankimira.ru/