The Great Tank Scandal. British Armour in the Second World War
The Great Tank Scandal is a 21st Century re-issue of David Fletcher’s original book from the 1980s.
British ingenuity lay behind the invention of the tank and its initial use in action in the First World War, but this impressive lead was then lost in a mere 20 years. With the Second World War outbreak, German tanks quickly earned an excellent reputation. By and large, this infamy was well deserved. Still, it gained even more credibility because many Allied tanks, especially those built in Britain, were markedly inferior – to the point of some designs being declared un-battleworthy.
So, what had gone wrong? The reasons for this can be found in the story of British tank development between the wars. Taking 1939 as his starting point, David Fletcher examines the evolution of British and Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles, building a convincing picture of the factors that led to the ‘great tank scandal!
The Great Tank Scandal is supported by more than 100 original photographs and technical illustrations; the author draws on archive sources that include reports, minutes and correspondence between politicians, tank builders and the army to illustrate a tale of indecision in high places, stubborn industrialists and years of military vacillation. The book ends with the tragedy on the beaches of Dieppe in August 1942, but with a kernel of hope that is developed in David Fletcher’s sequel, The Universal Tank, in which he covers the last three years of the war.
Book Data
Author: David Fletcher MBE
ISBN: 9781916355934
Language: English
Pages: 192
Photos: 100+. Plus drawings & technical tables
Physical: Softcover, 245x173mm, portrait
Contents
- Introduction
- Scraping the barrel
- And then there were none
- The cupboard was bare
- Unbattleworthy
- Tracks in the sand
- Missionaries in Washington
- To El Alamein and back
- The return of specialised armour
- Index
About the Author
David Fletcher MBE is a military historian specialising in the history of armoured warfare. He has held a number of posts at The Tank Museum at Bovington. From 1982 to 2012, he was Librarian and is now the museum’s Historian. In a long and distinguished writing career, his publication list is extensive, with regular contributions to military journals and more than 30 books to his credit.