| Heavy Tank, TOG II | |
|---|---|
 TOG II* at The Tank Museum, Bovington | |
| Type | Super-heavy tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1940[1] |
| Manufacturer | William Foster & Co.[1] |
| Produced | 1941[1] |
| No. built | 1 prototype |
| Specifications (TOG 2*) | |
| Mass | 80long tons (81.3metric 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 | 114 mm at the front of the turret and hull 76 mm at the sides of the hull, 50 mm at the rear of the tank[3] cemented armour on 12.7 mm (0.5 inch)mild steel |
Main armament | 28-pounder 3.7 in (94 mm) gun |
Secondary armament | 7.92 mmBesa machine gun |
| Engine | Paxman-Ricardo 12-cylinderdiesel-electric 600 hp (450 kW) |
| Power/weight | 7.5 hp/t |
| Transmission | 2 electric motors |
| Suspension | unsprung torsion bar (TOG II*) |
Operational range | 50 mi (80 km)[2] |
| Maximum speed | 8.5 mph (13.7 km/h) (achieved)[2] 15 mph (24 km/h) (theoretical)[4][page needed] |
TheTOG 2, officially known as theHeavy Tank, TOG II, was a Britishsuper-heavy tank design produced during the early stages ofWorld War II for a scenario where the battlefields of northern France and Belgium devolved into a morass of mud, trenches, and craters as had happened duringWorld War I. When this did not happen, the tank was deemed unnecessary, and the project terminated. A development of theTOG I design, only a single prototype was built before its termination.[5]
The second design to come out of the Special Vehicle Development Committee (nicknamed "The Old Gang" as it was made up of people who had worked on the original British tanks of the First World War) the TOG 2 was similar to theTOG 1 and kept many of its features. Instead of thetrack path arrangement of the TOG 1 which – like that of theFirst World War British tanks – ran up over the top of the hull and back down, the track path was lower on the return run and the doors were above the tracks. Ordered in 1940, built byFoster's of Lincoln, the prototype ran for the first time in March 1941. In April 1941 an enquiry was made by the Deputy Director-General of Tanks and Transport to theEnglish Electric Company see if 100 could be produced.[6] In June 1941 the Minister of Supply enquired about the production of 50 tanks.[6] Neither of these inquiries lead to production orders.[6]
The design included a 6-pounder gun and sidesponsons. For "initial trials" it was fitted with a mockup turret with dummy guns – a 2-pdr gun, 3-inch howitzer and a Besa machine gun – together with a 3-inch howitzer in the hull.[7] The second turret fitted was simplified mounting aQF 3-inch 16 cwt anti-tank gun derived from the current anti-aircraft gun.[citation needed] The planned sponsons were never fitted.[8] The tank is currently fitted with a28 pounder gun derived from theQF 3.7-inch AA gun but with aOrdnance QF 17-pounder breech and muzzle brake.[9]
Although equipped with the sameelectrical drive as originally fitted to 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 to atorsion bar suspension and went through successful trials in May 1943. No further development occurred, although a revised version, the TOG 2 (R) was proposed. The 'R' would have been 6 ft (1.8 m) shorter, used torsion bar suspension and had no sponsons.[8]
The single TOG 2 prototype in the TOG II* configuration can be seen atThe Tank Museum where it has been since the 1950s.[5][10] It was moved indoors towards the end of the 1980s and to its current position in the 2000s.[11]
Media related toTOG 2 tank at Wikimedia Commons50°41′44″N2°14′37″W / 50.69553°N 2.24371°W /50.69553; -2.24371