US Tank development 1919-1940

[Hobilar]

The story of American tank design between the Wars was much the same as that of the British. Whilst the British retained a small tank cadre at Bovington, the Americans, in 1919, actually disbanded the entire tank organization as being of no further use.In 1920 under the National Defence Act of that year anything connected with tanks was turned over to the infantry. Captain George Patton had returned to the cavalry who in turn were officially forbidden to even use the word `Tank' and told to speak instead only of `Combat Cars'.

In 1927 at the instigation of General MacArthur the cavalry set to undertake a study of the subject of armoured warfare. Unfortunately it was not for another seven years, in 1934, that a few light machines, close copies of the Vickers 6-tonner rolled out of the Rock Island Arsenal and a further three years after that before the M1 Combat Car was taken into service. The M1 had a meagre 7-cylinder Continental engine, had only negligible armour and mounted only a brace of machine guns as armament. Not much better was the next model-The Light Tank Mk2A. Not unsimilar to the 1918 vintage Renault FT17 this too was completely obsolete by 1940 (although I believe that a few saw action on Guadalcanal in 1942).

The German Blitzkrieg of France in May 1940 gave the American Officers much concern as to the weaknesses of their own armoured Forces. Although the USA was not yet at war herself, President Roosevelt's promise to supply the Allies with aid and material brought about the rapid design of the Light Tank M3. A tank that turned out to be remarkably good despite the short development time. Although the early M3's were of riveted construction (later modified with a welded turret) it did have a reasonable amount of armour, a good turn of speed, and its main 37mm armament performed only marginally less than the 2-pdr gun current on British tanks.

This need not have been the case. In 1928, the American-born inventor J. Walter Christie had presented his unique suspension design to the Ordnance Board, but it took another two years before they even tried it out. The Christie passed all of its trials in fine style-200 miles on wheels alone, another 140 mile on tracks at 20 mph and wading a stream 3-feet deep. The Ordnance Department was certainly impressed- they ordered FIVE. Christie actually made nine, two being ordered by Russia and two by Poland, but as Poland did not pay up the US Army took these as well. The Russians took the Christie suspension system and developed it for their own range of fast tanks (and subsequently for the T34), but by a cruel twist of fate no American tank of the Second World War ever employed this revolutionary suspension system.

[Klaus]

Why did the americans never use it? Do you know why?

[Hobilar]

Christie was one of those annoying inventors who was forever coming up with bright new ideas, but then moving on to some new notion once an idea had been accepted, and leaving somebody else to sort out the development.

For this reason he made many enemies in the Ordnance Department which came to a head when the Department fell out with Christie over contractual terms, and thereafter Christie was by-passed with other companies being contracted by build tanks.

Many say that the Ordnance Department were less than enchanted at having paid Christie $800,000 over a twelve year period without ever receiving a tank which worked properly.

[Klaus]

Ah, ok. Thanks for the answer. I would be p***** off too.