Schofield tank
{{Short description|New Zealand light tank prototype}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=Light Tank, Wheel-and-Track (Schofield)
|caption=
|image=File:Schofield tank front left view.png
|image_size=300
|origin=New Zealand
|type=Light tank
|is_vehicle=yes
|length={{convert|3.99| m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|width={{convert|2.6| m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|height={{plainlist|
- {{convert|2.02| m|ftin|abbr=on}} on tracks
- {{convert|2.1| m|ftin|abbr=on}} on wheels}}
|weight={{convert|5.21|lt|kg}}
|suspension=Horstmann suspension
|speed={{plainlist|
- {{cvt|45|mph|km/h}} on wheels
- {{cvt|27|mph|km/h}} on tracks}}
|vehicle_range={{convert|560|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|primary_armament=Ordnance QF 2 pounder
|secondary_armament=7.92 mm Besa machine gun
|armour=6–10 mm
|engine=Chevrolet petrol 6-cylinder
|engine_power={{cvt|29.5|hp|kW}}
|pw_ratio=
|crew=3 (commander, gunner, driver)
}}
The Schofield tank, named after its designer, was a New Zealand tank design of the Second World War. Developed in 1940 when it seemed that the Pacific War might reach New Zealand and with little likelihood of weapons coming from Britain, it did not enter service. It was designed to run on either tracks or wheels.
Design and development
{{multiple image
| total_width = 400
| image1 = Schofield tank front view tracked.png
| image2 = Schofield tank front view wheeled.png
| footer = Schofield tank in its tracked (left) and wheeled (right) configuration
| footer_align = center
}}
In around June 1940 Ernest James Schofield, a motor vehicle dealer for General Motors in Wellington, approached his MP William Theophilus Anderton with an idea for a fighting vehicle that could run on tracks or wheels.{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Andrew |date= |title=The Schofield Truck Tank: New Zealand's famous wheel-cum-track armoured fighting vehicle |publisher=FWD Publishing |page=23 |isbn=9798833998885}} He had at this stage constructed a basic model from Meccano showing the basic principle of operation.{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Andrew |date= |title=The Schofield Truck Tank: New Zealand's famous wheel-cum-track armoured fighting vehicle |publisher=FWD Publishing |page=26 |isbn=9798833998885}}
Schofield's tank was based on the chassis of a Chevrolet {{convert|6|long_cwt|kg|lk=in}}The term refers to its load carrying capability, not total weight. truck using the suspension from a Universal Carrier. Wheels normally carried on the hull could be bolted on so that it could use these rather than the tracks. As initially designed it had a crew of three: machine gunner and driver at the front and a second machine gun in a turret at the rear.
The initial design performed badly in trials but the Government sought an improved version. Designed by another member of the original team, the improved model used a better transmission and the turret now contained a QF 2 pounder gun with a co-axial Besa machine gun. By the time it was complete, in 1942, New Zealand had received tanks from the UK and US.
The armour plating was provided by the New Zealand Railways. The four wheels shared drive and idler sprockets with the track, and the move from wheels to track, and vice versa, could be made from within the hull.
In 1943 the improved design prototype was shipped to Britain, where it was evaluated by the Department of Tank Design. Although not completely critical, experts recommended the project halt. The tank was stored for a while and scrapped after the war.{{Book-Fletcher-Great Tank Scandal|page=104}}
See also
=Similar tanks=
- American Disston Tractor Tank
- Soviet KhTZ-16
- Soviet NI tank
- New Zealand Bob Semple tank
=Other Commonwealth Tanks of the Second World War=
- Bob Semple tank – New Zealand improvised tank design
- Sentinel tank – Australian indigenous tank design
- Ram tank – Canadian indigenous tank design
- Grizzly tank – Canadian licence built M4A1 Sherman
References
= Notes =
{{Reflist}}
= Bibliography =
- {{cite book |last= Cooke |first= Peter |title= Defending New Zealand: Ramparts on the Sea 1840-1950s |year= 2000 |publisher= Defence of New Zealand Study Group |location= Wellington |isbn= 0-473-06833-8 |pages= 356–361 }}
External links
- [http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/WWII/schofield/schofield.php Track-and-wheel Schofield's tanks (Russian)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20010111022300/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/newzealand/newzealand.html Mailer Edu.]
{{WWIIBritishAFVs}}
{{WWII tanks|style=wide}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield Tank}}
Category:World War II tanks of New Zealand