Tank, Heavy, TOG 2

Tank, Heavy, TOG 2 Story

Like the Germans, Soviets, and Americans during World War II, the British invested time and money in the design and development of heavy tanks during World War II. Several designs emerged, and one of the early attempts at the war was a pair of "TOG" vehicles in 1940, the TOG 1 and TOG 2. Both were developed by a staff committee that still embraced the battlefield mentality of World War I, believing that battlefield Europe would be a tattered, pitted land dotted with trenches and protected by fortifications.

So these new heavy vehicles are designed for these hard jobs - crossing trenches, infantry support, overcoming enemy fortifications, rough terrain. Design work was carried out by the Special Vehicle Development Committee and resulted in TOG 2 - a 90-ton armored beast with a crew of 6 that borrowed some key elements from the previous TOG 1, including its powertrain.

The turret of the Challenger (A30) cruiser tank is used for convenience and two electric motors are installed to provide the necessary transmission services. The Fosters of Lincoln were contracted to build the car, and a prototype was completed in early 1941.

TOG 2 measures 33 feet 2 inches long, 10 feet 3 inches wide and 10 feet high to the top of the tower. Her crew consisted of a driver, a co-pilot, a vehicle commander, a full-time gunner and two ammunition handlers. Glued armor and steel provide protection and significantly increase the vehicle's combat weight and performance.

Power is provided by a 12-cylinder Paxman-Ricardo diesel electric motor producing 600 hp, mated to a 2 electric motor gearbox. The original prototype (TOG 2) had an unsprung suspension system, while later modifications (TOG 2*) introduced a torsion bar arrangement.

On ideal surfaces, the road speed is limited to 8.5 mph and the range is only 50 miles.

Structurally, the TOG 2 is a behemoth with a generally dated boxy shape. Most vertical surfaces provide little or no basic ballistic protection, relying instead on heavy armor protection. Unlike the TOG 1 approach, the TOG 2 has a more modern approach to its track layout, which is protected on the sides and only exposed at the front, rear and bottom of the vehicle. The turret is located aft of the driver's position above the hull superstructure and also has a vertical surface and a flat roofline.

As usual, the main gun armament protruded from an opening in the front of the turret. The TOG 2 had impressive armament for its time, including infantry protection from a 76.2mm QF 17-pounder main gun and a single 7.92mm BESA coaxial machine gun mount.

The car has been evaluated since 1941 and was still being tested in the spring of 1943. By this point in the war, however, developments had changed significantly, the British Army had accumulated a large number of American-made tanks - including the famous M4 Sherman tank - and the need for this heavy armor system was put on hold.

In addition, the pre-war inventory of cruisers and infantry tanks proved suitable in many cases, while at the end of the war completely new intermediate tank developments emerged. As such, the heavy, complex and expensive TOG 2 was another tank development in the war that was not pursued further and was eventually abandoned from serious consideration.

The only prototype prototype that survived the war, currently (February 2014) at the Bovington Tank Museum, South West England - "House of Tanks".

Heavy Tank, TOG 2 Spec

Basic

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

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