Covenanter tank

Covenanter cruiser tank
Tank, Cruiser, Mk V, Covenanter (A13 Mk III)
Type	Cruiser tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1940–1943
Production history
Designer	LMS/Nuffield (turret)
Manufacturer	LMS, English Electric Leyland Motors
Produced	1939–1943
No. built	1,771
Specifications
Mass	18 long tons (18 t)[1]
Length	19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)[1]
Width	8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)[1]
Height	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)[1]
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Armour	7–40 mm (0.28–1.57 in)
Main armament	QF 2-pounder (40 mm)
Secondary armament	7.92 mm Besa machine gun (coaxial)
Engine	Meadows D.A.V flat-12 340 hp (250 kW)
Power/weight	18.6 hp (13.9 kW) / tonne
Transmission	Meadows gearbox with Wilson epicyclic steering
Suspension	Christie
Fuel capacity	92 imperial gallons (420 L)[2]
Operational range	100 mi (160 km)[1]
Maximum speed	30 mph (48 km/h)

The Cruiser tank Mk V or A13 Mk III Covenanter was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name. Designed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a better-armoured replacement for the Cruiser Mark IV, it was ordered into production in 1939 before pilot models were built. Problems with the design became apparent only after production was under way.

The tank equipped various British armoured divisions for home defence and training. It never left the UK as poor engine cooling caused the Mk I to Mk III to be declared unfit for overseas service especially in hot climates. This was rectified in the Mk IV after many corrective actions were undertaken but, by February 1944, it was declared obsolete. More than 1,700 of the type were built. It was named after the Covenanters, a Scottish religious faction at the time of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.^{[citation needed]}