Tank black prince how to play. Black Prince heavy tank

Main characteristics

Briefly

in detail

5.7 / 6.0 / 6.0 BR

5 people Crew

Mobility

50.0 tons Weight

4 forward
1 back checkpoint

Armament

89 shells ammo

10° / 20° UVN

8,100 shells ammo

225 rounds clip size

600 shots/min rate of fire

Economy

Description

The Black Prince or the Lord, as many players who saw him on the battlefield called him, is worthy of his name and is able to single-handedly withstand crowds of enemy tanks attacking his position or break through the enemy’s defenses in some problematic place without any problems. This tank has high protection, as well as an excellent 17-pound cannon with shells capable of penetrating even some of the representatives of the 5th era into the frontal projection, which is why only a few can cope with it at their level. But due to the use of an outdated and weak engine on the tank, mobility and speed leave much to be desired. The maximum is only 17 km / h (even from the hill) and this is one of the lowest rates in the game.

Main characteristics

Armor protection and survivability

Right angle armor on the turret

The tank has an impressive defense, which is quite problematic to overcome by many shells of the III and early IV era. For this reason, the Black Lord is able to take the blow of many barrels at the same time. This tank is almost impossible to destroy with a stray hit from afar on the silhouette, even with 122-mm and 152-mm high-explosive fragmentation (and at the right angle and armor-piercing) shells, they can only knock down the caterpillar and occasionally break the gun barrel. If trouble with a broken barrel happens in close combat, then often the tank is repaired faster than the enemy has time to reload, and the victory eventually goes to the Prince.

Although the armor is good in itself, but still 152-mm armor is pierced by most opponents at a right angle without much effort, so it’s worth turning with a rhombus to the opponents standing in front; the tower should also be slightly turned away during reloading. So the reduced armor will increase significantly and the enemy with a high chance will not break through the Prince. You should not turn the turret away from the enemy too much - a straight side part of the turret can open in which there are only 95 mm, which almost anyone can easily penetrate tank III era.

Prince withstands hit by Is-2

Sufficiently smart enemies, riding on the Prince, are not in a hurry to shoot, but wait until he pays attention to them and turns the turret towards them, which minimizes the angle of entry of the projectile into the turret. At the same time, the Prince needs some more fractions of seconds to aim and fire a shot, and the enemy is already ready to shoot. Such an insidious situation can be avoided if you, in turn, also do not rush, and when you find a new enemy, you begin to wait - if the enemy left and did not shoot almost immediately, but began to wait until you turn the tower in his direction, then start teasing him, then momentarily pointing the tower in his direction, then substituting the rhombus back for him. Usually nervous system the enemy cannot stand it and he shoots at the moment when they think that now the angle will be minimal.

Mobility

A.43 Black Prince

Due to the extremely low power density of the engine for such heavy weight tank, the Prince is not able to develop at least some high speed - only 17 km / h. It will always be the last one to get to the points and with great difficulty due to the equally low passability. Many hills and potholes are insurmountable for him, so you have to spend time on getting around them. The speed back is even more limited - only 2 km / h, although often this is not a problem due to the fact that the Sovereign simply does not need to retreat, but in cases where he is nevertheless pierced and damaged by some modules and it is necessary to retreat and repair - this feature becomes a very unpleasant property for the tank.

Armament

main gun

Prince Shot

The best was installed on the Lord anti-tank gun allies during World War II - Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm). This gun has excellent penetration and ballistic performance. Its main “disadvantage” is the lack of chamber shells in the ammunition load. You have to be content with “only”: armor-piercing sub-caliber shells with a detachable pallet, which have a breakdown of 207 mm at close range or 200 mm at a distance of 500 meters; three types of solid armor-piercing shells (which are available all at once), the top of which - Shot Mk.8 - has a breakdown of 171 mm at close range; high-explosive shells that are not capable of causing significant damage. Since the best piercing shells are armor-piercing sub-caliber shells, in which the armor-piercing effect is rather meager, you will almost always have to target modules and crew members and gradually destroy enemy equipment: engine / transmission / driver, gunner / breech of the gun, finishing off the remaining members crew. You can also carry a certain amount of armor-piercing shells with you for great damage in situations when the enemy is sideways to the Prince or you are sure that you will pierce the enemy with them in the frontal projection.

In short and point by point, then sub-caliber shells:

They pierce any Panther and Yagpanther in the VLD or on the side at a slight angle;
They pierce the Tiger almost anywhere (except for very large angles). Problems with the Tiger can only arise in the mask of the gun, so it is more desirable to shoot at the hull;
T-34s of any suit and modifications make their way anywhere even with an armor-piercing projectile, and for sure with sub-caliber ones, but with worse armor action;
IS-2 and IS-2 of the 44th year, it is advisable to shoot in the area of \u200b\u200bthe driver, then the chance of breakdown is higher and the projectile will cause more tangible damage;
Problems can arise with the rarely seen King Tiger and Ferdinand. This gun is not capable of penetrating their VLD, and half of the frontal part of the Tiger’s tower is occupied by a mask, which is also not so easy to overcome by shells. Here it is worth studying the location of the crew members in these tanks in the hangar and point-shooting at their location or shooting at the NLD.

Machine gun armament

BESA machine gun caliber 7.92 mm with 8100 rounds of ammunition. This machine gun can be effective against lightly armored enemy vehicles, as well as for marking enemies on the battlefield.

Use in combat

Black Prince in the game

Due to the extremely poor mobility problem described above, the Prince is not always able to get to the desired point in time, but when he does, then with a high chance the battle in this specific location will be won by the Prince's team. The tank is capable of acting alone, but there are times when opponents simply surround it and shoot at its weaker sides and stern, so it is better to have several other tanks with you for cover and not rush forward. Always try to choose positions for advance or defense where your side will be protected from enemy projectiles by some kind of cover.

All battles in the arcade mode can be reduced to one thing - to get to a section of the map, from which it will be possible to control as many directions and places as possible in which the enemy can appear, and then shoot the appeared opponents on the lead cross. Due to the high armor penetration of shells, almost all hits will cause damage to enemy tanks. On the Black Prince, you can not be very afraid to be in an open area, he can withstand hits from almost all shells from all cannons (located on this combat rating) in the forehead, and in response it can give its accurate shot. Climbing thoughtlessly ahead of half the enemy team, of course, is not worth it, but if necessary, you can substitute your armor instead of the weaker armor of an ally and save his life. Closed spaces like narrow streets are best avoided: even though the turret spins fast enough in an arcade battle, there can always be a nimble enemy tank that will jump out from around the corner and break through the insufficiently well-protected side of the turret or hull.

Here the Black Prince is just as good as in the arcade battle due to the fact that it is more difficult to detect the enemy, sometimes it is not possible to determine in which direction the help of the Prince is more needed and therefore the tank will be more difficult to implement. But this does not prevent him from showing his magnificent armor and cannon in those few skirmishes that will take place with the participation of the Black Lord. Unlike arcade battles, in realistic mode, you should choose the directions of defense of control points and directions and, having finished the defense, gradually move forward, trying not to leave opponents behind you, pushing them to the respawn point. It also makes sense to take a position from which only your tower near the point will be visible and defend it.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Excellent weapon with huge penetration
Very thick frontal armor
Quick turn in zero gear
Good accuracy of fire on the move

Flaws:

Extremely low speed
The cross-country performance is one of the lowest in the game
The tank is a priority target for attack aircraft and bombers

History reference

Tank in the stowed position

The tank was developed in 1943-1945 on the basis of the Churchill tank. A new, large gun required the installation of a new tower due to the fact that it did not fit in the old one. And the tower, in turn, demanded to expand the hull of the tank for its installation due to the fact that the old hull could not withstand such a large weight of the new turret. The new tank with a 17-pounder weighed 10 tons more than the original Churchill. An engine with a capacity of 350 hp, which had already become obsolete, was left on the tank, which was clearly not enough for the rapid movement of such a heavy vehicle, and because of this, the speed of the tank was extremely limited: 17 km / h on the highway and 12.1 km / h over rough terrain. In 1944 - 1945, 6 units of this modification were built and several of them were sent to the front, but did not participate in hostilities. Due to such low driving performance the tank was declared unfit for military operations, and at that time prototypes of a new tank, the Centurion, had already been provided, so the order for the construction of 300 copies of the Princes was canceled.

Media

Creation heavy tank Black Prince was due to the urgent need to arm the British army on the eve of the Normandy landings with a combat vehicle that would have sufficient firepower and would be able to effectively deal with the latest Wehrmacht tanks. The creation of such a tank, later called the Black Prince, began in 1943.

Description

Prior to the creation of the Black Prince, the British made active attempts to modernize their main heavy tank, the Churchill, in order to increase firepower tools. This led to the rearmament of the Churchills with more powerful guns, as well as the creation of a self-propelled gun based on these tanks. artillery mount with the same name. All these solutions proved to be unsuccessful, and the Churchill's design no longer had enough potential for an even more radical modernization - the too short hull did not allow a turret with an even more powerful gun to be placed on the tank. It was then that the British designers came up with the idea of creating a tank with an expanded hull to eliminate the above disadvantages. The project of the A43 tank, which would later be called the "Black Prince", was essentially an improved modification of the "Churchill" and a temporary option for English army, since more advanced tanks, such as the Centurion, were still in a state of initial development.

Alternatives to the Black Prince, such as the Challenger, did not suit the army due to a number of shortcomings that did not allow them to quickly expand their production. Under these conditions, the A43 project was developed, as it was the fastest option for installing a powerful 17-pounder gun on a well-armored hull. This gun would allow the tank to successfully fight against any German equipment, including Tigers and Panthers. The tank largely repeated the design of the latest modifications of the Churchills, it used many units and components previously installed on these tanks. In particular, the Black Prince used the same 350 horsepower engine as the Churchill VII, and this had a very bad effect on the already weak mobility parameters, since the Black Prince had an even more impressive mass than Churchill. There were also a number of differences from the Churchill, the main of which was, of course, the increased width of the hull, which made it possible to install a more powerful gun in the extended turret. Perhaps the Black Prince would have been a good temporary solution for the British army during the fighting in Europe, but the British did not have time to establish a mass production of this tank until the end of the war. It was assumed that initially about 300 "Black Prince" tanks would be produced.

However, with the end of the war, the urgent need for a tank with a 17-pounder disappeared, and only six were actually produced. Further production of the Black Prince tanks was curtailed, since the British had a more promising model - the Centurion. As for the general assessment of this tank, its design was typical for many British combat vehicles of that period - fairly good armor, though without rational tilt angles that increased projectile resistance, very large mass and low speed. Again, a bet was made on booking, but unlike the Churchills, this tank had enhanced armament. However, all positive features were practically nullified by extremely low speed and maneuverability, which limited tactical options and turned the tank into a convenient target on the battlefield. Conclusion: the tank could hardly be fully compared with the latest German heavy tanks, such as, for example, the "King Tiger", but theoretically it had the opportunity to fight them due to a more powerful gun than its predecessors. However, as mentioned earlier, it was planned as a temporary interim solution in the conditions of war, respectively, its history ended in May 1945, along with the end of the Second World War.

Video overview Black guide Prince World of Tanks

Tank Black Prince or A43 was born only in May 1945. And for the first time, it was planned to install a more powerful anti-personnel gun on a Churchill tank back in September 1941, but then this led to the appearance of self-propelled guns based on Churchill with a 76-mm gun. In 1943, in connection with the preparations for the invasion of Europe, the need for an infantry support tank appeared again. Firm Vauxhall offered to return to the consideration of the tank based on "Churchill". Even at the design stage, it became clear that the base of the "Churchill" tank was too narrow for a turret with a 17-pounder gun. Then Vauxhall decides to increase the width of the Churchill base. So the first prototype appeared with the name A43 or "Super Churchill", and later "Black Prince". Although new tank and used many components and assemblies of the Churchill 7 tank, in the end it turned out to be completely new car. Outwardly very similar to his "parent", tank Black The Prince World of Tanks had extended 24 inch tracks, air intake grilles were on the roof of the hull, and the engine was in the stern. The first samples of the A43 were presented in May 1945, after the end of the war in Europe and the need for it disappeared. A total of 6 prototypes were produced.

TTX Black Prince

stock condition

Maximum weight: 51 tons

Engine power: 350 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 18/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 77mm Gun Mk. II

Penetration: 148/226/38

Damage: 140/140/190

Rate of fire: 14.29 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 450 m

Top condition

Maximum weight: 53 tons

Engine power: 600 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 20;/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 17-pdr Gun Mk. VII

Penetration: 171/239/38

Damage: 150/150/190

Rate of fire: 12 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 700 m

pros

circular armor of the tower, excellent for its level, allows less distraction from the "fireflies"
very accurate and fast-firing cannon allows you to fire from long distances
great shooting on the go
Highest HP at your level
stock tower is top
great review for your level
easy to get to the top

Minuses

very slow and clumsy (hello Mouse)
huge sizes always attract art
low gun penetration will force you to learn everything vulnerabilities enemy
low alpha damage
straight sides and stern rarely ricochet and will not allow you to play "swing" from around the corner
VLD has vulnerabilities

Crew and additional skills

Commander
Driver mechanic
radio operator
gunner
Charging

Like any heavy, the first thing we need is repairs. Gusli perfectly eat damage, so we will shoot them down regularly. Then everyone pumps from their desires, but I would advise you to pump a “light bulb” from the commander, it often saves from artillery, the mechanics to pump the off-road king or a virtuoso, the gunner must pump the sniper skill, because. we hit weakly, we will knock out modules. Because we often hit from long distances, and we have a good view, then the radio operator needs to pump radio interception.

Penetration of the Black Prince of the penetration zone

Additional modules.

We have excellent rate of fire and accuracy, which is why we need to improve our strengths. I advise you to install a rammer (with it the rate of fire increases to 13.2), it also makes sense to set ventilation (the rate of fire increases to 13.86), I usually put a repair box as the third module, but after pumping the repair skill by 100%, it can be replaced with stabilizer.

Tactics

Tactics primarily depends on where you are on the list. Playing in the TOP, you can safely tank and storm, at our level we are "gods" and we are only afraid of the Frenchman. Do not forget to place the tank in a rhombus and substitute the harp, this will complicate the task of the enemy. But be also attentive to your rear, we count the feed from the "cardboard" therefore we go only with the cover of medium and light tanks, so that we would not be spun. Playing at the bottom of the list on Black Prince World of Tanks, the tactics are radically different. Our circular armor will no longer save us. It is best to play on the "second" line, having an accurate and fast-firing cannon, you can bite and annoy the heavies while they butt heads with our allies on the front line. Knowing the penetration points, we can even damage the IS-3. Separately, let's talk about art, it is our main headache. As soon as you light up you are the number one target for arta. No one can resist throwing a “suitcase” at a huge and slow tank, which is almost impossible to miss. The roof of the hull in the stern has almost no armor, and even such art as can cause significant damage.

Conclusion

For our level, we got a pretty good tank that knows how to pick its opponents well. But a weak weapon brings its own adjustments to the game, we are forced to learn the enemy’s weak points and aim them more carefully, since accuracy allows us to do this. Having low mobility, it is necessary 30 seconds before the battle to be able to analyze and determine the direction of the attack of enemy forces. You should also learn all the places where art does not hit.

Review video guide Black Prince World of Tanks

Tank Black Prince or A43 was born only in May 1945. And for the first time, it was planned to install a more powerful anti-personnel gun on a Churchill tank back in September 1941, but then this led to the appearance of self-propelled guns based on Churchill with a 76-mm gun. In 1943, in connection with the preparations for the invasion of Europe, the need for an infantry support tank appeared again. Firm Vauxhall offered to return to the consideration of the tank based on "Churchill". Even at the design stage, it became clear that the base of the "Churchill" tank was too narrow for a turret with a 17-pounder gun. Then Vauxhall decides to increase the width of the Churchill base. So the first prototype appeared with the name A43 or "Super Churchill", and later "Black Prince". Although the new tank used many of the components and assemblies of the Churchill 7 tank, in the end it turned out to be a completely new machine. Outwardly very similar to its "parent", the Black Prince World of Tanks tank had an extended 24 inch tracks, air intake grilles were located on the roof of the hull, and the engine was located in the stern. The first samples of the A43 were presented in May 1945, after the end of the war in Europe and the need for it disappeared. A total of 6 prototypes were produced.

TTX Black Prince

stock condition

Maximum weight: 51 tons

Engine power: 350 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 18/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 77mm Gun Mk. II

Penetration: 148/226/38

Damage: 140/140/190

Rate of fire: 14.29 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 450 m

Top condition

Maximum weight: 53 tons

Engine power: 600 HP

Speed: 20 mph

Turning speed: 20;/sec

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 25.4 mm

Hull armor:

Forehead: 152.4 mm

Board: 95.25 mm

Feed: 95.25 mm

Crew: 5 people

Armament: OQF 17-pdr Gun Mk. VII

Penetration: 171/239/38

Damage: 150/150/190

Rate of fire: 12 rds / min

Spread: 0.34m/100m

Mixing: 2.3 s

Walkie-talkie: 700 m

pros

circular armor of the tower, excellent for its level, allows less distraction from the "fireflies"
very accurate and fast-firing cannon allows you to fire from long distances
great shooting on the go
Highest HP at your level
stock tower is top
great review for your level
easy to get to the top

Minuses

very slow and clumsy (hello Mouse)
huge sizes always attract art
low gun penetration will force you to learn all the weak points of the enemy
low alpha damage
straight sides and stern rarely ricochet and will not allow you to play "swing" from around the corner
VLD has vulnerabilities

Crew and additional skills

Commander
Driver mechanic
radio operator
gunner
Charging

Penetration of the Black Prince of the penetration zone

Additional modules.

We have an excellent rate of fire and accuracy, so we need to improve our strengths. I advise you to install a rammer (with it the rate of fire increases to 13.2), it also makes sense to set ventilation (the rate of fire increases to 13.86), I usually put a repair box as the third module, but after pumping the repair skill by 100%, it can be replaced with stabilizer.

Tactics

Tactics primarily depends on where you are on the list. Playing in the TOP, you can safely tank and storm, at our level we are "gods" and we are only afraid of the Frenchman. Do not forget to place the tank in a rhombus and substitute the harp, this will complicate the task of the enemy. But be also attentive to your rear, we count the feed from the "cardboard" therefore we go only with the cover of medium and light tanks, so that we would not be spun. Playing at the bottom of the list on Black Prince World of Tanks, the tactics are radically different. Our circular armor will no longer save us. It is best to play on the "second" line, having an accurate and fast-firing cannon, you can bite and annoy the heavies while they butt heads with our allies on the front line. Knowing the penetration points, we can even damage the IS-3. Separately, let's say about art, it is our main headache. As soon as you light up you are the number one target for arta. No one can resist throwing a “suitcase” at a huge and slow tank, which is almost impossible to miss. The roof of the hull in the stern has almost no armor, and even such art as can cause significant damage.

Conclusion

The heavy infantry tank Mk IV Churchill, actively used by Great Britain and friendly states, had a number of characteristic shortcomings that seriously limited it. combat capabilities. First of all, the claims were caused by insufficiently powerful weapons of early modifications and a relatively weak engine. To get rid of the existing shortcomings, modernization of the existing machine was repeatedly carried out. In addition, new projects of armored vehicles with improved performance were proposed, based on the existing Churchill. One of the attempts to carry out a deep modernization of the existing tank was the A43 Black Prince project.

By 1943, it became clear that current form infantry tank Churchill does not meet the requirements of the time. Several of the first modifications of this machine carried guns of 45 and 57 mm caliber, the power of which no longer allowed to fight different purposes on the battlefield, primarily with existing enemy tanks. The simplest and most obvious solution to this problem was to use more powerful weapons. As part of the development of the Churchill, several new modifications were soon created with guns up to 95 mm in caliber. In addition, in parallel with the improvement of the existing machine, it was proposed to create new model tank with the required characteristics.

Experienced tank A43 Black Prince. Photo Weaponsandwarfare.com

The development of a new project was entrusted to Vauxhall specialists. The objective of the project was to create a new infantry tank based on the design of the existing Churchill armored vehicle and having more powerful weapons. It should be noted that new project eventually became the last attempt to create the so-called. infantry tank. Soon the British military became disillusioned with the existing concepts of armored vehicles, as a result of which work began on the so-called. universal tanks.

A promising tank capable of replacing the Churchill machine received the working designation A43 and the name Super Churchill. Subsequently, the project was renamed Black Prince - in honor of the English historical figure Edward Woodstock, nicknamed the "Black Prince". Under the new name latest project infantry tank was widely known.

Front view, the forehead of the tower is not covered by a cover. Photo by C Ward / Flickr.com

The goal of the new project was quite simple. Designers were required to equip an existing heavy tank with a new Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun with increased power. To install a larger gun, certain changes had to be made to the design of the tank. A preliminary analysis of the possibilities showed that in order to install a new gun, it would be necessary to rework not only the existing turret, but also the armored hull. As a result, the promising A43 tank was indeed based on the design of the existing Mk IV, but at the same time it had to differ from it in size and other features.

To install a 17-pound gun in the framework of the A43 project, a new larger turret with a larger diameter shoulder strap had to be developed. The last feature of the new project led to the need for some increase in the width of the hull. Other features of the hull design remained almost unchanged. The existing design was corrected only in connection with the installation of one or another new equipment.

Outwardly, the tank looked like a serial Churchill car. Photo aviarmor.net

The result of this approach to the creation of a new model of armored vehicles was the preservation of the existing shape of the hull while changing its size. In addition, it was proposed to increase the level of protection of the machine by using thicker bookings. The hull retained the wedge-shaped profile of the frontal part with an inclined upper part mated with a vertical sheet. The bottom sheet of the forehead was 140 mm thick, the middle one 57 mm, and the top one 152 mm. The hull of the tank had side niches located inside the track. The side parts of such units had a thickness of up to 95 mm. From above and behind the hull was covered with a 19-mm roof and aft sheets up to 51 mm thick.

The tower of the "Black Prince" was supposed to be a modified unit of the serial "Churchill". From the existing product, the dome of the new tower differed more powerful protection and increased sizes. In addition, some contours of the structure were finalized. The maximum thickness of the turret armor reached 152 mm in the frontal part, the minimum - 20 mm of the roof. The tower had a frontal unit with an inclined front and an embrasure, in which there was a swinging mask of the internal location. The sides were formed by two sheets placed at an angle to each other. It was planned to use a small feed niche.

View of the starboard side. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Being a deep modernization of a serial infantry tank, the new A43 was to be built according to the same layout. In front of the hull there was a control compartment, behind it - a tower and a fighting compartment. The aft compartment was completely allocated for the engine, transmission units, fuel system, etc.

For some reasons that are not entirely clear, probably because of the desire to obtain the maximum degree of unification, the new heavy tank had to receive exactly the same engine compartment equipment as the serial Churchill. It was proposed to leave a two-row 12-cylinder Bedford gasoline engine in the rear of the hull, developing power up to 350 hp. Two radiators were placed next to the engine, and it was also mated with a single-disk main dry friction clutch, a four-speed manual gearbox, a turning mechanism and other transmission units.

Car at the landfill. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

According to some reports, the issue of equipping a heavy tank with an 600 hp engine was considered. However, apparently, this proposal never left the stage of preliminary studies. As a result, the specific power of the machine remained at the level of 7 hp. per ton, although it could be increased by one and a half times with the corresponding consequences for mobility.

used chassis existing structure. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

On the side niches of the hull, 10 small-diameter road wheels with individual spring suspension were attached from below. In front of the main rollers and behind them, the project provided for the use of two similar parts suspended at a certain height above the ground. Guide wheels were placed in front of the hull, and drive wheels in the stern. Instead of traditional support rollers, special guides were used on the corresponding surface of the body. For the tank, new tracks had to be developed to compensate for the increase in combat weight. The tracks, in general, retained the existing design, but differed in width increased to 24 inches (610 mm). Increasing the track width by 10 inches reduced the specific pressure to an acceptable level.

The main idea of the A43 Black Prince project was to use the powerful Ordnance QF 17-pounder tank gun. This gun had a 76.2 mm barrel with a length of 55 calibers. A muzzle brake and advanced recoil devices were provided. The gun was to be mounted on modified mounts in the frontal part of the turret. In the fighting compartment of a relatively large volume, it was possible to place stacks and racks for 89 unitary shells.

Front view, the tower received a cover. Photo aviarmor.net

With the help of a relatively long barrel, the QF 17-pounder gun could accelerate a high-explosive fragmentation projectile to a speed of 880 m / s, an armor-piercing one - up to 1200 m / s. Depending on the type of armor-piercing projectile used, the gun at a distance of 900 m could penetrate from 130 to 190 mm of homogeneous armor. In some cases, the gun retained the ability to defeat enemy tank at distances up to 2-3 km.

As an auxiliary weapon, the crew of the new tank was to use two rifle-caliber BESA machine guns. One of them was mounted on a gun mount and served as a pair. The second was located in the course setting of the front sheet, to the left of the longitudinal axis of the machine. The total ammunition load of two machine guns consisted of several thousand rounds.

Tank at the range. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Being an improved version of the existing vehicle, the new A43 tank retained a similar crew composition. The Black Prince was to be driven by five tankers. The driver (on the right) and the gunner (on the left) were placed in the front compartment of the hull control. The latter also served as an assistant driver and radio operator. The commander and gunner were located inside the tower, at its left side. To their right was the loader. The crew had hatches in the roof of the hull and turret: the control compartment and the fighting compartment each had two hatches. The driver's workplace also had a front viewing hatch for driving on the march. In case of emergency evacuation, the tank had auxiliary hatches in the sides of the fighting compartment.

The installation of a new, more powerful gun, with the accompanying modifications to the turret and chassis, resulted in the new tank being noticeably larger and heavier than the base vehicle. The total length of the A43 infantry tank, including the gun, was 8.81 m, width - 2.9 m, height - 3.44 m. The combat weight reached 50 tons, which was about 10 tons more than the corresponding Churchill parameter. Given the preservation of the 350-horsepower engine, the increase in weight led to a noticeable drop in power density. The mobility of the "Black Prince" was to be provided with only 7 hp. per ton.

Right view. Photo Imperial War Museum / Iwm.org.uk

Insufficiently powerful engine did not allow to obtain acceptable mobility. Max speed tank on the highway was only 10.5 miles per hour (18 km / h), on rough terrain - 7.5 miles per hour (10-11 km / h). The design of the undercarriage ensured climbing a wall 75 cm high and crossing a trench 3 m wide. Without preparation, the tank could cross a ford 1 m deep.

The Vauxhall A43 Black Prince project started in 1943. The pace of development of a promising tank left much to be desired. The project was completed only by the beginning of 1945, after which the construction of the first prototype began. The prototype was brought to the test only at the beginning of the 45th. The tank went to the training ground, where it confirmed all the most serious fears. In practice, it was found that, along with the growth of firepower and the level of protection in the new project, a noticeable reduction in mobility was obtained. Due to the low driving performance, the tank could not compete with other modern armored vehicles of British or foreign design.

The turret is deployed "in marching", the gun is fixed. Photo Weaponsandwarfare.com

For testing and future testing at the front, six experimental Black Prince tanks were built. By the time the fighting in Europe ended, these prototypes remained at the manufacturing plant or training ground. Equipment with enhanced combat characteristics simply did not have time for the war. At the same time, the military and industry got the opportunity to carefully study new models of armored vehicles and draw the necessary conclusions. Considering the characteristic problems of the project, it was hardly worth hoping for a positive decision from the customer.

Even before the start of testing of experimental A43 tanks, the military was considering the possibility of signing a contract for the supply of three hundred serial vehicles of this type. A similar document was supposed to appear after testing prototypes, in late spring or early summer of 1945. However, by this time, the insufficient characteristics of the equipment had been confirmed, and in addition, the end of the war made it possible to reduce the pace of development of new combat vehicles. As a result, plans to order production tanks were rejected. Vauxhall never received an official order to launch full-scale production of the Black Princes.

Machine diagram. Figure Weaponsandwarfare.com

Further development of the project was also considered inappropriate. To improve mobility, it was necessary to rework the project, which took some time. At the same time, the British army has already managed to get several hundred Sherman Firefly medium tanks with a 17-pounder gun and acceptable mobility. In addition, by 1945, the medium-weight cruising tank Comet was created and put into series, which was further development the older Mk VIII Cromwell. This tank carried the 77 mm HV gun, a shortened QF 17-pounder with slightly lower penetration performance. Finally, mass production of Centurion medium tanks was already being prepared.

All existing tanks with similar weapons compared favorably with the A43 more high speed and permeability. The only advantage of this machine was more high level protection provided by armor up to 152 mm thick. However, the combination of such armor with low speed was considered unacceptable for new technology. According to some reports, the possibility of additional modernization of the Black Prince tank was studied by installing the Centurion turret with a 76-mm cannon, but this idea did not reach practical implementation.

The only prototype in the Bovington Museum. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

By the middle of 1945, the development company and the army had six experimental A43 Black Prince tanks at their disposal. After testing and deciding to close the project, this technique began to be used as test platforms to test other new developments. As the resource developed, experienced infantry tanks were decommissioned and dismantled as unnecessary. In a few years, five tanks were disposed of. Only one prototype, built fourth in its series, managed to avoid this fate. After years idle tank transferred to the museum military equipment in Bovington. Repairs were carried out there, after which the armored vehicle again got the opportunity to move independently.

The A43 Black Prince project was a promising attempt to significantly improve the combat qualities of existing heavy infantry tanks Mk IV Churchill through the use of a more powerful 76 mm gun. However, in practice, the original proposal encountered a number of serious difficulties that did not allow the desired armored vehicle to be quickly obtained. The required results in the form of an increase in firepower were achieved at the cost of an unacceptable weighting of the tank and a drop in mobility. Such a machine, which has advantages over other equipment only in protection and gun power, was not of interest to the army. Moreover, by the middle of 1945, other tanks with similar combat qualities were created, which made the promising A43 simply unnecessary. Not the most successful project eventually put an end to the so-called. infantry tanks.

According to the websites:
http://tankmuseum.org/
http://militaryfactory.com/
http://aviarmor.net/
https://weaponsandwarfare.com/
http://tankimira.ru/