British Tank Crewman 1939-45

A detailed account of the background and combat experience of the British tank crewman of World War II.

Great Britain had introduced the tank to the world during World War I, and maintained its lead in armoured warfare with the ‘Experimental Mechanised Force’ during the late 1920s, watched with interest by German advocates of Blitzkrieg. Despite these successes, the Experimental Mechanised Force was disbanded in the 1930s, making Britain relatively unprepared for World War II, both in terms of armoured doctrine and equipment. This fully illustrated new study examines the men who crewed the tanks of Britain’s armoured force during World War II, which was only four battalions large in 1939. It looks at the recruitment and training of the vast numbers of men required, their equipment, appearance and combat experience in every theatre of the war as the British armoured division sought to catch up with the German Panzers.