TOG2

The TOG 2, officially known as the Heavy Tank, TOG II, was a British super-heavy tank design produced during the early stages of World War II for a scenario where the battlefields of northern France and Belgium devolved into a morass of mud, trenches, and craters as had happened during World War I. When this did not happen, the tank was deemed unnecessary, and the project terminated. A development of the TOG 1 design, only a single prototype was built before its termination.^[5]

The second design to come out of the Special Vehicle Development Committee (nicknamed "The Old Gang" as it was made up of people who had worked on the original British tanks of the First World War), the TOG 2 was similar to the TOG 1 and kept many of its features. Instead of the track path arrangement of the TOG 1 which – like that of the First World War British tanks – ran up over the top of the hull and back down, the track path was lower on the return run, and the doors were above the tracks. Ordered in 1940, built by Fosters of Lincoln, the prototype ran for the first time in March 1941. In April 1941, an enquiry was made by the Deputy Director-General of Tanks and Transport to the English Electric Company to see if 100 could be produced.^[6] In June 1941, the Minister of Supply enquired about the production of 50 tanks.^[6] Neither of these inquiries lead to production orders.^[6]

The design included a 6-pounder gun and side sponsons. For "initial trials" it was fitted with a mockup turret with dummy guns — a 2-pdr gun, 3-inch howitzer, and a Besa machine gun — together with a 3-inch howitzer in the hull.^[7] The second turret fitted was simplified mounting a QF 3-inch 16 cwt anti-tank gun derived from the current anti-aircraft gun. The planned sponsons were never fitted.^[8] The tank is currently fitted with a 28 pounder gun derived from the QF 3.7-inch AA gun but with a Ordnance QF 17-pounder breech and muzzle brake.^[9]

Aunque equipado con el mismo sistema de propulsión eléctrica que el TOG 1 original, el TOG 2 utilizaba generadores gemelos y no se reportaron problemas. Fue modificado para incluir, entre otras cosas, un cambio de las orugas sin suspensión a una suspensión de barra de torsión , y superó con éxito las pruebas en mayo de 1943. No se produjo ningún desarrollo posterior, aunque se propuso una versión revisada, el TOG 2 (R). El 'R' habría sido 1,8 m (6 pies ) más corto, habría utilizado suspensión de barra de torsión y no habría tenido flotadores laterales. ^{[ 8 ]}  

El único prototipo TOG 2 en la configuración TOG II* se puede ver en el Museo del Tanque , donde ha estado desde la década de 1950. ^{[ 5 ] [ 9 ]} Fue trasladado al interior hacia finales de la década de 1980 y a su ubicación actual en la década de 2000. ^{[ 9 ]}

• Neubaufahrzeug
• tanque pesado M6

• Andrew Hills, Los tanques del TOG: El trabajo, los diseños y los tanques del Comité de Desarrollo de Vehículos Especiales en la Segunda Guerra Mundial , 2017, CreateSpace Publishing, ISBN 978-1-9746-8037-5
• Chamberlain, P; Ellis, C; Tanques británicos y estadounidenses de la Segunda Guerra Mundial , 1969, Arco Publishing
• Tanques BT blancos, británicos 1915-1945 , 1963, Ian Allan, ASIN B002MQ8I1S 
• Tanque pesado, TOG II* (E1951.49) , Museo de Tanques, Bovington, archivado del original el 17 de abril de 2018.

• Contenido multimedia relacionado con el tanque TOG 2 en Wikimedia Commons.
• Vídeo de YouTube: El Museo del Tanque: Por qué TOG II fue MEJOR de lo que piensas.

50°41′44″N 2°14′37″O / 50.69553°N 2.24371°O / 50.69553; -2.24371