A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK

Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service

- WORDS MICHAEL E HASKEW

Even as the British War Office recognised the fact that conflict with Nazi Germany loomed in the near future, its initiative to produce a more robust and efficient cruiser tank to fight on the European continent met with a rather dismal conclusion in the A13 Mk III Covenanter.

When the War Office sought a replacement for the existing Cruiser Mk IV in 1938, the British Army was committed to the concept of an armoured fighting vehicle that utilised speed and mobility to exploit gaps in enemy lines, operating much as the naval cruiser at sea. Quick penetration was favoured, and substantial armour protection was sacrificed in the trade-off.

Evaluation of alternatives led to the conclusion that the A14 and A16 designs from Nuffield (Morris Motor Company) were too expensive to produce. The adoption of the General Staff specification A13 Mk III Cruiser Mark V soon followed. Dubbed Covenanter after the Scottish religious and political movement during the 17th century period of the Three Kingdoms, it was the first armoured vehicle in the British arsenal to be called primarily by a name rather than type number or other specification.

Given the urgency of pre-war development, the new tank was ordered into production without field testing. Its suitability for combat was evaluated on the perceived merits of the design, and the first production order for the Covenanter was approved in the spring of 1939.