Schofield tank

New Zealand light tank prototype

Light Tank, Wheel-and-Track (Schofield)

Type| Light tank
Place of origin| New Zealand
Specifications
Mass| 5.21 long tons (5,290 kg)
Length| 3.99 m (13 ft 1 in)
Width| 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Height|

* 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) on tracks
* 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) on wheels

Crew| 3 (commander, gunner, driver)

* * *

Armor| 6–10 mm

Main
armament

| Ordnance QF 2 pounder

Secondary
armament

| 7.92 mm Besa machine gun
Engine| Chevrolet petrol 6-cylinder
29.5 hp (22.0 kW)
Suspension| Horstmann suspension

Operational
range

| 560 mi (900 km)
Maximum speed |

* 45 mph (72 km/h) on wheels
* 27 mph (43 km/h) on tracks

The Schofield tank, named after its designer, was a New Zealand tank design of the Second World War. Developed in 1940 when it seemed that the Pacific War might reach New Zealand and with little likelihood of weapons coming from Britain, it did not enter service. It was designed to run on either tracks or wheels.

## Design and development[edit]

Schofield tank in its tracked (left) and wheeled (right) configuration

In around June 1940 Ernest James Schofield, a motor vehicle dealer for General Motors in Wellington, approached his MP William Theophilus Anderton with an idea for a fighting vehicle that could run on tracks or wheels.[1] He had at this stage constructed a basic model from Meccano showing the basic principle of operation.[2]

Schofield's tank was based on the chassis of a Chevrolet 6 long hundredweight (300 kg)[3] truck using the suspension from a Universal Carrier. Wheels normally carried on the hull could be bolted on so that it could use these rather than the tracks. As initially designed it had a crew of three: machine gunner and driver at the front and a second machine gun in a turret at the rear.

The initial design performed badly in trials but the Government sought an improved version. Designed by another member of the original team, the improved model used a better transmission and the turret now contained a QF 2 pounder gun with a co-axial Besa machine gun. By the time it was complete, in 1942, New Zealand had received tanks from the UK and US.

The armour plating was provided by the New Zealand Railways. The four wheels shared drive and idler sprockets with the track, and the move from wheels to track, and vice versa, could be made from within the hull.

In 1943 the improved design prototype was shipped to Britain, where it was evaluated by the Department of Tank Design. Although not completely critical, the project was advised to be stopped. The tank was stored for a while and scrapped after the war.[4]

## See also[edit]

* Half-track

### Similar tanks[edit]

* American Disston Tractor Tank
* Soviet KhTZ-16
* Soviet NI tank
* New Zealand Bob Semple tank

### Other Commonwealth Tanks of the Second World War[edit]

* Bob Semple tank – New Zealand improvised tank design
* Sentinel tank – Australian indigenous tank design
* Ram tank – Canadian indigenous tank design
* Grizzly tank – Canadian licence built M4A1 Sherman

## References[edit]

### Notes[edit]

1. ^ Hill, Andrew. The Schofield Truck Tank: New Zealand's famous wheel-cum-track armoured fighting vehicle. FWD Publishing. p. 23\. ISBN 9798833998885.
2. ^ Hill, Andrew. The Schofield Truck Tank: New Zealand's famous wheel-cum-track armoured fighting vehicle. FWD Publishing. p. 26\. ISBN 9798833998885.
3. ^ The term refers to its load carrying capability, not total weight.
4. ^ Fletcher, David (1989). The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 1. HMSO. p. 104\. ISBN 978-0-11-290460-1.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Cooke, Peter (2000). Defending New Zealand: Ramparts on the Sea 1840-1950s. Wellington: Defence of New Zealand Study Group. pp. 356–361. ISBN 0-473-06833-8.

## External links[edit]

* Track-and-wheel Schofield's tanks (Russian)
* Mailer Edu.

* v
* t
* e

British Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War

Tanks|

| Light tanks|

* Light Tank Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV and Mk V
* Light Tank Mk VI
* Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch
* Light Tank Mk VIII 'Harry Hopkins'
* Vickers 6-ton
* M3/M5 Stuart *
* M22 Locust *
* M24 Chaffee *

|

Cruiser tanks|

* Cruiser Mk I
* Cruiser Mk II
* Cruiser Mk III
* Cruiser Mk IV
* Covenanter
* Crusader
* Cavalier
* Centaur and Cromwell
* Challenger
* Comet
* Ram ‡
* Sentinel †

Infantry tanks|

* Matilda I
* Matilda II
* Valentine
* Churchill

Medium tanks|

* Grant/Lee *
* Grizzly I ‡
* Sherman *
* Sherman Firefly
* Vickers Medium Mark II

Self-propelled
artillery|

| field|

* Bishop
* Priest*
* Sexton ‡

|

anti-tank|

* Deacon
* 17pdr SP Achilles
* Archer
* M10 tank destroyer *

Armoured personnel
carriers|

* Kangaroov
* Loyd Carrier
* M2 half-track *
* M3 half-track *
* M5 half-track *
* M9 half-track *
* Terrapin
* Universal Carrier

Scout cars and
armoured cars|

| Scout cars|

* Daimler Dingo
* Dingo Scout Car †
* Humber Scout Car
* Lynx Scout Car ‡
* S1 Scout Car †

|

Armoured cars|

* AEC Armoured Car
* Boarhound Armoured Car *
* Coventry Armoured Car
* Daimler Armoured Car
* Fox Armoured Car ‡
* Greyhound Armoured Car *
* Guy Armoured Car
* Humber Armoured Car
* Indian Pattern Carrier §
* Lanchester 6×4 armoured car
* Marmon-Herrington Armoured Cars SA
* Morris CS9
* Rhino Heavy Armoured Car †
* Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
* Rover Light Armoured Car †
* Staghound Armoured Car *
* Standard Beaverette

Reconnaissance cars|

* Humber Light Reconnaissance Car
* Morris Light Reconnaissance Car
* Otter Light Reconnaissance Car ‡

Armoured command
vehicles|

* AEC Armoured Command Vehicle
* Guy Lizard

Armoured trucks|

* Armadillo
* Bedford OXA
* Bison
* C15TA Armoured Truck ‡
* Leyland Beaver-Eel
* White Scout Car *

Experimental vehicles|

* A20
* AC4 †
* AC3 'Thunderbolt' †
* Alecto
* Australian experimental light tank †
* Basilisk Armoured Car
* Bedford Cockatrice and Heavy Cockatrice
* Avenger
* Black Prince
* Bob Semple tank ¶
* Excelsior
* Hillman Gnat
* Schofield ¶
* TOG 1
* TOG 2
* Tortoise
* Valiant

* Key: * American lend-lease, † Australian, ‡ Canadian, § Indian, SA South African, ¶ New Zealand, v field conversions of vehicles of various origins

Background: British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II, Tanks in the British Army

* v
* t
* e

Tanks of the Second World War

Light|

* Toldi tanks
* KhTZ-16
* L6/40
* Light Tank Mk VIII
* M3/M5 Stuart
* M22 Locust
* M24 Chaffee
* Marmon-Herrington CTLS
* Renault R40
* NI tank
* T-26
* T-40
* T-60
* T-70
* Tetrarch
* Panzer I
* Panzer II
* Panzer 35(t)
* Type 98 Ke-Ni
* Type 2 Ke-To
* Type 2 Ka-Mi
* Type 4 Ke-Nu

Medium|

* Turán I and II
* 43M Turán III
* M11/39
* M13/40
* M14/41
* M15/42
* M2 Medium
* M3 Lee/Grant
* M4 Sherman
* Sherman Firefly
* M26 Pershing
* P26/40
* Panzer III
* Panzer IV
* Panzer V Panther
* Stridsvagn m/41
* Stridsvagn m/42
* T-34
* T-44
* Type 97 ShinHōtō Chi-Ha
* Type 1 Chi-He
* Type 3 Ka-Chi
* Type 3 Chi-Nu

Cruiser|

* AC1 Sentinel
* Cruiser Mk IV
* Covenanter
* Crusader
* Cavalier
* Cromwell (and Centaur)
* Mk VIII Challenger
* Comet
* Grizzly
* Ram

Infantry|

* Churchill
* Matilda II
* Valentine
* T-50
* Type 2 Ho-I

Heavy|

* IS tank
* IS-1
* IS-2
* IS-3
* KV tank
* Tiger I
* Tiger II

Prototypes,
experimentals|

* 44M Tas
* AC3 Thunderbolt
* AC4
* AELT
* AMX 40
* Black Prince
* Bob Semple tank
* Excelsior
* Heavy Tank M6
* Medium Tank M7
* Nahuel DL 43
* O-I
* Panzer VIII Maus
* Panzerkampfwagen E-100
* PPG
* Sahariano
* Schofield
* Special number 3 Ku-Ro
* T14 Heavy
* T20 Medium
* T28
* T29 Heavy
* T30 Heavy
* T32 Heavy
* T34 Heavy
* T-43
* TOG1
* TOG2
* Type 98 Chi-Ho
* Type 4 Chi-To
* Type 5 Chi-Ri
* Type 5 Ke-Ho
* Type 5 To-Ku
* Valiant
* Verdeja

* World War II tanks
* List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II

Background: History of the tank, Tank classification
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