Sentinel tank

Australian Cruiser Tank Mk. 1 "Sentinel"
[A production AC1 tank]
An AC MkI tank on trials
TypeCruiser tank
Place of originAustralia
Production history
Designed1941
ManufacturerNew South Wales Railway Company
Produced1942-1943
No. built65
Specifications
Mass28 long tons (28.4 t)[1]
Length20 feet 9 inches (6.32 m)
Width9 feet 78 inch (2.77 m)
Height8 feet 4+34 inches (2.56 m)
Crew5 (Commander, Gunner, Loader/Operator, Driver, Hull MG gunner)

ArmourHull front 65 millimetres (2.6 in)
sides and rear 45 millimetres (1.8 in)
Turret 65 millimetres (2.6 in) all round
Main
armament
2 pounder tank gun, 130 rounds
Secondary
armament
two .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns, 4,250 rounds
Engine3 x Cadillac V8
330 horsepower (246 kW)[1]
Power/weight12 hp/ton
SuspensionHorizontal Volute Spring
Operational
range
150 miles (240 km)[1]
Maximum speed 30 miles per hour (48 km/h)

The AC1 Sentinel was a cruiser tank designed in Australia in World War II in response to the war in Europe, and to the threat of Japan expanding the war to the Pacific or even a feared Japanese invasion of Australia. It was the first tank to be built with a hull cast as a single piece, and the only tank to be produced in quantity in Australia. The few Sentinels that were built never saw action as Australia's armoured divisions had been equipped by that time with British and American tanks.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Department of Armoured Fighting Vehicle Production (March 1943): Provisional Workshop Manual, Tank Australian Cruiser Mk. 1
  2. ^ Hopkins 1978, pp. 66–67.