Australian Cruiser Tank Mk. 1 "Sentinel" | |
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![]() An AC MkI tank on trials | |
Type | Cruiser tank |
Place of origin | Australia |
Production history | |
Designed | 1941 |
Manufacturer | New South Wales Railway Company |
Produced | 1942-1943 |
No. built | 65 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 28 long tons (28.4 t)[1] |
Length | 20 feet 9 inches (6.32 m) |
Width | 9 feet 7⁄8 inch (2.77 m) |
Height | 8 feet 4+3⁄4 inches (2.56 m) |
Crew | 5 (Commander, Gunner, Loader/Operator, Driver, Hull MG gunner) |
Armour | Hull 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 |
Engine | 3 x Cadillac V8 330 horsepower (246 kW)[1] |
Power/weight | 12 hp/ton |
Suspension | Horizontal 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]