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Blackhorse -> RE: Odd tank (8/23/2011 11:45:09 PM)
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From the Marmon-Herrington website:
Between 1935 and 1942 the Marmon-Herrington Company built various light tank types based on commercial components, for sale to foreign countries and the U.S. armed forces. It is not very well known that a small number was tested and acquired by the U.S. Marine Corps and also exported to various countries.
The first models, known as the CTL (Combat Tank, Light) series, were turretless vehicles mounting machine guns in raised superstructures. In the late 1930s the U.S. Marine Corps funded the development of a number of these turretless light tanks and nicknamed them "Betties" after Rear-Admiral Harold "Betty" Stark, who had authorized their purchase.
. . . the other Marmon-Herrington's in US service, the T-14 "Dutch" tanks (originally ordered by the Netherlands for the DEI, diverted to the US once Java fell) can be found in AE attached to the US Infantry Regiments stationed in Alaska. These (very) light tanks had turrets, but were also armed only with machine guns. There were actually two variants of this tank, one with the turret offset to the left (the t-14), and one with the turret offset to the right (T-16). Since the turret could not traverse past the driver's position -- the turret had only a 240 degree traverse -- a T-14 was supposed to be paired with a T-16 to ensure 360-degree fire. Not the greatest design in the world, but it was available, and so it was used.
In AE the "T-14 Dutch Tank" represents both the T-14 and T-16 variants.
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