The Australian Sentinel

Nations with no prior tank building experience first began building tanks in WWII, including several nations from the British Commonwealth. Most frequently, these nations built copies of British designs, for instance the Canadian Valentines. However, Canada also built its own original tank (the Ram) on an American chassis. Australia developed and began production of fully original tanks named AC (Australian Cruiser) or Sentinel. These tanks did not see battle, but they remain a colourful chapter of world tank building history.

Baby: 25-pounder Australian Style

The British 25-pounder Mk.II gun-howitzer proved itself a universal weapon which met the requirements of the North African and European theatres of war. However, a more compact weapon was needed for fighting in Pacific islands, and for transport through narrow mountain passes and jungle trails.

The Australians were the first to realize this need in the heavy fighting in the jungle and mountains of New Guinea. The heaviest weapon used in this scenario was the 81 mm mortar. A small amount of 3.7" (94 mm) mountain howitzers and 75 mm mountain howitzers given by the Americans did not improve the situation. At the same time, the Japanese army was using mountain guns that could be disassembled and transported by pack animals or even human carriers.

The main weapon of Australian field artillery was the 25-pounder Mk.II, produced from May of 1941 to the end of 1943 at the state factory in Melbourne (1527 units made). The Australian Director of Artillery, Brigadier John O'Brien, proposed the creation of a maximally lightened 25-pounder gun that could be disassembled for transport by air. The Charles Ruwolt Pty Ltd company was tasked with this project.

25 Pounds of Death

Divisional artillery of most WWII belligerents was filled with several types of weapons. The Wehrmacht and the US Army combined light and heavy howitzers, while the Red Army also used guns. The only exception was Great Britain, who had only one type of divisional cannon: the 87.6 mm 25-pounder gun-howitzer.