"Cruiser A9, A10, and A13 interior arrangements?" Topic

Does anyone have any information about the interior arrangement of the A9 and A10 cruisers (especially) or the A13? I haven't been able to find any photographs or illustrations at all.

In particular, where was the ammunition stored? Was the turret bustle for ammunition or for the radio?

Just a guess, but I believe British practice was to put the radio in the turret bustle. That was the main difference between the M3 Lee and the M3 Grant.

Neither my Bellona on the A13 nor David Fletchers otherwise exhaustive 'The Great Tank Scandal' go into the interior arrangements of the A13 in much detail, however the loader doubled up as radio operator, so the radio was in the turret, although whether it was beside or behind the loader is anyones guess.

Ergonomics would suggest the turret rear unless the loader was very adept at spinning 180 degrees to alternate between feeding the gun and spinning dials. There would also be some ready use ammo in the turret.

Here is a written description for the A13 link

The Covenanter was quite a different tank than the A13 Mk. I and II. The designation system was confusing, probably for political reasons. I suspect that some in the War Office, etc., wanted to avoid admitting that the A13 was yet another failed design and that they needed something different. Also, The design requirement called for using as many components from the original A13 as possible, which particularly showed up in the suspension. However, that's individual components, not the design.

The Valentine was derived from the design of the A9/A10 so its turret interior is probably similar and may be easier to find.

Chris