A Cruiser Mk VI of 2nd Royal Gloucester Hussars breaks down, Westbury, Wiltshire, 1941

Photograph compiled by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, 1941.

An A15 Cruiser Mk VI tank of the 2nd Royal Gloucester Hussars breaks down, near Westbury, Wiltshire, 1941.

During 1940-1941 2nd Royal Gloucester Hussars formed part of Britain's defences against German invasion. After being equipped with new tanks they embarked for the Middle East in August 1941, arriving in Suez in late September. In November 1941 they were part of 7th Armoured Division's 22nd Armoured Brigade, alongside the 3rd and 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), and took part in Operation CRUSADER, during which the unit suffered heavy losses.

The A13 Mark I Cruiser tank went into production in 1940. Armed with a 2 pounder gun and a Vickers machine gun but it was deemed to be under-armoured and the A13 Mark II was developed utilising additional angled armour plates on the turret. Additional changes were made to the production models including more armour for the gun mantlet and a rounded commander's cupola. The A13 IIA included modifications that allowed a BESA machine gun to replace the Vickers. In June 1940 the A13 Mark I was redesignated the Cruiser Mark III and the A13 Mark II became the Cruiser Mark IV, with the modified BESA carrying Mark II model becoming the Cruiser Mark IVA. The Cruiser variants did not fare well in France and proved, as feared, susceptible to German anti-tank guns but they were still used in large numbers in North Africa until late 1941.

From an album containing 620 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).