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Concept
Archer (tank destroyer)
Summary
The Self Propelled 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer was a British tank destroyer of the Second World War based on the Valentine infantry tank chassis fitted with an Ordnance QF 17 pounder gun. Designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs, 655 were produced between March 1943 and May 1945. It was used in north-west Europe and Italy during the war; post-war, it served with the Egyptian Army. This vehicle was unusual in that its gun faced the rear of the chassis instead of the front.
The 17 pounder anti-tank gun was very powerful but also very large and heavy and could be moved about the battlefield only by a vehicle, which made the gun more effective in defence than in the attack. A variant of the Churchill tank had been built in 1942 as a self-propelled gun - the "3-inch Gun Carrier" - and the US was expected to be able to provide the 76 mm armed M10 tank destroyer through Lend-lease. Other projects were considered using obsolete tank chassis, including the Valentine for its reliability and low profile and the Crusader for its good power-to-weight ratio. In development were tank designs using the 17-pounder, which led to the Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tank (and its post-war variant the Avenger SP gun) derived from the Cromwell cruiser tank and the Sherman Firefly conversion of the Sherman tank.
The Valentine chassis was soon chosen, as it was in production but obsolescent for British use and was also one of the few chassis that could accommodate such a large gun. The engine in the Archer had a higher power rating than in the Valentine. Since the Valentine had a small hull and it was not possible to use a turret, the gun was mounted in a simple, low, open-topped armoured box, very much like the early Panzerjäger German self-propelled guns in appearance, with the gun facing to the rear, which kept the length of the Archer short. The mounting allowed for 11 degrees of traverse to either side, with elevation from -7.5 to +15 degrees.
On firing, the gun breech recoiled just shy of the driver's space, with the driver staying in position, in case the vehicle needed to move quickly.
Official source
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