Black Prince

Black Prince

Gallery

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"All of it... shall be pierced through by this Black Prince."

―Kiri Shiratori

Black Prince
Manufacturer	Vauxhall
Production	1945
Number Built	6 prototypes
Specification
Country of Origin	United Kingdom
Weight	50.80 tonnes
Dimensions	Length : 8.81m Width : 3.44m Height : 2.70m
Main Armament	1 × Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76.2 mm) Mark VII
Secondary Armament	2 × 7.92mm Besa machine-gun
Armour	Turret Front: 240mm Side: 95mm Back: 101mm Hull Front: 152mm Side: 95mm Back: 51mm
Engine	Bedford Type 120 horizontally opposed 12-cylinder (350 hp, 260 kW)
Speed	16.9 km/h (10.5 mph) on road 12.1 km/h (7.5 mph) off road
User	West Kureoji Grona High School

The A43 Infantry Tank "Black Prince" (or just Black Prince) was an experimental development of the Churchill and the last of the Infantry tank series.

History

Development

As a development from the Churchill, the Black Prince was a continuation of the line of Infantry tanks. These were slower, heavier tanks intended to operate in close support of infantry, the parallel development in British tank design were the Cruiser tanks, which were intended for more mobile operations. A43 was the General Staff Specification number issued in 1943 for an interim tank that would eventually be superseded by a "Universal tank" that would soon replace both Infantry and Cruiser class of tanks. The Black Prince project saw its roots at Vauxhall Motors in 1943, the General Staff designating it as A43. It was one of the first tanks designed to carry the high velocity 76mm AT gun, the Ordnance QF 17-Pounder, from the outset without needing any modifications. The A43 was seen as interim design, pending the availability of the ‘Universal’ or ‘Main Battle Tank’ that would replace both the Infantry and Cruiser class of tanks. This, of course, would become the Centurion.

The A43 was similar to the Churchill in almost every way. It used the same independently sprung bogie suspension and was powered by the same Bedford 12 cylinder engine. This 350 hp engine in a tank that was 10 tons heavier, led to the vehicle being even more underpowered and slower than the standard Churchill. There were plans to introduce the 600hp Rolls-Royce Meteor engine, however, this never came to fruition. The main upgrade this vehicle gained over the Churchill was the mounting of the Ordnance QF 17-Pounder cannon in a new, larger, pentagonal turret. The gun, produced in 1943, was a much needed boost to the anti-armor capabilities of the British Armed Forces. The turret, an unused design for the Centurion, was a considerable upgrade from the standard A22, instead of having a sunken mantel behind a cutout slot in the front of the turret, it had a curved plate on a traditional pintle, a similar design to that used on the A34 Comet. Plans would later be made to mate the Centurion Mk.I’s turret to the Black Prince chassis, but for unknown reasons, this never happened.

As a larger gun than what was mangeable in the Churchill required a new larger turret on a wider turret ring and consequently a widening of the tank hull in order to carry such a turret. To cope with the increased weight of the new features, the running gear and hull were strengthened. The suspension was typically Churchill. It consisted of 12 separately sprung wheels with idler at the front and drive wheel at the back. In testing, it was found that Black Prince retained the Churchill’s excellent cross country and climbing abilities. The Black Prince shared the same tank commander’s “bird cage” gun laying sight that was used on the Comet. It was given the nickname ‘the birdcage’ but was a distant target blade-vane gun sight. It was used by the commander to help lay the gunner onto a target. Another feature, that the Black Prince shared with the Comet, was the canvas cover used on the turret front. During trials, it was found that dirt and small stones could get stuck in the gap between the mantlet and the main turret, preventing it from moving up and down. The solution to this problem was the fitting of a strong canvas cover. Sometimes the canvas cover would get stuck in the top gap between the mantlet and the gun when it was elevated. To solve this problem, long thin pockets were added to the top of the cover and metal strips inserted inside to add rigidity.

The Black Prince weighed around ten tons more than the Churchill so the suspension was modified and the tracks widened by 10 inches to carry the extra load. However, the Churchill's 350hp engine was retained, leading to the tank being underpowered and slow. This was so slow that the tank's tactical usefulness would have been limited and consideration was given to the use of the Rolls-Royce Meteor engine, this would have increased the available power to 600hp, but the idea never left the drawing–board due to the cancellation of the project. Likewise, plans to fit the Black Prince with the turret from the Centurion were again never carried out.

Operational History

By the time the Black Prince appeared in May 1945, the Sherman Firefly had acquired a proven combat record, the Comet tank was in service and the introduction of Centurion was imminent. All these tanks carried the QF 17-pounder or a derivative, all had better mobility than the Black Prince and the Centurion had frontal armor of comparable effectiveness. The Black Prince had become redundant and the project was abandoned. The Black Prince marked the end of the development of the Churchill tank, and the end of the Infantry tank concept in British tank design.

In Girls und Panzer

Little Army 2

It is first used in the pre-emptive attack made against Bellwall Academy as it is airdropped onto the school grounds, tearing a sizable portion of them apart in the process during landing, when Kiri Shiratori comes and issues her challenge to Bellwall in person.

West Kureouji Grona Academy then fielded their Black Prince (as flag tank) during the challenge match against Bellwall Academy. The tank is crewed by crewed by Kilimanjaro as commander and Mocha her gunner. During the match it spend most of her time using her subordinates as her shield (the Churchill being its personal escort) but her gunner was able to eliminate Bellwall's T-44 and damage their Panzer II in a single shot. Despite Bellwall's attempts to counterattack, the Black Prince was able to send their flag tank, a Tiger I, down a steep ledge immobilizing it, it later circled around the mountainside in order to finish off the Tiger I flag tank. After spotting the silhouette of a tank, they fired, believing it to be the Tiger I, however after the smoke cleared, it became apparent that they had been tricked, as the silhouette was actually the Panzer II. The Black Prince was then struck in the side by the Tiger I, immobilizing it and preventing it from fleeing and was then finished off by Emi's tank resulting in a victory for Bellwall.

Trivia

• Originally in the Monthly Comic Alive magazine version, Kilimanjaro landed in Bellwall Academy's ground with a Centurion tank but during the match she uses a Black Prince. It has been corrected in the paper version, the Centurion being replaced by the Black Prince.
  • Although the turret match with the Black Prince's one, a closer look reveals that the hull is actually a bigger Churchill hull which is incorrect as the Black Prince had a totally different chassis.
• The tank was named after Edward of Woodstock aka the Black Prince, one of the most successful English commanders during the Hundred Years' War.

Gallery

Main article: Black Prince/Gallery