"Cruiser Tanks of 1st Royal Tank Regiment at the Battle of Beda Fomm"

by David Rowlands

Image Size 58 x 38 cm

6th February 1941: My friend Lt Col G Vesey Holt RTR has always considered that the deeds of 1 RTR at Beda Fomm have been neglected. To put this right he commissioned me to do a painting which he then presented to his Regiment. He obtained copies of the Regiment's War Diary. I was also greatly assisted by the staff of the Tank Museum, Bovington, which has examples of these tanks on display. On 6th February 1941, a column of Italian tanks and transport vehicles was proceeding southwards along the Benghasi-Tripoli road. In the late afternoon, B squadron engaged the enemy at about 500 yards from a hull down position behind a ridge, while five or six Cruisers of A Squadron crossed the road and proceeded south amongst the Italian column, firing on the transport and guns. It was raining heavily and visibility was poor.
The scene was littered with burning wreckage of Italian M13 tank and lorries. At about 1720 hours visibility became so bad that it was almost impossible to distinguish between friend and foe, and the tanks withdrew to re-group. No British tank was destroyed, though one was left damaged.

A Squadron is indicated by the triangle on the turrets, (red for the senior regiment in the brigade). An A9 is closest, with an A10 beyond. Commanders were almost invariably visible with their hatches open. The pennants on the antenna were a recognition sign, worn at different heights which changed daily. The white circle on a red square was the sign of 7th Armoured Division. The regiment's unit code sign was a white 24 on a red square. At this period British tanks had the multi-coloured diagonally striped pattern of camouflage.

The Cruiser A9 (Mark 1) had one 2-pounder gun and one .303-in. Vickers machine-gun mounted co-axially in the main turret, and one .303-in. Vickers mg in each of the two auxiliary turrets.
The Cruiser A10 (Mark 1A) had one 2-pounder gun and two 7.92-mm Besa machine-guns.