Entry #3 [M7 Priest]

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_Priest

 Witnessing the events of the war, U.S. Army observers realized that they would need a self-propelled artillery vehicle with sufficient firepower to support armored operations. Lessons learned with half-tracks (such as the T19) also showed that this vehicle would have to be armored and fully tracked. It was decided to use the M3 Lee chassis as the basis for this new vehicle design, which was designated T32

 

After reworking the M3 by providing an open-topped superstructure, mounting a 105 mm howitzer and, following trials, adding a machine gun, the T32 was accepted for service as the M7 in February 1942 and production began that April. Before production had begun, the British Tank Mission had requested 5,500 to be delivered by the end of 1943, an order which was never fully completed.
While the first M7s were produced for the U.S. Army, supply was soon diverted to support the
Lend-Lease program. Ninety M7s were sent to the British Eighth Army in North Africa, who were also the first to use it in battle during the Second Battle of El Alamein as well as their own Bishop, a self-propelled gun based on the Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun-howitzer.

The British did find problems with the M7 though, as the primary armament was of U.S., not British, standard. This meant that the M7s had to be supplied separately, causing logistical complications. It was a problem that was only truly resolved in 1943 on arrival of the 25-pounder-armed Sexton developed by the Canadians on a M3 chassis.Until that time though, the British continued to use the M7 throughout the North African Campaign, the Italian Campaign and even a few during the early days of the Normandy Invasion. It was also used in Burma and played a significant part in the Battle of Meiktila and the advance on Rangoon in 1945. After the Sexton appeared, most British M7s were converted into "Kangaroo" armored personnel carriers.

In U.S. service, the M7 was a great success. During the Battle of the Bulge, each U.S. armored division had three battalions of M7s, giving them unparalleled mobile artillery support.
A total of 3,490 M7s - 4267 including the M7B2- were built and they proved to be reliable weapons, continuing to see service in the U.S. and allied armies well past World War II.

Entry #2 [Matilda MKII]

 Taken from:

http://www.wwiiequipment.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:matilda-mk-ii-infantry-tank-a12&catid=38:infantry-tanks&Itemid=56

In September 1936 investigations into a 3 man tank, similar to the Matilda II with 50mm of armour and a top speed of 10-15 mph were initiated, by November the armour requirement was increased to 70mm as well as the ability to cross a trench of 8 feet and a climbing capacity of 3 feet. Two A.E.C. 6.7 litre bus engines were chosen, drawings were undertaken by Vulcan foundry and the mock-up was approved in April 1937. The two pilot models were delivered in April 1938 and although trouble was experienced with the cooling systems to adapt it for hot climates production orders were given. 

Compared to other British vehicles of the time the Matilda II was expensive and took longer to build, the first production models were completed in September 1939. The Matilda II used a riveted construction with both cast and rolled armour and was armoured with a 2pdr gun with a Besa 7.92 machine gun. Armour was extremely thick for the period being 75-78mm thick on the front and 65-75mm thick on the sides, this armour granted virtual immunity to nearly all anti-tank weapons of the time. The 2pdr gun could be replaced with a 3" howitzer which could fire both High Explosive and Smoke shells. 

The Matilda II first saw action in the Battle of France were it's thick armour caused the German 37mm Pak and tank guns to bounce off even at point blank ranges, only a handful of the tanks had been sent to France so they had little impact on the campaign. In North Africa the Matilda II has great success against the Italians who were unable to deal with the Matilda's thick armour, this protection was well liked by the crews of the Matilda II. It wasn't until the arrival of the Germans in North Africa in February 1941 that a weapon capable of dealing with the Matilda II was available - the 88mm Flak gun, it must be remembered however that the Germans did not have a tank capable of penetrating the Matilda II's armour at range until the Summer of 1942,  after over two and a half years of war.

By 1942 the Matilda was being declared obsolete, the small turret ring was incapable of mounting the 6pdr gun, in fact in the summer of 1941 it had been suggested that Matilda production should cease but it was pointed out that the Matilda II was the only tank at the time with a 3 man turret and 60mm of armour (Churchill tank's reliability problems had not been solved and the 3 man turret for the Valentine was not available yet), so it was decided to keep the Matilda II in production. Due to the usefulness of the Matilda II in the far east and the large numbers that were to be sent to Russia the Matilda was still in production in 1943. 

Interestingly there was an attempt to install a 6pdr in the Matilda II, this involved enlarging the turret ring, modifying the hull and installing a Cavalier turret. I've recently came across some documentation that talks about a Matilda "Black Prince" project carried out in 1942 but then dropped, sadly it doesn't say what the modification is but considering the Churchill Black Prince project it could be the name for the 6pdr armed Matilda.

Entry #1 [2K22 Tunguska]

Taken from: http://www.army-technology.com/projects/tunguska/

Tunguska-M1 

Is a gun/missile system for low-level air defence. The system was designed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula, Russia and is manufactured by the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant, Ulyanovsk, Russia. It can engage targets while stationary and on the move, using missiles for long-range targets and guns for close-in defence. It is designed for defence against both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters and can also fire on ground targets.
Tunguska entered service with the Russian army in 1988 and has been exported to Germany, India, Peru, Morocco and Ukraine.

Tunguska-M1 low-level air defence gun / missile system

The Tunguska-M1 vehicle carries eight 9M311-M1 surface-to-air missiles. The missile (NATO designation SA-19 Grison) has semi-automatic radar command to line-of-sight guidance, weighs 40kg with a 9kg warhead. It is 2.5m long with a diameter of 1.7m and wingspan of 2.2m. The missile's maximum speed is 900m/s and can engage targets travelling at speeds up to 500m/s. Range is from 15 to 6,000m for ground targets and 15 to 10,000m for air targets.
Two twin-barrel 30mm anti-aircraft guns are mounted on the vehicle. These guns have a maximum firing rate of 5,000 rounds per minute and a range of 3,000m against air targets. This extends to 4,000m against ground targets.

Fire control

The system has target acquisition radar and target tracking radar, optical sight, digital computing system, tilt angle measuring system and navigation equipment. Radar detection range is 18km and tracking range is 16km.

Tunguska-M1 anti-aircraft battery vehicle

The Tunguska-M1 system is mounted on a 34t tracked vehicle with multi-fuel engine. It has hydromechanical transmission, hydropneumatic suspension which allows for changing road clearance and hydraulic track-tensioning. The armoured turret has both laying and stabilisation drives and power supply. Air-conditioning, heating and filtration systems are fitted.
A Tunguska-M1 battery is composed of up to six vehicles and will also include a transloader as well as maintenance and training facilities.

The armoured turret has both laying and stabilisation drives and power supply. Air-conditioning, heating and filtration systems are fitted. A Tunguska-M1 battery is composed of up to six vehicles and will also include a transloader as well as maintenance and training facilities.