Reassessing British armoured doctrine

British Armoured Divisions and Their Commanders earns praise for its maps and campaign coverage, though some areas could use more detail. Its central argument is that British armoured development was not simply incoherent or mistaken. The Army produced worthwhile doctrine, but the ideas did not always mature fully during the Second World War. That reputational problem is compared with similar reassessments of the Royal Navy and naval aviation. A brief look at the 17-pounder-armed Challenger tank gives the institutional argument a concrete equipment example.