Troop Leader is presented as a useful personal account from a British tank commander, with Richard Holmes's foreword serving as an additional recommendation. Bellamy's crew discovers why their vehicle is unusually fast only after enemy hits penetrate deeply and remain lodged in its plate. A serial-number check reveals that they had been issued an unarmoured training tank made from softer steel. Their desire to keep the familiar vehicle despite its vulnerability captures the attachment crews could develop to their equipment even when its protection was dangerously inadequate.
Notable Point · 5:13-6:28
The danger of an unarmoured training tank
Bill Bellamy's memoir recalls discovering that his unusually fast tank was an unarmoured training vehicle.