At the outbreak of WWII, the British Army classified its tanks under three main categories -Light Tanks for scouting and use in areas where roads and bridges would not support heavier vehicles Cruiser Tanks as the main equipment of Armoured Divisions Infantry Tanks indended to accompany infantry attacks. The first Cruiser was the A9, developed in the early 1930s by Vickers using its "slow motion" suspension with two bogie units each having one large and two smaller wheels. A10 was initially intended to be an Infantry Tank using many components from the A9 but with thicker armour. The A10E1 prototype T1479 BMM833 was delivered in October 1936. Maximum armour thickness was 30mm, which was over double that of the A9, however when the minimum armour for Infantry Tanks was set at 60mm it was "downgraded" to a Heavy Cruiser. Various modifications and trials were carried out including a change from a Rolls-Royce Phantom II engine to one from AEC and fitting a self-sealing extra fuel tank on the left-hand front mudguard. In September 1939 it was fitted with extra weights to simulate heavier armour and tested against the A12E1 Matilda prototype as part of the development of the Valentine Infantry Tank. When it was of no further use it was disposed of in August 1940.
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