Death by Design: British Tank Development in the Second World War

At the outbreak of war in 1939 British tank crews were ill-equipped, under trained and badly led. As a consequence the lives of hundreds of crewmen were wasted unnecessarily. This was due not only to the poor design and construction of British tanks, but also to the lack of thought and planning on the part of successive pre-war governments and the War Office. Death by Design explores how and why Britain went from leading the world in tank design at the end of the First World War to lagging far behind the design quality of Russian and German tanks in the Second World War. This book is a much-needed warning to governments and military planners; a nation must always be prepared to defend itself and ensure that its soliders are equipped with the tools to do so.

Peter Beale was twice wounded serving as a troop leader with the 9th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment from 1943 to 1945. After the war he obtained a degree in engineering from University College London before emigrating to Australia.