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Some tanks are known for their speed, others for their firepower, and some are renowned for their ability to withstand damage. Of the scores of tank types that participated in the Second World War, there's one tank that has none of these. And yet, it's gained fame in recent years as an internet meme. The Bob Simple tank is simultaneously one of the worst vehicles to emerge from the conflict and yet is beloved by military enthusiasts worldwide and on the web. In the leadup to World War II, the Japanese Empire spread rapidly, conquering huge portions of Asia and the South Pacific. Both Australia and New Zealand were potential targets for Japanese expansion and were in desperate need of tanks to
bolster their arsenals. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of industrial capacity needed to manufacture heavy military equipment and tanks from Great Britain and the United States were unavailable. They would need to create their own armored force from scratch and quickly. Another problem was that neither New Zealand nor Australia had a navy powerful enough to fully guarantee their safety. And for island nations, the first line of defense is usually the navy. If the enemy fleets can be stopped at sea, then the fighting never reaches the beaches in the first place. Look, New Zealand did have warships serving across the war. Ships like the HMNZs Achilles, Leander, and later Gambia helped escort convoys,
patrol the seas, and support Allied operations. But for a small nation with a limited population and industry, there was always one uncomfortable question hanging in the air. What if it simply wasn't enough? What if Japan came anyway? Of course, it's easy to look back at history and wonder what you would have done differently. Would you have strengthened New Zealand's naval defenses? Sent your cruisers elsewhere? Tried to stop the enemy before they ever reached the beaches? Think you can do better? Just do it in World of Warships. World of Warships is a free-to-play naval combat game where you can command hundreds of historically inspired
warships from nations around the world in massive naval battles. Want to defend island nations? Command cruisers and destroyers. Want to go full yamato mode and dominate the ocean? Well, you can do that, too. With battleships, cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers, and submarines, there's always a new way to test your naval strategy. And right now, World of Warships is running a special 250th US anniversary event from June 17th to July 15th, where you can battle through history and unlock exclusive rewards while celebrating one of history's biggest naval powers. New and returning players who register with our link below and use the invite code USA250 can get a million credits, 7 days
premium, 500 Deloons, stars and stripes camouflage, the premium cruiser USS Albany, the premium destroyer USS Smith, and after 10 battles, you can even choose another ship for your fleet. So whether you think New Zealand should have built a bigger navy, Japan should have been stopped at sea, or you just want to test your own naval genius, click the link below. Use the code USA250 and command your fleet in World of Warships. Seeing the situation, Bob Simple, New Zealand's Minister of Works, proposed an idea to rapidly create a force of armored vehicles to throw back the threatened Japanese invasion. While New Zealand may not have had a substantial
number of tanks, their entire arsenal consisted of only six tiny Vicers machine gun carrying Cardan Lloyd tankets. They did have a number of agricultural tractors. With desperation as the mother of invention, the Bob simple tank was born. It wasn't designed so much as improvised. The Americanmade Caterpillar D8 tractor was already being used by civilians as a generalpurpose construction vehicle. Simple did consider sending to the US for blueprints, but time being of the essence, the engineers were forced to do without and improvised with what they had. The basic design of the tractor was unchanged, but there were a few modifications. The tracks were lengthened and the suspension system was upgraded. The driver's controls were moved forward and steel extensions were
attached to the frame. The armor plating of the tank would be made separately. The vehicle would be used in its normal civilian duties unless needed at which point the armored shell would be fitted over it. The Bob Simple tank, fully armored and ready for battle, weighed about 28 tons or about 25,000 kg, making it a light tank. Its boxy exterior measured in at 13'9 in or just a bit over 4 m long, 10' 10 in or 3.3 m wide and 12 feet or just a hair over 3 and 1/2 m tall, including a turret, though this would later be removed. Plans for the Bob Simple tank included arming it with six Bren guns chambered in 303 caliber. Two would face forward, one located in the center, the other on the
front right of the hull, one more machine gun on the left and right side, one in the rear of the tank, and one in the turret. Originally, the turret was intended to mount a larger gun. Either the British made 2-pound or 40mm gun, the standard throughout the British Empire, or 37mm cannon. It's unknown which specific 37mm gun was intended, possibly an American M3, though these were unavailable, so another Bren gun was used. It's also unknown if the turret could actually rotate, and if so, how. With no blueprints, there's no way to determine if there was a hydraulic, electric, or manual system in place to traverse the turret. Furthermore, virtually all video and photographic
evidence show the turret facing forward, which would strongly imply that the turret could not move. In later phases of testing, the turrets would be removed since it added an extra 2 feet to an already high-profile vehicle and lacking a more powerful cannon simply wasn't worth having. The outer armor of the Bob Simple tank was a boxy corrugated manganese steel shell about/ inch thick, similar to the type used in roofing material. Behind this was a steel plate about a/ third of an inch thick. The corrugated steel was selected after testing was conducted on various types of armor plating. The curvature of the metal helped deflect projectiles from a 50 caliber Vicar's machine gun and had
fewer penetrations than others used in the testing. The tank was propelled by a six-cylinder diesel engine capable of generating 127 horsepower. This engine was the same one that was fitted to the D8 bulldozer that the Bob Simple was built around and had no further modifications to it. With this power plant, the tank had a top speed of about 15 mph on flat surfaces, free of any obstacles. On rough terrain, basically anything not a road, the tank was reduced in speed to about 7 m or 11 km an hour. With a full tank of fuel, the Bob Sample had an operational range of about 100 m or 160 km under ideal conditions. Plans for the Bob Sample tank included a crew of eight. There was a commander, a driver, and six gunners.
And though this was the ideal, the crew compliment has also been described as six or seven with the number of gunners being reduced based on the circumstance. The commander would stand in the turret, either with a turret gunner next to him or operating the weapon himself. The driver was located to the front left of the vehicle with the gunners positioned around the hull, firing their weapons out of spherical mountings placed on the outer armor plating. The gunner on the center front would have to lay down on a mattress directly over the engine cowling. Development of the Bob Simple tank began in early 1940 by New Zealand
Public Works Department or PDW. A wooden mockup as proof of concept was inspected by Army personnel in June of 1940 and a mild steel prototype was completed in July. After testing, modifications to the design were needed after the prototype got stuck in a ditch and needed another tractor to pull it out. More tests were conducted until early 1941 when the final completed prototype was made. Army officials were less than enthusiastic about the tank, though at least two were delivered for use as coastal defenses in places the Japanese were likely to invade. There were plans for more, but these were never fulfilled and the project would eventually be cancelled. The tank was underwhelming in
its capabilities. It was slow compared to other tanks of the era, handled poorly over rough terrain, tipping over when trying to cross ditches, and had to stop momentarily to change gears unless it was running downhill at the time. In addition, the suspension system was inadequate and would cause the machine to vibrate intensely, so much so that the guns would jam. Accuracy on the move was impossible, and the tank would have to come to a halt every time it needed to fire. The only access to the tank was a door at the rear of the vehicle. Lacking a hatch or any other opening, should the tank catch fire or any other emergency happen, the crew would not be able to evacuate quickly. Another
liability and an already flawed design. The plan for the Bob Simple tank was to have the armored outer shells placed in storage and the tractors used in their original role until a Japanese invasion was inevitable. Should this happen, the tractors would be shipped to the storage depots, fitted with their armor, and then sent to a possible landing zone. The tank was also used as a morale booster, sent to parades to show off the can do spirit and ingenuity of the New Zealand people. Though this largely backfired, the press mocked the tank as comical and a waste of time and precious resources. It's unknown how many Bob simple tanks were made with estimates between three and four. It was never
meant to engage enemy tanks. It was more of a mobile pill box intended to attack infantry. So, they would have been sent to defend the coastline. Though, once it was apparent that the Japanese invasion was not forthcoming, they were scrapped and their tractors sent back to their original purpose, never having seen combat. Undeterred by the obvious shortcomings of his tank, Bob Sample was proud of his creation, noting that he did at least something in the face of the Japanese invasion, stating, quote, "I don't see anyone else with better ideas." Today, the Bob Simple tank is either forgotten, overshadowed by other tank designs of the Second World War, or has become a joke. Its legacy relegated
to memes on social media and forum posts. The only remnants of a Bob Simple tank is a small piece of corrugated armor that's in the South Canterbury Museum in Tamaru, New Zealand. Oh, and one last thing. If you'd like to test your own naval strategy and command some of history's most famous warships, be sure to check out World of Warships using our link below. New players can unlock a host of free rewards, and the game's available on both PC and consoles. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.
