A7 medium tank

[2] During trials, it became obvious that the designers of the tank had been optimistic in their speed estimations.

[2] In January 1934 work was started on A7E3 which was required to be a "fast" tank and needed a more powerful powerplant.

[2] It was attempted to install a Liberty L-12 engine onto the tank, to massively increase the speed, but this did not work with the suspension.

The A7 led to development of cruiser tanks, designed to take on a traditional cavalry role, exploiting gaps and working independently of the infantry.

Despite never entering production, ideas from the A7 were carried onto later British cruiser tank designs.

The turret design, altered to take a 2-pounder (40mm) gun was carried forward onto the A9 (Cruiser Mk I) and A10 (Cruiser Mk II) specification tanks, the E3 engine design with a twin powerplant was used for the A12, more commonly known as the Matilda II infantry tank.