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Cruiser Tank Mk VI Crusader |
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The Cruiser Tank Mk VI that becameknown as the Crusader had its originsaround the same time as the Covenanter,but was a Nuffield design andtherefore used the Nuffield Liberty MkIII engine and a Nuffield gearbox. Inoverall appearance and layout theCrusader resembled the Covenanter,but there were several differences.One was that the Crusader had fiveroad wheels on each side instead ofthe Covenanter's four.The prototype was known as theA15. It had the unusual feature of twoforward miniature turrets, one in frontof the driver's hood and the other for agunner seated in the front hull. Each ofthese turrets was fitted with a 7,92-mm(0.312-in) machine-gun, but after earlytrials the driver's gun and turret waseliminated. These early trials oncemore highlighted that engine coolingwas inadequate and that the gearchangearrangements were unreliable,These problems, and others,took a long time to remedy and, indeed,many were still present whenthe Crusader was withdrawn from service,The first production model was theCrusader I, which had a 2-pdr (40-mnV1.58-in) gun and armour with a 40-mm(1.58-in) basis. When Crusader Is enteredservice in 1941 they werealready inadequate for combat, and asthe new 6-pdr (57-mm/2.24-in) gun wasstill in short supply the armour alonewas increased in thickness to a 50-mm(1.97-in) basis to produce the CrusaderII, and it was not until the Crusader IIIthat the 6-pdr gun was fitted, Thisturned out to be the main 'combat' versionof the Crusader during the NorthAfrican campaigns before it was replacedby the American M4 Sherman.In action the Crusader proved fast andnippy, but its armour proved to be toothin, and the Crusaders armed with2-pdr guns were no match for theirGerman counterparts. Their reliabilityproblems did little for Crusaders'chances of survival under desert conditions,but gradual improvementswere effected. The Crusader IICS wasfitted with a 76.2-mm (3-in) howitzer.Once they were no longer combattanks the Crusaders were used for avariety of special purposes. Somewere converted as anti-aircraft tanksmounting either a single 40-mm (1.58-in) Bofors gun (Crusader III AA I) ortwin or triple 20-mm (0.787-in) cannon(Crusader III AA II). There was a CrusaderARV armoured recovery vehicleversion without a turret (but with anA' frame jib) and another turretlessversion featured a dozer blade forcombat engineering purposes (CrusaderDozer). Many Crusaders werefitted with an open box superstructurefor use as high-speed artillery tractors(Crusader Gun Tractor), and werewidely used in Europe during 1944 and1945 to tow 17-pdr (76,2-mm/3-in) antitankguns. Many more were used fortrials that ranged from engine installationsvia mine warfare devices to wadingtrials that led to the 'Duplex Drive'tanks.The Crusader was one of the 'classic'British tanks of World War II, and had adashing and attractive appearancethat belied its lack of combat efficiency.Despite its low and aggressivesilhouette it was outclassed as a battletank on many occasions, but saw thewar out in several special-purposevariants. SpecificationCrusader IIICrew: 3Weight: 20067 kg (44,240 lb )Powerplant: one Nuffield Liberty MkIII petrol engine developing 254 kW(340 bhp)Dimensions: length 5.994 m (19 ft 8 in);width 2,64 m (8 ft 8 in); height 2.235 m(7 ft 4 in)Performance: maximum road speed43.4 km/h (27 mph); maximum crosscountryspeed 24 km/h ( 15 mph);range with extra fuel tank 204 km ( 127miles); fording 0.99 m (3 ft 3 in);vertical obstacle 0,686 m (2 ft 3 in); trench 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
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