|
Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Cromwell |
|
|
|
|
In the United Kingdom the differentiationbetween 'Cruiser' and 'Infantry'tanks persisted almost until the end ofthe war despite the fact that most othernations had never entertained, the notion.It persisted even after the unfortunateexperiences of the early 'Cruiser'designs had highlighted the drawbacksof producing a lightly armedand armoured main battle tank, andcontinued even when a replacementfor the Crusader was being sought.The need for more armour and a biggergun was finally realized (and amore powerful engine would be required)and in 1941 a new specificationwas issued. It was answered by twomain entrants to the same basic A27design, one the A27L with a Libertyengine (this was to become the Centaur)and the other the A27M with aRolls-Royce Meteor that was to becomethe Cruiser Tank Mk VIII CromwellThe first Cromwells were producedin January 1943. The first three marks(Cromwell I with one 6-pdr and twoBesa machine-guns, Cromwell II withwider tracks and only one machinegun,and Cromwell III produced byre-engining a Centaur I) all had astheir main armament the 6-pdr (57-mm/2.244-in) gun, but by 1943 it hadbeen decided that something heavierwould be required and a new 75-mm(2.95-in) gun was demanded. For oncethings were able to move relativelyswiftly on the production lines and thefirst 75-mm (2.95-in) Cromwell Mk IVtanks were issued to the armouredregiments in October 1943. Thereafterthe 75-mm (2.95-in) gun remained theCromwell's main gun until the CromwellMk VIII, which had a 95-mm(actually 94-mm/3.7-in) howitzer forclose support.Perhaps the main value of the Cromwellto the British armoured regimentsduring 1943 was as a training tank, forat last the troops had a tank that wassomething of a match for its Germancounterparts. There was betterarmour (8-76 mm/0.315-3 in) on theCromwell than on any previous 'Cruiser'tank and the 75-mm (2.95-in) gun,which shared many components withthe smaller 6-pdr, at last provided theBritish tankies with a viable weapon.But by the time they were ready foractive service the Cromwells were inthe process of being replaced by thereadily-available M4 Sherman for purposesof standardization and logisticsafety. But the Cromwell did see service.Many were used by the 7thArmoured Division in the campaignsthat followed from the Normandy landings.Here the excellent performanceprovided by the Meteor engine madethe Cromwell a well-liked vehicle: itwas fast and reliable, and the gunproved easy to lay and fire.The Cromwell was but a steppingstone to the later Comet tank whichwas to emerge as perhaps the bestall-round British tank of the war years.But the Cromwell was an importantvehicle, not just as a combat tank butfor several other roles, Some wereused as mobile artillery observationposts (Cromwell OP) with their maingun removed and with extra radios installed.Others had their turrets entirelyremoved and replaced by all thevarious bits and pieces required forthe Cromwell to be used as the CromwellARV armoured recovery vehicle.The Cromwell was also used as thebasis for a heavily armoured assaulttank that became known as the A33,which was ready by May 1944 but nevergot into production.SpecificationCromwell IVCrew: 5Weight: 27942 kg (61,600 lb)Powerplant: one Rolls-Royce MeteorV-12 petrol engine developing570bhp(425kW)Dimensions: length overall 6,42 m (21 ft0,75 in); width 3.048 m (10 ft); height2.51 m(8 ft 3 in)Performance: maximum speed 61km/h (38 mph); road range 278 km ( 173miles); fording 1.219 m (4 ft); verticalobstacle 0.914 m (3 ft); trench 2.286 m (7 ft 6 in)
 |
