Britain
Cruiser Mk I (A9)
Ordnance classification - A9

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The Cruiser Mk I was designed in 1936, manufactured by Vickers Armstrong and was in use from 1937 to 1941.

General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1937 - 1941 Ordnance classification A9 Quantity Produced 125 Weight 12 tonne Crew 6 M.G's small 3 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 5.92 mtr Width 2.56 mtr Height 2.56 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 25 mph Max Cross Country Speed 13 mph Range Road 150 miles Range Cross Country 60 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 86 gal Horse Power 150 hp Power/Weight 12 hp/tonne General Information The Cruiser Mk I was designed in 1936, manufactured by Vickers Armstrong and was in use from 1937 to 1941. The vehicle was powered by Associated Equipment Company(AEC) 'AEC 179 6-cylinder' petrol powerplant producing 150 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 25 mph with a range of about 150 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 13 mph and a range of about 60 miles. It was armed with 3 light machine guns which were Vickers Medium Machine Guns. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr which could penetrate 74 mm of flat plate at 100 metres The turret had power traverse with a 2pdr A/T gun and a Vickers machine gun. The vehicle also had two auxillliary machine gun turrets housing Vickers machine guns. Armour Details Turret Front 14mm @ 20° (15mm) Side 12mm @ 20° (13mm) Rear 14mm @ 20° (15mm) Top 4mm @ 90° (4mm) Superstructure Front 14mm @ 45° (20mm) Side 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Rear 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Top 5mm @ 90° (5mm) Hull Front 14mm @ 30° (16mm) Side 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Rear 10mm @ 0° (10mm) Top 5mm @ 90° (5mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 20 mm - Minimum 5 mm

Weapon Details Vickers Medium Machine Gun (Machine Gun) x 3 History The Vickers medium machine gun was designed during World War I as a replacement for the Maxim gun from which its design was taken. It served throughout World War I and II as a fixed point machine gun used to suppress areas and act as a defensive point. Manufacturer Vickers Manufactured 1912 - 1968 Calibre 7.70mm Length L/93 Rate of Fire 450 rpm Number of Rounds  3000     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Standard british .303 round - MkVIII (only used in Vickers Mg) (BALL Standard Small Arms) 7.70mm 0.01Kg 844M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.14 Penetration(mm@30°) 2 Penetration(mm@0°) 3 Hit Probability(%) 98 Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr (Anti Tank Gun) History Used both as an Anti Tank gun and as a Tank gun the 2pdr was first used in Belgium in 1939. The majority of the British guns were captured by the Germans at Dunkirk. However the 2pdr manufacture was continued but was slowly replaced by the 6pdr from 1942. Manufactured 1936 - 1944 Calibre 40mm Length L/50 Rate of Fire 22 rpm Number of Rounds  100     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP/T Mk I (AP Armor Piercing) 40mm 1.08Kg 792M/Sec Quoted Penetration 53mm@455m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.58 Penetration(mm@30°) 64 58 51 41 33 25 19 13 Penetration(mm@0°) 74 67 59 48 39 30 22 16 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2 HE/T Mk II after 1942 (HE High Explosive) 40mm 0.86Kg 792M/Sec 0.085Kg explosive Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.27 0.56 1.26 2.17 3.37 5.06 7.59 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 1 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 9 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 1 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 9 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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Page Last Updated: 2023-04-07 16:03:03