Britain Cruiser Mk IIA (A10) Ordnance classification - A10

The Cruiser Mk IIA was designed in 1937, manufactured by Vickers Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked A9 and was in use from 1939 to 1941. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1939 - 1941 Ordnance classification A10 Quantity Produced 162 Weight 13.75 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 2 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 5.60 mtr Width 2.56 mtr Height 2.62 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 16 mph Max Cross Country Speed 8 mph Range Road 100 miles Range Cross Country 40 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 117 gal Horse Power 150 hp Power/Weight 10 hp/tonne General Information The Cruiser Mk IIA was designed in 1937, manufactured by Vickers Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked A9 and was in use from 1939 to 1941. The vehicle was powered by Associated Equipment Company(AEC) 'AEC Type A179' petrol powerplant producing 150 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 16 mph with a range of about 100 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 40 miles. It was armed with 2 light machine guns which were BESA Machine Gun 7.92mms. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr which could penetrate 67 mm of flat plate at 200 metres The Cruiser tank MkII(A10) was a redesigned Mk I(A9) which had upgraded armour and the two auxilliary turrets removed this version also had a hull mounted machine gun. The turret had power traverse with a 2pdr A/T gun. The vehicle had the two auxilliary machine gun from the Mk I removed , and replaced by one hull mounted machine gun. The armour was upgraded hence the speed reduction over the A9. Armour Details Turret Front 30mm @ 20° (32mm) Side 26mm @ 20° (28mm) Rear 30mm @ 20° (32mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Superstructure Front 22mm @ 45° (31mm) Side 22mm @ 0° (22mm) Rear 12mm @ 0° (12mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Hull Front 22mm @ 30° (25mm) Side 22mm @ 0° (22mm) Rear 12mm @ 0° (12mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 32 mm - Minimum 7 mm Weapon Details BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm History Developed by BSA from the Czechoslovak ZB vz.53 heavy machine gun which used the German 7.92×57mm Mauser ammunition. It was mostly used as the main armament of the Light Tank Mk VIC and Armoured cars such as the Humber Mk I to Mk III. This 7.92mm gun was used in the armoured divisions as their supply lines were separated from the infantry who used .303 bullets. Once the British started capturing German ammunition this could be immediately used in these tank machine guns. Manufactured 1939 - 1966 Calibre 7.92mm Length L/93 Rate of Fire 450 rpm Number of Rounds  2000     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Cartridge SA, 7.92(AP) 7.92mm 0.012Kg 785M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.15 Penetration(mm@30°) 2 Penetration(mm@0°) 3 Hit Probability(%) 98 Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 2pdr 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 and given their designation of 4.0 cm Pak 192(e) or 4.0 cm Pak 154(b). 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(AP) 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

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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