Britain
Cruiser Mk VI (Crusader III C.S.)
Ordnance classification - A15

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The Cruiser Mk VI was designed in 1939, manufactured by Nuffield based on the existing fully tracked A13 III(Covenanter) and was in use from 1942 to 1944.

General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1942 - 1944 Ordnance classification A15 Quantity Produced 5300 Weight 19 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 2 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.05 mtr Width 2.66 mtr Height 2.26 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 28 mph Max Cross Country Speed 15 mph Range Road 124 miles Range Cross Country 49 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 120 gal Horse Power 340 hp Power/Weight 17 hp/tonne General Information The Cruiser Mk VI was designed in 1939, manufactured by Nuffield based on the existing fully tracked A13 III(Covenanter) and was in use from 1942 to 1944. The vehicle was powered by Nuffield 'Liberty' petrol powerplant producing 340 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 28 mph with a range of about 124 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 15 mph and a range of about 49 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. 3inch Howitzer which could penetrate 113 mm of flat plate at 100 metres The Crusader tank was derived from the same A13 basis as the Covenanter, the Crusader was less inclined to overheating than the Covenanter, but still suffered from a great deal of breakdowns and drive train issues, this was the Close Support version with the 3inch gun. Armour Details Turret Front 49mm @ 7° (49mm) Side 24mm @ 45° (34mm) Rear 30mm @ 32° (35mm) Top 12mm @ 90° (12mm) Superstructure Front 30mm @ 38° (38mm) Side 14mm @ 0° (14mm) Rear 28mm @ 11° (29mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Hull Front 20mm @ 60° (40mm) Side 14mm @ 0° (14mm) Rear 28mm @ 11° (29mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 49 mm - Minimum 7 mm

Weapon Details BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm (Machine Gun) 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  4500     Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Cartridge SA, 7.92 (AP Standard Small Arms) 7.92mm 0.011Kg 785M/Sec Quoted Penetration 11mm @ 1000mtr/0° Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.37 1.1 Penetration(mm@30°) 10 8 5 Penetration(mm@0°) 12 10 6 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 Cartridge SA, 7.92 (BALL Standard Small Arms) 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. 3inch Howitzer (Field Gun) Manufactured unknown - 1945 Calibre 76.20mm Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 3 inch howitzer AP (HE High Explosive) 76.20mm 6.3Kg 650M/Sec 0.600Kg explosive Range(Mtr) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Flight Time(Secs) 1.77 4.17 7.61 12.96 22.39 43.45 132.43 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.32 0.65 1.38 2.19 3.12 4.17 5.39 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 90 60 25 15 6 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 6 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 15 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 1 mm An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 6 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 15 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 penetrate 1 mm of the tank armour including the roof.

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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