Britain Cruiser Mk VI (Crusader III AA MkI) Ordnance classification - A15

Tweet The Cruiser Mk VI was designed in 1942, manufactured by Nuffield based on the existing fully tracked A13 III(Covenanter) and was in use from 1942 to 1945. Menzies (Cpl) War Office official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1942 - 1945 Ordnance classification A15 Quantity Produced 5300 Weight 20 tonne Crew 3 M.G's small n/a M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.05 mtr Width 2.66 mtr Height 2.62 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 28 mph Max Cross Country Speed 15 mph Range Road 112 miles Range Cross Country 44 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 1942, manufactured by Nuffield based on the existing fully tracked A13 III(Covenanter) and was in use from 1942 to 1945. 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 112 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 15 mph and a range of about 44 miles. Its main armament consisted of an Bofors 40 mm L/60 which could penetrate 70 mm of flat plate at 100 metres The Crusader tank was a redesigned A13 Mk III as a heavy cruiser tank that could rapidly move and provide good A/T performance. The Mk I AA turret was a plain shape that held the 40mm Bofors AA gun. The auxiliary machine gun turret was removed in the MkIII Crusader. Armour Details Turret Front 49mm @ 7° (49mm) Side 24mm @ 45° (34mm) Rear 30mm @ 32° (35mm) Top 12mm @ 90° (12mm) Superstructure Front 20mm @ 60° (40mm) Side 14mm @ 0° (14mm) Rear 14mm @ 11° (14mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Hull Front 20mm @ 45° (28mm) Side 14mm @ 0° (14mm) Rear 14mm @ 11° (14mm) Top 7mm @ 90° (7mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 49 mm - Minimum 7 mm Weapon Details Bofors 40 mm L/60 (Anti Aircraft) History Designed in 1930 in Sweden the Bofors had two variants the L/60(really L/56) and the L/70 which didn't reach production till 1948, so the data shown is for the L/60 version. Manufacturer Bofors Manufactured 1932 - Present Calibre 40mm Length L/56 Rate of Fire 120rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 40 × 311 mm R (HE High Explosive) 40mm 0.95Kg 850M/Sec ≈0.143Kg explosive Range(Mtr) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Flight Time(Secs) 1.57 4.71 14.18 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.12 0.25 0.52 1.18 2.02 3.14 4.71 7.06 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 96 64 25 8 2 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 5 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 13 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 5 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 13 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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