Canada Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell III) (Cromwell III)

Tweet The Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell III) based on the existing Cromwell and was in use from 1944. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1944 Ordnance classification Quantity Produced 0 Weight unknown Crew 5 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.40 mtr Width 2.92 mtr Height 2.49 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 40 mph Max Cross Country Speed 18 mph Range Road 173 miles Range Cross Country unknown Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 139 gal Horse Power 600 hp Power/Weight unknown General Information The Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell III) based on the existing Cromwell and was in use from 1944. It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III which could penetrate 73 mm of flat plate at 800 metres The Cromwell tank was designed as a heavy cruiser tank that could rapidly move and provide good A/T performance, in appearance it looked like the Cavalier. The vehicle had a rear Rolls Royce Meteor engine producing 600hp driving the tracks, towards the main front idler over the 5 large road wheels, round the idler and back under the roadwheels in the standard Christie style. The Mark III was a Centaur Mk I with the hull machine gun was removed to increase ammunition storage and the Meteor engine added. Armour Details Turret Front 76mm @ 0° (76mm) Side 63mm @ 0° (63mm) Rear 57mm @ 0° (57mm) Top 20mm @ 81° (20mm) Superstructure Front 63mm @ 0° (63mm) Side 32mm @ 0° (32mm) Rear 32mm @ 0° (32mm) Top 20mm @ 90° (20mm) Hull Front 57mm @ 0° (57mm) Side 32mm @ 0° (32mm) Rear 32mm @ 0° (32mm) Top 20mm @ 90° (20mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 76 mm - Minimum 20 mm Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III (Anti Tank Gun) History The 6pdr Mk II—differed from the pre-production Mk I in having a shorter L/43 barrel, because of shortage of suitable lathes. The subsequent Mk IV was fitted with an L/50 barrel, with muzzle brake. Manufactured 1942 - 1945 Calibre 57mm Length L/43   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Shot, AP, Mks 1 to 7 (AP Armor Piercing) 57mm 2.86Kg 853M/Sec Quoted Penetration 68mm@915m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.12 0.24 0.5 1.09 1.78 2.61 3.61 4.86 Penetration(mm@30°) 90 83 74 63 53 44 35 28 Penetration(mm@0°) 105 96 86 73 62 51 41 33 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 77 41 22 8

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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