Britain Cruiser Mk VIII (Centaur III) Ordnance classification - A27L

The Cruiser Mk VIII was designed in 1941, manufactured by Leyland based on the existing fully tracked A24 and was in use from 1943 to 1945. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1943 - 1945 Ordnance classification A27L Quantity Produced 0 Weight 27.5 tonne 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 27 mph Max Cross Country Speed 14 mph Range Road 165 miles Range Cross Country 66 miles Fuel Type Unknown Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 395 hp Power/Weight 14 hp/tonne General Information The Cruiser Mk VIII was designed in 1941, manufactured by Leyland based on the existing fully tracked A24 and was in use from 1943 to 1945. The vehicle was powered by Nuffield 'Liberty' powerplant producing 395 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 27 mph with a range of about 165 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 14 mph and a range of about 66 miles. It was armed with 1 light machine gun , a BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 75mm which could penetrate 96 mm of flat plate at 400 metres The Centaur was the Leyland version of the Cavalier and were mainly used for training or special purpose roles. 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 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   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. 75mm History This was a temporary fix to the problem of 6pdr guns not having a powerful enough HE shell. It was created by boring out the British 57mm 6pdr to take the American 75mm AP/HE shells, which reduced the Anti Tank performance but provided HE support. Manufactured 1943 - 1945 Calibre 75mm Length L/32   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content AP(AP) 75mm 6.58Kg 618M/Sec Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.45 2.31 3.29 4.41 5.71 Penetration(mm@30°) 98 91 83 73 64 55 46 38 Penetration(mm@0°) 114 106 96 85 74 64 54 45 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 88 54 25 15 3

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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