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Britain Cruiser Mk VIII (Centaur III) Ordnance classification - A27L
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| 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. |
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| 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 85 mm of flat plate at 800 metres
The Centaur was the Leyland version of the Cavalier and were mainly used for training or special purpose roles. | |
| 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 |
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Weapon Details |
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BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm (Machine Gun) |
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| | 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 |
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Ammunition Details |
Name/Id |
Calibre Weight MVelocity |
Explosive Content |
Cartridge SA, 7.92
(AP Standard Small Arms)
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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 |
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Penetration(mm@30°) |
10 |
8 |
5 |
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Penetration(mm@0°) |
12 |
10 |
6 |
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Hit Probability(%) |
98 |
98 |
98 |
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Cartridge SA, 7.92
(BALL Standard Small Arms)
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7.92mm 0.012Kg 785M/Sec | |
Range(Mtr) | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 | 2400 |
Flight Time(Secs) |
0.15 |
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Penetration(mm@30°) |
2 |
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Penetration(mm@0°) |
3 |
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Hit Probability(%) |
98 |
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Weapon Details |
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Ordnance Q.F. 75mm (Tank Gun) |
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| | 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 |
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Ammunition Details |
Name/Id |
Calibre Weight MVelocity |
Explosive Content |
AP M72 U.S.
(AP Armor Piercing)
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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 |
HE M48
(HE High Explosive)
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75mm 6.76Kg 625M/Sec | 0.680Kg explosive |
Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited |
Range(Mtr) | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 | 2400 |
Flight Time(Secs) |
0.16 |
0.33 |
0.68 |
1.43 |
2.29 |
3.25 |
4.36 |
5.65 |
Direct Fire |
Range(Mtr) | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 | 2400 |
Flight Time(Secs) |
0.16 |
0.33 |
0.68 |
1.43 |
2.29 |
3.25 |
4.36 |
5.65 |
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Hit Probability(%) |
98 |
98 |
98 |
88 |
57 |
25 |
15 |
3 |
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 | 16 mtr |
Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr | 2 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 16 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 2 mm of the tank armour including the roof. |
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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.
© WWIITanks 1980-2024
If you have any information, or comments on our site,
please E-Mail Simon at
wwiitanks@villagenet.co.uk
Page Last Updated: 2021-09-20 06:41:52
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