Britain
Cruiser MK VIII (Challenger A30)

Tweet

The Cruiser MK VIII was designed in 1942, manufactured by Rolls Royce based on the existing fully tracked Cruiser Tank and was in use from 1944 to 1950.

Click photo for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1944 - 1950 Quantity Produced 200 Weight 32 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 8.10 mtr Width 2.92 mtr Height 2.77 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 32 mph Max Cross Country Speed 15 mph Range Road 120 miles Range Cross Country 48 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 116 gal Horse Power 600 hp Power/Weight 18 hp/tonne General Information The Cruiser MK VIII was designed in 1942, manufactured by Rolls Royce based on the existing fully tracked Cruiser Tank and was in use from 1944 to 1950. The vehicle was powered by Rolls Royce 'Meteor V-12' petrol powerplant producing 600 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 32 mph with a range of about 120 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 15 mph and a range of about 48 miles. It was armed with 1 light machine gun , a 0.3 inch Browning Machine Gun M1919A4. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 17pdr which could penetrate 170 mm of flat plate at 400 metres The Challenger 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 6 large road wheels, round the idler and back under the roadwheels in the standard Christie style. The Challenger was a redesigned Cromwell designed to take the 17pdr AT gun, however too many changes were needed and only a few vehicles saw service. 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 0.3 inch Browning Machine Gun M1919A4 (Machine Gun) Manufacturer Browning Manufactured 1919 - 1945 Calibre 7.60mm Length L/80 Rate of Fire 480 rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content .30-06 Springfield (BALL Standard Small Arms) 7.62mm 0.012Kg 820M/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. 17pdr (Anti Tank Gun) Manufactured 1942 - unknown Calibre 76.20mm Length L/55   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 17pdr MkI - MkIII (AP Armor Piercing) 76.20mm 7.65Kg 950M/Sec Quoted Penetration 130mm@915m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.11 0.22 0.44 0.94 1.5 2.13 2.85 3.69 Penetration(mm@30°) 174 161 147 129 113 97 84 71 Penetration(mm@0°) 201 186 170 150 131 113 97 82 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 88 60 34 22 17pdr HE/Red (HE High Explosive) 76.20mm 6.1Kg 550M/Sec 0.480Kg explosive Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 81 44 22 8 3 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 1 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 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.

© 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: 2023-01-12 07:24:56