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Britain
Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell VI)
Ordnance classification - A27M

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The Cruiser Mk VIII was designed in 1943, manufactured by Leyland based on the existing fully tracked Centaur and was in use from 1944 to 1953.

Flag of World War 2 Britain
Photo of Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell VI)
Cruiser Mk VIII(Cromwell VI) scale illustration

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1944 - 1953
Ordnance classificationA27M
Quantity Produced3066
Weight27.5 tonne
Crew5
M.G's small1
M.G's large(>10mm)n/a
Length6.40 mtr
Width2.92 mtr
Height2.49 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed40 mph
Max Cross Country Speed22 mph
Range Road166 miles
Range Cross Country66 miles
Fuel TypePetrol
Fuel Capacity110 gal
Horse Power600 hp
Power/Weight21 hp/tonne
General Information
The Cruiser Mk VIII was designed in 1943, manufactured by Leyland based on the existing fully tracked Centaur and was in use from 1944 to 1953.

The vehicle was powered by Rolls Royce 'Meteor V12' petrol powerplant producing 600 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 40 mph with a range of about 166 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 22 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. 95mm Howitzer which could penetrate 59 mm of flat plate at 800 metres

This was the close support machine that could fire High Explosive from the 95mm Howitzer, but its main role was to fire Smoke Shells to hide the movement of the main tank force.

Armour Details
Turret
Front76mm@(76mm)
Side63mm@(63mm)
Rear57mm@(57mm)
Top20mm@81°(20mm)
Superstructure
Front63mm@(63mm)
Side32mm@(32mm)
Rear32mm@(32mm)
Top20mm@90°(20mm)
Hull
Front57mm@(57mm)
Side32mm@(32mm)
Rear32mm@(32mm)
Top20mm@90°(20mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 76 mm - Minimum 20 mm



Weapon Details
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BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm
(Machine Gun)
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photo of BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm from Wikipedia
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.
Manufactured1939 - 1966
Calibre7.92mm
LengthL/93
Rate of Fire450 rpm
Number of Rounds 2000
 
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
Cartridge SA, 7.92
(AP Standard Small Arms)
7.92mm 0.011Kg 785M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 11mm @ 1000mtr/0°
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.37 1.1
Penetration(mm@30°) 10 8 5
Penetration(mm@0°) 12 10 6
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98


 
Cartridge SA, 7.92
(BALL Standard Small Arms)
7.92mm 0.012Kg 785M/Sec
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.15
Penetration(mm@30°) 2
Penetration(mm@0°) 3
Hit Probability(%) 98


Weapon Details
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Ordnance Q.F. 95mm Howitzer
(Field Gun)
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Manufacturedunknown - 1945
Calibre95mm
Number of Rounds 64
 
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
95mm APHE
(APHE Armor Piercing High Explosive)
95mm 6.72Kg 502M/Sec
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.2 0.41 0.83 1.74 2.74 3.83 5.05 6.4
Penetration(mm@30°) 64 60 56 51 45 41 37 32
Penetration(mm@0°) 75 70 65 59 53 48 43 38
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 77 39 22 6 3



95mm HE
(HE High Explosive)
95mm 11.34Kg 320M/Sec ≈1.701Kg explosive
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.32 0.64 1.3 2.73 4.29 6.01 7.92 10.04
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.32 0.64 1.3 2.73 4.29 6.01 7.92 10.04
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 93 39 15 3 2 0
Blast/Fragmentation Effects
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill4 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill8 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill22 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr5 mm
An explosion within 4 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 8 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 22 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 5 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.

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