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Britain
Cruiser Mk VIII (Cromwell VII/VIII)
Ordnance classification - A27M

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The Cruiser Mk VIII was designed in 1943, manufactured by Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon 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 VII/VIII)
Cruiser Mk VIII(Cromwell VII/VIII) scale illustration

General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)1944 - 1953
Ordnance classificationA27M
Quantity Produced3066
Weight27.5 tonne
Crew5
M.G's small2
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 Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon 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 2 light machine guns which were BESA Machine Gun 7.92mms. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 75mm which could penetrate 106 mm of flat plate at 200 metres

These were the last production models with wider tracks and improved armour.

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
Flag
BESA Machine Gun 7.92mm
(Machine Gun) x 2
Blank
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 4950
 
 
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
Flag
Ordnance Q.F. 75mm
(Tank Gun)
Blank
photo of Ordnance Q.F. 75mm from Wikipedia
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.
Manufactured1943 - 1945
Calibre75mm
LengthL/32
Number of Rounds 64
 
 
Ammunition Details
Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content
AP M72 U.S.
(AP Armor Piercing)
75mm 6.58Kg 618M/Sec
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
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)
75mm 6.76Kg 625M/Sec 0.680Kg explosive
Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.43 2.29 3.25 4.36 5.65
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)1002004008001200160020002400
Flight Time(Secs) 0.16 0.33 0.68 1.43 2.29 3.25 4.36 5.65
Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 88 57 25 15 3
Blast/Fragmentation Effects
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill6 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill16 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr2 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.

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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