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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. |
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| Specifications | Operational Date(s) | 1944 - 1953 | Ordnance classification | A27M | Quantity Produced | 3066 | Weight | 27.5 tonne | Crew | 5 | M.G's small | 2 | 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 | 40 mph | Max Cross Country Speed | 22 mph | Range Road | 166 miles | Range Cross Country | 66 miles | Fuel Type | Petrol | Fuel Capacity | 110 gal | Horse Power | 600 hp | Power/Weight | 21 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 114 mm of flat plate at 100 metres
These were the last production models with wider tracks and improved armour. | |
| 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) x 2 |
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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 |
| | Number of Rounds | 4950 |
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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 |
| | Number of Rounds | 64 |
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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
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