Cromwell tank

Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M)
A Cromwell IV at the Bovington Tank Museum
TypeCruiser tank
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1944–1955
Used byBritish Army, Israeli Army, Greek Army, Portuguese Army
WarsWorld War II, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Korean War
Production history
DesignerLeyland, then Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from 1942[1]
ManufacturerLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway, English Electric, Leyland Motors, Morris Motors
Unit cost£10,000[2][a]
No. built4,016
Specifications
Mass27.6 long tons (28.0 t)
Length20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)[4]
Width9 ft 6+1⁄2 in (2.908 m)[4]
Height8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)[4]
Crew5 (Commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver, hull gunner)
Armour64 mm (2.5 in) on the hull front, 76.7 mm (3.02 in) on the turret front[5]
Main
armament
Ordnance QF 6-pounder[4]
with 75 rounds[4]
Ordnance QF 75 mm
with 64 rounds
Secondary
armament
2 × 7.92 mm Besa machine gun
with 4,950 rounds[4]
EngineRolls-Royce Meteor V12 petrol
600 hp (450 kW)
Power/weight21.4 hp/tonne (16 kW/t)
TransmissionMerritt-Brown Z.5 gearbox (five forward and one reverse gear)
SuspensionImproved Christie
Ground clearance16 in (410 mm)[4]
Fuel capacity116 imp gal (530 L) + optional 30 imp gal (140 L) auxiliary[4]
Operational
range
170 mi (270 km) on roads, 80 mi (130 km) cross country[6]
Maximum speed
  • 40 mph (64 km/h) maximum with 3.7:1 final reduction drive
  • 25 mph (41 km/h) on roads
  • 18 mph (29 km/h) cross-country
[7]

The Cromwell tank, officially Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War.[b] Named after the English Civil War–era military leader Oliver Cromwell, the Cromwell was the first tank put into service by the British to combine high speed from a powerful, reliable engine (the Rolls-Royce Meteor) and reasonable armour. The intended dual-purpose high-velocity gun could not be fitted in the turret, so a medium-velocity dual-purpose gun was fitted instead. Further development of the Cromwell combined with a high-velocity gun led to the Comet tank.

The name "Cromwell" was initially applied to three vehicles during development. Early Cromwell development led to the creation of the A24 Cavalier. Later Cromwell development led to the creation of the competing Centaur tank (officially the Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Centaur (A27L)). This was closely related to the Cromwell, both vehicles being externally similar. The Cromwell and Centaur tanks differed in the engine used; the Centaur had the 410 hp Liberty engine, the Cromwell had the significantly more powerful 600 hp Meteor; Centaur hulls were converted to Cromwells by changing the engine.

The Cromwell first saw action in the Battle of Normandy in June 1944. The tank equipped the armoured reconnaissance regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps, in the 7th Armoured Division, 11th Armoured Division and the Guards Armoured Division. While the armoured regiments of the latter two divisions were equipped with M4 Shermans, the armoured regiments of the 7th Armoured Division were equipped with Cromwells. The Centaurs were not used in combat except for a few fitted with a 95 mm howitzer, which were used in support of the Royal Marines during the amphibious landings of Normandy.

  1. ^ WWII Vehicles
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Emrys (10 March 1952), "House of Commons Debates; Centurion Tank (Cost)", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 497, UK Parliament, c1000, retrieved 21 May 2016
  3. ^ Coombs, Benjamin (2015). British Tank Production and the War Economy, 1934–1945. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 53. ISBN 978-1474227902.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Fletcher (1983), p7
  5. ^ Fletcher & Harley (2006), p. 12.
  6. ^ Cromwell Tank Vehicle History and Specification (Tank Museum) 1984 page 7.
  7. ^ Higgins, p. 12


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