What equipment to put on the crusader. Technical characteristics of the game Tank Crusader
Good day and welcome to the site! Friends, today we will talk about, at first glance, an ordinary, but at the very least a very unusual device, a British light tank of the fifth level, in front of you Crusader guide.
The point and the catch is that this machine is only formally a light tank, in fact, we have a cardboard medium tank in our hands. At least start with Crusader World of Tanks received a standard level of fights (5-7), while LT classmates have a level of fights of 6-8. This is not the only nuance, but we will talk about everything else later.
TTX Crusader
We will begin the analysis of the parameters of this vehicle with the fact that the Briton has a standard margin of safety for the LT-5 and a rather weak view, understand the same as for a light tank.
The same applies to the survivability of our apparatus. As mentioned earlier, at Crusader characteristics reservations are very meager, even taking into account various slopes, the thickness of the armor in our forehead does not exceed 55 millimeters, which means that everyone will penetrate us almost guaranteed, ricochets happen very rarely and you have no right to count on them.
But the plus is that Crusader tank WoT has a rather low silhouette, which means that we have a good disguise. True, the body is still very long, so in some cases it will be problematic to hide or run away, just remember this.
Another oddity of this unit is that our mobility is not quite like that of a light tank, driving performance is closer to average. This manifests itself in a limited maximum speed, but at the same time the dynamics of Crusader World of Tanks high and good maneuverability.
gun
In terms of weapons, everything is also not so simple, and looking ahead I will say that in many ways the gun is far from comfortable. However, there are also strengths here, so let's talk about everything in order.
At Crusader gun has a very modest alpha strike, but the rate of fire in our case is incredibly high, so without equipment and perks we can deliver about 2050 damage per minute.
penetration Crusader light tank has good, but it is only enough to break through the technique of the fifth level. For the rest, it will be necessary for the opponents to drive into the sides and stern, and from time to time you will have to shoot with gold, that is, it will not hurt to have about 15-20 sub-calibers with you.
The real weakness of our gun, without a doubt, can be called accuracy. First, at Crusader WoT a large spread, and secondly, our stabilization is poor, and the aiming speed is definitely not enough to bring it between shots, because the rate of fire is hellish.
The “cherry” on this unusual tank will be the vertical aiming angles, since the barrel drops by 12 degrees only from the side. If Crusader tank looks forward, the angle of declination is 7 degrees, and from the stern the gun practically does not fall at all.
Advantages and disadvantages
It is quite obvious that in order to play effectively on any tank, it is important to understand at least its main advantages and disadvantages, because based on this knowledge, you will be able to build battle tactics. Now we will highlight the strengths and weaknesses Crusader World of Tanks separately to make it easier for you to navigate.
Pros:
Not a bad review;
Good mobility (but insufficient for LT);
High level disguise
Excellent rate of fire and DPM;
Good, but capricious UVN.
Minuses:
Weak booking;
Small alpha strike;
Poor accuracy (scatter, convergence, stabilization);
Limited top speed.
Equipment for Crusader
If we talk about buying and installing additional modules, there may be several options, but the main thing for you is to choose the optimal package for your playing style. Also, don't forget that this tank is very similar to a medium tank, so in general for Crusader Equipment fit like this:
1. is a standard and always in demand option, because with it our chic DPM will become even more powerful and intimidating.
2. - in order to deal damage more comfortably, you need to at least partially solve the issue with the missing aiming speed.
3. - the machine in our hands is mobile, but it lacks the range of information, so the prospect of installing this module is quite obvious.
However, you have a good alternative to the second point, from the ones suggested above, it will be. The fact is that with it, our review will become even a little better (but still not the maximum), you will reduce even faster, and the damage per minute will grow again.
Crew training
The choice of skills for tankers sitting inside the tank is always its more difficult nuance, in our case, pumping becomes more complicated due to the limited crew of three people. At the same time, you should not get lost, so for Crusader perks We will learn in the following order:
Commander (radio operator) - , , , .
Gunner (loader) - , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .
Gear for the Crusader
As it usually happens, the choice of consumables is not difficult, in this matter, if you do not have enough silver credits, it is better to stop at , , . But we still recommend betting on reliability, and in this case on tank crusader gear it is better to take in the form , , . Regarding the latter, the fire extinguisher can be replaced with, we do not burn very often.
Crusader tactics
You have a very unusual, but strong tank in your hands, which is not so easy to play well and efficiently. As for what kind of Crusader tactics fighting is most suitable, it can be said about the British that he is very versatile.
At the very beginning of the battle, you can go forward to highlight the enemy's passing. But note that due to the limited top speed Crusader light tank cannot be the first on the positions of the fireflies, that is, you will either be overtaken by the allied LT, or the enemy will arrive at the advantageous position first.
For this reason, this unit is better at keeping close to the allied medium tanks, forming a powerful fighting fist. At the same time, you can’t climb much forward, after all Crusader WoT has weak armor. It is better to fire from behind the backs of the allies or go around the enemy while he is distracted, while realizing his gorgeous rate of fire.
By the way, regarding damage, due to mediocre accuracy and insufficient aiming time, it is much more efficient and convenient to shoot at close range. Of course, getting close to the enemy is risky, which is why Crusader tank must act cunningly, relying on the help of allies, the carousel of the enemy, or simply stopping by from unexpected directions.
If you want to shoot at long ranges with more safety, remember to close down after each shot. For the rest, on Crusader World of Tanks you need to play very carefully, trying not to enter into exchanges and acting very carefully.
By the mid-1930s, against the backdrop of mass production of tanks in the USSR and Germany, the development of armored vehicles in Great Britain intensified sharply. This was facilitated by, finally, the definiteness of the views of the military leadership on the tactical use of tanks. The British divided their tanks into three classes: light, infantry and cruiser. Moreover, later than others, the concept of cruising tanks was formed, the functions of which were originally performed by light combat vehicles - high-speed and maneuverable. It was they who entered service with the cavalry regiments of the British army. The first English land "cruiser" was the tank, which received the A9 index according to the designation system then adopted in the UK.
This combat vehicle has been developed by Vickers since 1934 and was originally considered as a medium tank. After the transition to the division into infantry and cruising, it was reclassified into the Mk I cruiser tank. The original design detail of the project was the design of the undercarriage, developed by S. Horstman and Captain Rocky from Slow Motion Suspension Co. Ltd and later used on the Valentine infantry tank. For the first time in British tank building, a hydraulic turret traverse was used. In 1937, Vickers and Harland and Wolff produced 125 tanks in two versions, differing in armament installed in the main turret: the Mk I had a 2-pounder gun, the Mk ICS (CS - Close Support) had a 3.7-inch (94 mm) howitzer.
The Mk I saw action in France in 1940 with the 1st Panzer Division, and all were abandoned at Dunkirk. In Egypt, the 2nd and 7th Panzer Divisions used the remaining Mk I until 1941, after which these hopelessly outdated vehicles were cut into metal.
Initially, another British tank of this class, the A10, developed by Vickers as an "infantry" version of the A9 tank, was not cruising either. Nevertheless, it was called a "heavy cruiser", adopted by the British army under the symbol Mk II and put into production. Until 1940, Vickers, BRCW and Metro manufactured 175 of these tanks, which visually differed from the cruiser Mk I by the absence of two turrets with water-cooled Vickers machine guns in the frontal part of the hull. Instead, one air-cooled BESA machine gun was installed.
The first tank that met the "cruising" requirements, at least formally, was the A13. An important milestone in British tank building is associated with this very mediocre combat vehicle. After British military diplomats visited the Kiev maneuvers, where they saw hundreds of tanks of the VT type, the British War Department in 1936 purchased one tank of his type from the designer Christie. On its basis, the development of a “cruiser” began with a chassis and suspension borrowed from the American prototype, which marked the beginning of the Christie tank line in the UK. When creating the A13 and during the tests, the British revealed insufficient operational reliability of the power plant and chassis, which was never overcome on this model.
All the mentioned "cruisers" are nothing more than a test of strength. The basis of the fleet of English tank formations on the eve and at the beginning of World War II was the cruising tanks of the Mk IV series, which was a development of the Mk III (A13). They were mass-produced from December 1938 to the end of 1939 by Nuffield, English Electric, LMS and Leyland. During this time, 655 tanks left the factory shops. Mk IV, both externally and internally, was almost identical to the A13 tank, with the possible exception of the turret. The latter took on a new form due to the inclined side plates of additional armor. Armor protection has been strengthened, but the internal volume of the tower has not changed. The power plant is also similar to the A13 - an American Liberty aircraft engine from the period of the First World War, throttled to a power of 340 hp. Armament is a 2-pounder gun and a water-cooled Vickers machine gun. On the Mk IVA modification, instead of the Vickers machine gun, a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun was installed, and the Mk IVCS was armed with a 94 mm howitzer.
Mk IV took part in the battles in France in 1940 as part of the 1st Panzer Division. In the ranks of the 7th Panzer Division, they fought in North Africa until 1942, when they were finally withdrawn from service. Mk IV turned out to be a much more combat-ready machine than its predecessors, but its operational reliability also left much to be desired. One can only be surprised that a country that built excellent ships, aircraft and cars could not achieve normal operational reliability of tank engines and chassis components for several years.
To overcome this completely inexplicable obstacle, LMS (London, Midland and Scottich Railway) had to produce 1771 Mk V Covenanter (A13 Mk III) tanks, which were a revised A13 project with a lower silhouette and 30 mm armor. The reduction in hull height was achieved, in particular, through the use of a horizontally opposed Meadows DAV engine and new type radiators. Despite the partial solution of technical problems and further improvement of the design, the Mk V did not become an active first-line tank and was used mainly for training purposes.
Simultaneously with the Covenanter, according to a similar terms of reference, but by Nuffield Mechanisations and Aero Ltd., the cruising tank Mk VI (A15) Crusader (“Crusader”) was created. His project is
It was also a development of the A13 design, and initially the tank was supposed to be used as a heavy reconnaissance aircraft. In fact, he had to become the most massive British tank during the African campaign.
The first production Crusader I, unlike all previous cruiser tanks, had not four, but five road wheels in the undercarriage, the rubber tires of which had large ventilation holes. The hull and turret did not differ in the perfection of forms and sometimes had an inexplicable configuration. So, for example, the sides of the tower were beveled at an acute angle, and the front plate was located almost vertically. A design feature of the tank was the two-layer armor of the turret and the driver's cabin. Strictly speaking, only the outer sheets were armored, the inner ones were made of simple high-quality steel. The thickness of the outer frontal armor plate of the tower was 32 mm, side - 14 mm. Accordingly, the inner steel sheets had a thickness of 19 and 9.5 mm. Apparently, believing that since the tank is cruising, and also heavy, it must have many towers, the British installed a turret with a BESA machine gun in front of the hull. And this is in 1939! As they say, a cruiser is a cruiser!
The power plant and transmission were located in the rear of the tank. Carbureted, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled V-engine Nuffield-Liberty Mk III 340 hp. (250 kW) at 1550 rpm allowed a combat vehicle weighing 19.279 tons to reach a speed of 43 km / h. With the help of a dry friction multi-plate main clutch, torque from the engine was transmitted to a 4-speed Nuffield gearbox, a Wilson planetary steering mechanism and final drives. The capacity of the fuel tanks located on the sides of the engine was 500 l. Another 136 liters were in the external fuel tank on the aft hull. It was also connected to the engine power system. A decent supply of fuel provided the car with a greater cruising range than its predecessors - 255 km.
The armament of the Crusader I consisted of a 2-pounder Mk IX cannon and two 7.92 mm BESA machine guns, one coaxial with the cannon and the other in a machine gun turret. A 7.69-mm Vgep machine gun on the Lakeman anti-aircraft gun could be mounted on the roof of the tower. Crusader ICS escort tanks mounted a 95mm howitzer that fired smoke rounds.
The Crusader II and IICS tanks did not have any significant changes compared to the Crusader I and ICS, with the exception of slightly increased armor thickness and the absence of a machine gun turret on most of the tanks. By the way, in the tanks of the previous model, it was often dismantled by the troops. Depending on the presence or absence of a turret, the crew was 5 or 4 people.
The combat use of the Crusaders began in June 1941 during Operation Battleaxe in North Africa as part of the 7th Brigade of the 7th Panzer Division. They arrived in Egypt on the orders of Churchill so that the British troops could begin military operations against Rommel with the latest tanks. Already during the first battles, the Crusaders suffered severe losses from the fire of German tank and anti-tank guns.
The Crusaders of the first and second models were not a very serious opponent for German medium tanks due to their not very powerful weapons and, mainly, weak armor protection. The lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition load of the 2-pounder gun was also a disadvantage. To some extent, these shortcomings were eliminated on the Crusader III.
On this modification, instead of the 2-pounder, a 6-pounder Mk III gun with a barrel length of 42.9 calibers was installed. Her armor-piercing projectile left the barrel at a speed of 848 m / s and at a distance of 1000 m could hit any tank of the German African Corps. However, in the gun ammunition, which included 65 shots and was located in the front of the hull on the left, under the place where the machine-gun turret was previously installed, there were still no high-explosive fragmentation shells. The thickness of the frontal armor of the tower was increased to 51 mm. The combat weight of the tank increased to 20.04 tons, and the crew was reduced to four people. As before, the weak point of this Crusader model was its low technical reliability.
Since the beginning of 1942, in the British tank regiments, only two squadrons have kept the Crusader guns in service. In the third, they were replaced by the American "General Grant", armed with a 75-mm cannon.
After the end of hostilities in North Africa, the Crusaders were removed from service. Only a small number of these machines took part in military operations in Italy.
In 1943, the production of the tank, which lasted five years, ceased. During this time, factories of nine companies under the patronage of Nuffield produced 5300 combat vehicles of this type.
On the basis of the Crusader tank, ZSU, command tanks, advanced artillery observer vehicles, ARVs, artillery tractors and bulldozers were produced (or converted from linear ones). The development of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, for example, began in September 1941. Their mass production was launched in 1943 at Morris Motors in two versions.
The Crusader AAI was armed with a 40 mm Bofors automatic anti-aircraft gun mounted in a circular rotation turret open at the top, which had the shape of a truncated pyramid. The vertical angle of the gun was in the range from -10 ° to +70 ". To rotate the tower, a hydraulic drive from the auxiliary engine was used. The combat weight of the vehicle was 18 tons, the crew consisted of three people, the ammunition load was 160 rounds, the maximum speed was 42 km / h.
On the Crusader AAII, a twin installation of 20-mm Oerlikon automatic cannons was mounted in an open-top rotating multi-faceted turret that had a high-speed horizontal and vertical guidance drive. The Crusader AAIII had an improved turret shape and a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun on top of the 20mm cannons. The radio station antenna was moved to the front of the case.
Self-propelled anti-aircraft installations began to be used in hostilities since 1944. The headquarters companies of tank divisions and brigades each had two ZSUs, and the headquarters companies of regiments had six. ZSU were used to cover combat units from aviation. However, it quickly became clear that, contrary to expectations, they could not fire on the move. In addition, in the conditions of the dominance of Allied aviation in the air, the ZSU had little work. A small number of these combat vehicles were still in service in 1945.
In the version of the artillery tractor, the Crusaders were in service in Argentina after the war. The Argentines converted a number of vehicles into self-propelled guns, mounting a bulky rectangular cabin in the bow, in which either a 105-mm Schneider howitzer or a 75-mm Bofors gun was installed.
Cruiser tank "Crusader I":
I- gun 2-pounder; 2 - commander's sight; 3 - machine gun Vgep anti-aircraft; 4 - antenna; 5 - air filter; 6 - fuel tank, additional; 7 - Besa machine guns; B - periscopic observation devices; 9 - boxes of spare parts; 10 - bulwark; II- cap over the air intake; 12 - roller with a protective shield, support; 13 - viewing slot; 14 - searchlight; 15 - marker lamp, front; 16- headlight; 17 - marker lamp, rear.
Cruiser taik "Crusader III":
1 - 6-pound gun; 2 - coaxial machine gun Besa; 3 - commander's sight; 4 - surveillance devices: 5 - antennas; 6 - tool box; 7 - air filter; 8 - fuel tank, additional; 9 - lifting earrings; 10 spare track; 11 - removable spare parts box; 12 - front hatch; 13 - fan cap; 14 - version of the front hatch; 15 - searchlight; 16 - towing earring; 17 - towing device; 18 - exhaust port.
M. BARYATINSKY
"Model designer" No. 11 "99
Review video guide
Crusader - many English-speaking people will immediately answer that this word means a crusader, but not every one of them knows: it is also a tank of the British Empire during the Second World War. In addition, only true fans of Internet battles will associate this unit with the most popular online game World of Tanks. It is for them that this review is written, dedicated to the new technology that has recently appeared in this amazing universe.
Crusader World of Tanks - this phrase has recently become interconnected. The fact is that mid-autumn was marked by the release of a new patch numbered 0.8.1, which brought a lot of innovations, including the appearance of vehicles previously unavailable for combat. And today the Crusader tank will be considered in detail.
This military equipment becomes available at the fifth level and belongs to light military vehicles. At its core, it is a direct competitor to the famous fireflies, which are the T-50-2 and Tolstopard, but the available characteristics do not allow anything serious to oppose them. On the other hand, all indicators are at an acceptable level, so the Crusader often gets into the TOP.
Technical and tactical indicators of the Crusader
For the class of the unit of tank troops under consideration, the characteristics are quite good. Firstly, the rate of fire is more like shooting from a machine gun, and in light of the map rework in the latest update, it becomes a huge plus. This was made possible thanks to additional shelters and allows you to fully use the maneuverability of a light model. Secondly, if in battle the Crusader is faced with the task of shining, then a powerful engine will help to cope with it one hundred percent.
Protective properties
But this component is not much different from competitors and is the most critical during the battle. Due to the fact that the frontal armor can be pierced by any gun, it is necessary to rely more on cruising speed and give preference to maneuvers, especially since the vehicle belongs to the guards and the shoot / run action will be the best way to conduct military operations.
Conclusion
It remains to be added that with the advent of the line of British vehicles, the game sparkled with new colors, and the emphasis on physics in the eighth patch opens up unexplored tactical possibilities for players. And "Crusader" is primarily intended to add drive and fun to the game, thanks to its speed and the likelihood of dying at any moment.
Official designation: Cruiser Tank Mk.VI “Crusader”
Alternative designation: A15
Start of design: 1940
Date of construction of the first prototype: 1941
Stage of completion: mass-produced in 1941-1942.
The terms of reference issued in 1936 for the design and construction of two variants of the "heavy cruiser tank" were clearly too late. While the development of these vehicles was underway, disappointing information came from abroad - as it turned out, tanks with bulletproof armor become easy victims of anti-tank artillery. Frontal 30-mm armor and machine-gun and cannon armament spaced across three turrets did not at all guarantee the successful combat use of the A14 and A16 tanks, which, moreover, revealed a lot of technical problems. To catch up, the Mechanization Authority continued with Nuffield Mechanization & Aero Ltd. leave the A16 project that has lost priority and start designing a lighter combat vehicle that would receive similar weapons, but stronger armor. The new tank was assigned the index A15. In parallel with it, the development of the A13 Mk.III cruising tank was carried out, which had a number of innovations and technological solutions that had not yet been applied in British tank building. The calculation was made that at least one of the two tanks would be successful.
The design of the A15 tank retained many elements from the earlier "cruisers" of the A13 series and the rejected A16 project. Although, a number of solutions used in the design of this tank raise doubts about their correctness.
Apparently, it was decided to keep the double-turret scheme as a "legacy" from heavy cruiser tanks. Despite the obvious negative sides, there was one positive point in this decision - the sector of fire from the turret machine gun increased noticeably, compared with ball mounts.
Another constructive technique that obviously did not meet the requirements of the time was the use of , also tested on the A13 Mk.III tanks, which appeared a little later. True, if the outer sheets were made of armor steel, then the inner tank ones were not. In fact, 28-30 mm of double-layer "armor" were comparable to 20-22 mm of conventional single-layer, which clearly did not favor projectile resistance. However, the A15 tank consisted not only of shortcomings. To see this, let's take a closer look at its design.
The hulls of the A13 Mk.III and A15 tanks had a similar design, which was explained not only by the fact that they were developed by Nuffield specialists, but also by the desire to unify individual elements. Thanks to the use of the Nuffield-Liberty V12 horizontally opposed engine, it was possible to reduce the height of the hull, but at the same time, the volume of the engine compartment was reduced. The frontal part of the hull was made of armor plates with a thickness of 32 and 19 mm, respectively. On the right side there was a driver's seat, above whose head a box-shaped cabin with a double-leaf top hatch, three viewing devices (two on the sides and one closer to the port side) and a Besa machine gun of 7.71 mm caliber was installed. To the left of the wheelhouse was a cylindrical turret, also equipped with a Besa machine gun and an upper hatch that hinged to the starboard side. The angle of rotation of the turret along the horizon was within 150°;
The middle part of the hull was occupied by the fighting compartment, inside which the ammunition and part of the equipment were located. Side armor with a thickness of 14 mm was single-layer. A triple turret of complex shape was installed on the roof, unified with the turret of the A13 Mk.III tank.
The main armament of the A15 tank consisted of one 2-pounder Mk.IX cannon and a 7.92-mm Besa machine gun coaxial with it, mounted in a common mask. Aiming devices included the No.30 Mark I or Mark.IA telescopic sight. In the rear part of the turret roof was a commander's hatch that could be moved back. To the left of it was placed a mount for the Lakerman anti-aircraft gun for a 7.92-mm Bren machine gun, and an additional headlight was installed on the starboard side. In front of the hatch, almost exactly in the center of the roof of the tower, an observation device Mk.IV was mounted. Also, the tower housed the radio station No.11 or No.19, equipped with a whip antenna, displayed on the aft sheet of the tower. There was also a tool box. Ammunition consisted of 130 shots and 5000 rounds.
In the engine compartment, a Nuffield-Liberty Mk.III 12-cylinder gasoline engine with an HP 340 power was installed. at 1550 rpm. The working volume of the engine was 27040 cm3. The cooling system is liquid. Radiators were placed on the sides of the engine, and two fans were behind it. The total capacity of the fuel tanks was 500 liters of fuel. Additionally, an external gas tank of 136 liters was attached to the rear of the hull, not connected to the fuel system of the tank. The transmission of the tank included a multi-plate main clutch, through which power from the engine was transmitted to a 4-speed Nuffield gearbox equipped with a Wilson planetary rotation mechanism, and final drives. The engine could be started in two ways: using an electric starter or compressed air. The electrical system of the tank is 12-volt, equipped with two batteries located in the fighting compartment.
However, the main difference between the A15 tank and previous models was its chassis. After the improvements, the combat weight increased markedly and amounted to 19279 kg. Accordingly, the specific pressure on the ground increased, which, while maintaining the old type of caterpillar tracks, affected off-road patency. There were two ways to improve the situation - to use wider tracks or add another road wheel. British specialists chose the second option as more promising. Thus, in the A15 tank, the undercarriage consisted of 10 dual road wheels equipped with rubber tires and shock absorption on vertical spring springs. The drive wheels were located at the rear, the guide wheels and the track tensioning mechanism were at the front.
The first prototype of a cruiser tank A15E1 arrived at the Farnborough range on April 9th, 1940. Due to the haste, the prototype with the number T3646 was equipped with an old-style gun mantlet, which was used on the A13 Mk.II tank. In the future, on serial machines, the enlarged mask of the new model, which has become more familiar, was used.
As it turned out, the innovations brought more trouble than expected by the developers. Traditionally revealed problems with engine cooling. In addition, such an unpleasant "feature" in the control system of the tank was revealed as a sudden turn in the direction opposite to that required. With such a defect, of course, the A15's path to mass production was ordered. They tried to correct the situation by upgrading the planetary rotation mechanism and the brake, which were equipped with control valves. Among the comments about the complexity of control, there was also such a moment - the A15 tank had two control levers, while the A13 Mk.III was equipped with one T-shaped steering wheel.
Nevertheless, according to the main tactical and technical data, the A15 was quite suitable for the representatives of the RTC. So, the maximum speed of the tank was 43 km / h on the roads and up to 20-25 km / h on the country road. The fuel supply was enough for 255 km when driving on paved roads. The characteristics of overcoming various obstacles remained at the same level.
Having failed to decide which of the models was the best, the military department made a compromise decision to put into serial production both tanks, which by that time had received their own names "Covenanter" (A13 Mk.III) and "Crusader" (A15). In addition to improvements in the cooling system, other improvements were made. For example, the decision to install a machine gun in the driver's cabin was considered unsuccessful and it was absent on production tanks. The serial version of the tank was designated as Crusader Mk.I, but abbreviations such as Crusader I which we will continue to follow.
The next modification, known as Crusader II (Cruiser Tank Mk.VIA, "Crusader" Mk.II), was distinguished by enhanced armor. The total thickness of the frontal hull plates was increased by 57 mm, the thickness of the turret was increased by 6 mm, the sides and roof of the hull - by 4 and 3 mm, respectively. In addition, the design of the viewing slot for the driver was changed (now it was flush and the air filters were moved to the fenders. Some of the tanks received a modified 2-pound Mk.X gun. Aiming devices, depending on the series, could include a telescopic sight No. 30 Mark I, No.30 Mark.IA or No.33. At the same time, the machine gun turret was retained on this modification. To get rid of this archaism, the turret was dismantled by the field workshops, and the cutout for it was welded with an armor plate. According to some foreign sources, the reserve Crusader II traveled 321 km on the highway and 234 km on the driveway.
However, the improved version of the cruiser tank, equipped with a clearly outdated 2-pounder gun, no longer fully met the requirements of the army command. In order to speed up the production process of an improved version of the Crusader, an option was initially proposed with the installation of a turret from the infantry tank Churchill I on a standard hull, but it was recognized as completely non-optimal due to weight and size parameters, high weight and a shoulder strap of a different size. Then, at the initiative of army officers, work began on adapting the standard turret to install a 6-pounder gun. The wooden model was ready in September 1941, but the Nuffield specialists did not like the proposed model. Six weeks later, the "signature" version was presented, which was a slightly larger turret from the Crusader II serial tank, which became taller and longer. The front plate, with a rectangular embrasure for the installation of weapons (in this case, the machine gun was moved to the left side), began to be made of armor plate 51 mm thick and was installed at a right angle. Also changed the design of the roof of the tower. It provided for the possibility of firing from smoke grenade launchers through a special loophole, introduced two Mk.IV periscope observation devices, and replaced the common landing hatch with a double-leaf. The triplex glass blocks in the sides of the turret were removed, but their holes could be used to fire personal weapons.
The biggest changes, as expected, affected the weapons. On the upgraded Crusader III, the machine gun turret was finally removed. The crew of the tank was reduced to 4 people due to the removal of the front turret machine gunner. The 2-pounder used in British cruiser tanks was replaced by a 6-pounder with a 42.9 caliber barrel. With an initial speed of 848 m / s at a distance of up to 1000 meters, the projectile could penetrate a 30-mm vertical armor plate. This meant that the Crusader was now guaranteed to hit any German tank. At the same time, due to the increased size of artillery shells, the ammunition load had to be reduced from 130 to 65 rounds.
Despite the combat weight that has grown to 20040 kg, the main performance characteristics of the tank have not changed. However, the new modification still caused a number of critical reviews. Despite the increased caliber of the gun, its ammunition still did not include high-explosive fragmentation shells. Moreover, in the course of combat use, the tank crew was reduced to three people in order to free up space for a dozen or one and a half additional shells. At the same time, all versions of the "fire support" tanks, bearing the additional index CS, were equipped with the same type of 76.2-mm tank howitzer with an ammunition load of 65 smoke and high-explosive fragmentation shells. Unlike "linear" tanks, the presence of armor-piercing shells was not provided. Such a "division of labor" was not liked by the tankers of all armies, which received British tanks of both types, but this was substantially corrected only in 1942 after the appearance of a long-barreled 6-pounder tank gun.
Permission for the production of modification tanks Crusader III (Crusader Mk III) was received only after successful fire tests, which ended in December 1941. Serial production was launched only in the summer of that year. In total, in the period from 1941 to 1943, about 5300 Crusader tanks of all modifications were assembled, although a number of Western sources give a figure of 5700 units. The production of Crusader tanks can be traced by serial numbers:
T3646- the first prototype A15E1;
T15545 - T15645- the first series of Crusader Mk.I (T15545 - a "pilot" sample of mild steel, T15637 - the tank was not used);
T15646 - T15745- Crusader Mk.I (93 vehicles) and Crusader Mk.II (7 vehicles);
T16558 - T16657- Crusader Mk.I (90 vehicles) and Crusader Mk.II;
T43652 - T43751– Crusader Mk.II;
T43752 - T45213- Crusader Mk.II (T45212 and T45213 were modified to the Mk.III standard, T44680 and T44870 were not used);
T46162 - T46211– Crusader Mk.II;
T46212 - T46261– Crusader Mk.II;
T123633 - T126269– Crusader Mk.II (145 vehicles), Crusader Mk.III (823 vehicles), Crusader OP (96 vehicles), Crusader AA (429 vehicles) a Crusader Gun Tractor (381 vehicles);
T126270 - T127269- Crusader Mk.III (421 vehicles), Crusader OP (259 vehicles), Crusader AA (69 vehicles), Crusader Gun Tractor (209 vehicles).
The commander's version of the tank was distinguished by a dismantled gun, in place of which its mock-up was installed. The freed up space was used to install an additional No.19 radio station. Such armored vehicles, equipped only with a machine gun, were transferred to the headquarters of tank divisions and brigades.
"Crusader" OR- combat vehicle for advanced artillery observers ( Observation Post) based on serial tanks of the latest modification. As on command vehicles, the gun was replaced by a mock-up, and two radio stations No.19 and one No.18 were installed in the turret with whip antennas, additional batteries and a spare power supply system with power intake from the engine. Externally, the OR modification differed only in an additional muffler on the hull and a fan on the turret.
The need for an armored vehicle capable of evacuating damaged equipment from the battlefield under enemy fire arose as early as 1940, but then there were no “free” armored vehicles. Only after the start of the campaign in North Africa did it become possible to remake a significant number of obsolete tanks - for the Crusader, the peak of such modernization came in 1942. The tower with weapons was completely dismantled, and a crane with a lifting capacity of up to 5 tons and various accessories were mounted on the hull. The crew was reduced to three people: driver, commander and mechanic. All machines of this type received the designation Crusader ARV Mk.I.
In the middle of the war, the British Army needed a high power artillery tractor for a 17-pounder anti-tank gun. For this purpose, Crusader tanks were chosen, equipped with a towing device, as well as equipment for transporting 40 shells and 8 people. The first six machines were successfully tested in 1942, after which a full-scale conversion process began. Artillery tractors received the designation Crusader Gun Tractor Mk.I. Improvements were reduced to the installation of a superstructure of 14-mm armor plates on the site of the turret, which protected the driver's, commander's and 6 people's artillery crew. Ammunition was transported both in boxes on fenders in the rear of the tank, and in a charging box. The brakes of the gun were connected to the hydraulic system of the tank, and a spare cannon wheel could be transported on the roof of the MTO. The first experience of using such machines took place in Tunisia in the spring of 1943.
A number of serial tanks in 1942-1943. was converted into bulldozers by dismantling the tower and installing the front "knife". These armored vehicles were named "Crusader Dozer" and were widely used at the final stage of hostilities in Europe. In the post-war period, some of the Crusader Gun Tractors were also converted into bulldozers.
They tried to use the capabilities of the undercarriage of the Crusader tank more widely by creating a self-propelled artillery mount on its basis. A similar project, proposed in 1942, consisted of dismantling the turret and installing in its place a 17-pound anti-tank gun behind the armored shield. Despite the relatively small number of improvements, the construction of the self-propelled guns was canceled, since by that time the construction of the famous Archer self-propelled guns had already been approved in series.
Only after the war, when a test bench was needed for the new Centurion main tank, a 5.5-inch gun on an open platform was experimentally installed on one of the Crusader tanks. To do this, it was necessary to completely remove not only the tower, but also the fighting compartment. Left only the place of the driver. In view of the non-standard artillery system, the gun was mounted with the barrel back.
The refinement of the Crusader tanks into self-propelled anti-aircraft guns turned out to be much more effective. In total, three modifications were created, differing in the type of towers and weapons installed in them:
Crusader AA Mk.I- the first version with a 40-mm Bofors gun in a high tower made in the form of a truncated pyramid;
Crusader AA Mk.II- the second version with a new type of turret (hexagonal) and two twin 20-mm Oerlikon cannons;
Crusader AA Mk.III- an upgraded version of the Mk.II with an improved turret and an additional 7.71 mm Vickers machine gun mounted above the guns.
In June 1944, by order of the Royal Artillery, several units of another version of the ZSU were manufactured. In place of the dismantled tower, on an open platform, a built-in 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun was installed. Data on the exact number of ZSU built, as well as on their combat use, are not available. Foreign sources mention only a report on the use of these machines during the landing in Normandy, where they deserved a positive assessment. Apparently, the serial construction of ZSU with three "Oerlikons" was considered redundant due to the presence of analogues.
In foreign sources, the appearance of the Crusader tanks is positioned as an achievement of the British tank-building industry, which by the beginning of 1941 was finally able to launch the production of a fully combat-ready cruising tank. In fact, the Crusader's combat career turned out to be far from being as successful as it was planned, since their main opponents were not Italian medium and light tanks, which had weak armor, but German Panzers.
The arrival of production tanks "Crusader" in the army began in the spring of 1941. It was only in May that the number of tanks needed to fully equip a tank regiment was reached - at the same time, an order was received from W. Churchill to urgently send them to North Africa. The first unit to transfer to the Crusader was the 6th Tank Regiment (6 RTR) of the 7th Brigade of the 7th Tank Division, where as of June 14, 1941, there were 52 tanks of this type. At the same time, 2 RTR, also part of the 7th Tank Brigade, was equipped only with old cruiser tanks of the A9, A10 and A13 types.
The new machines were supposed to be used in a slightly unusual role for them - as heavy reconnaissance aircraft, but the situation at the front developed in such a way that the Crusader soon became the main tanks of the British Commonwealth forces.
The reserves were concentrated for the operation "Battleaxe" ("Halberd", June 1941), the task of which was to release the besieged garrison of Tobruk. Deliveries of new equipment were impressive, but not all of the Crusader that arrived were in combat-ready condition. Some of the tanks were damaged while being transported by sea due to substandard sealing. Sea water leaked into the hull causing corrosion. In addition, it was found that the Crusader was transported without water in the cooling system, and at the first start of the engine in the hot African climate, it quickly failed. All identified defects and malfunctions were eliminated in the workshops of Alexandria, but it was not possible to put into operation all 52 tanks by the beginning of the operation.
The first major battle involving the new cruiser tanks took place on June 16, 1941, near Mount Hafid. In the early morning, units of 2 RTR met fierce resistance from German troops on Hill 208 and were forced to stop their advance. Nevertheless, having lost about a dozen tanks, the British managed to open the positions of the German 15th Panzer Division, equipped mainly with light tanks Pz.II and medium Pz.III, with a small number of Pz.IVs with short-barreled 75-mm guns. The Crusader advanced from the 6 RTR were supposed to break through the enemy's defenses, but the British command clearly overestimated the capabilities of their tanks. The Germans camouflaged and buried their own tanks in the sand, which, with the support of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns and 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, began to shoot British vehicles as if at a training ground. By the end of the day, the irretrievable losses of 6 RTR amounted to 13 tanks and another 18 were knocked out. Most of them could not be evacuated.
Not expecting such a turn of events, the British stopped without completing their tasks. But the most unpleasant for them was the German counteroffensive, which began on the morning of June 17th. The blow was so sudden that the troops of the British Commonwealth, who feared a complete encirclement, had to abandon part of their equipment. Operation "Battleaxe" ended, if not in failure, then at least in the tactical defeat of the forces of the British Commonwealth. But the worst thing was that the armored formations suffered heavy losses - so, by the end of the battles at Tobruk, only 19 Crusader remained in the 6 RTR.
The second major operation, in which the new cruiser tanks had a chance to participate, was also called "Crusader" by a number of coincidences. Then success was guaranteed to the British forces primarily due to the massive use of armored vehicles. Before the start of the operation, 748 tanks were assembled, of which 220 belonged to the Crusader I. The battle began on November 18 and ended on December 30, 1941, when, with a surprise attack, parts of the 8th British Army broke into the fragile defenses of the Italians and began to intensively move deep into the territory of Libya. Then the main opponents of cruiser tanks were the Italian medium tanks М11/39 and М13/40, as well as L3 tankettes, which were successfully dealt with by 2-pounder guns. The first wake-up call sounded after the appearance of the German Pz.III, which had higher combat qualities, but then their modest number and not very successful use led the British command to an erroneous opinion about the value of their own combat vehicles.
The operation of the Crusader tanks in Western conditions brought new troubles. The main problem was the Nuffield-Liberty engines, which did not have high endurance and suffered from constant leakage of fluids from the lubrication and cooling systems. Sand delivered a lot of problems (however, this was typical not only for the Crusader) - getting inside the case, it led to premature wear of the water pump elements and the fan chain drive. It also turned out that the cordite used in British ammunition has one “feature” - when in contact with hot metal elements, it ignited. Thus, very often, after penetrating the armor by a German shell, British tanks ignited, which made their recovery extremely difficult.
The operation of the Crusader tanks in the Queen`s Bays regiment (Royal Hounds), which was part of the 2nd Tank Brigade, was just as unsuccessful. This regiment, which arrived in Egypt in 1941, had a mixed composition: squadrons "A" and "B" were equipped with "Crusader", and the squadron was fully equipped with American M3A1 "Stewart" light tanks. In addition, the brigade included the 9th Lancers and the 10th Hussars, also equipped with Crusader tanks.
According to the confessions of British tankers, the "American" turned out to be more difficult (!) to manage and less comfortable than a domestically developed tank. At the same time, the American power plants in the heat worked almost flawlessly, while the British Nuffield-Liberty constantly went out of order. The British tankers felt all this well on the march to the combat area, when six Crusaders broke down on average during the day. An additional factor that negatively affected the combat readiness of British vehicles was the haste in their preparation for the upcoming battles - many Crusader were transferred to the regiment after a major overhaul with hastily welded shell holes and an incomplete set of equipment. Against this background, the new M3A1 looked just like "sweets". However, this did not compensate for the weaknesses of armor and armament in both types of tanks. By the middle of the summer of 1941, the Afrika Korps received a sufficient number of 50-mm PaK 38 anti-tank guns, the armor-piercing projectile of which pierced "puff" 30-40 mm armor right through from distances beyond the limits for 2-pounder tank guns. The German tankers did not lag behind, who were delivered new modifications of the Pz.III tanks with "long" 50-mm guns. In general, not having time to fight properly, the Crusader, from the hope of the British command, gradually turned into a second-rate combat vehicle. However, the tank-building industry could not offer anything more reliable at that time.
Over the next few months, the composition of the 2nd Tank Brigade changed several times. After the battle at Msus, most of the cruising tanks were knocked out and almost all M3A1s were lost, which were soon replaced by tanks with the same designation, but already of the middle class. The famous "grants" really looked better than the "Crusader" due to thicker armor and the presence of two guns - the presence of a 75-mm gun in the ammunition load of which included all types of ammunition was especially pleasing. However, the battle at Gazala, where 700 British were fighting against 333 German and 228 Italian tanks, again led the brigade to reorganize. The British tankers had to endure heavy battles on May 26-27, 1942, which became the decisive days of the battle. Then the Germans managed to inflict heavy losses on the units of the 4th Tank Brigade and almost completely defeat the 7th Brigade, whose headquarters was captured. However, around noon, the Afrika Korps, while attempting to cut the Tarik-Capuzzo road east of Knightsbridge, was attacked by the 2nd Armored Brigade and the 1st Army Tank Brigade, which entered the battle west of Knightsbridge. The attack of these two brigades, although there was no interaction between them, came as a great surprise to the Germans, whose forward formations were cut off from the main body and subsequently defeated. Despite the fact that the bulk of the counterattacks fell on the "grants" and "Matildas", the crews of the cruiser tanks acted no less decisively. In addition to the 2nd Tank Brigade, the Crusader tanks were part of the 22nd Tank Brigade, formed from formations previously located only in the mother country: the 2nd Royal Slochestor Hussars, the 3rd and 4th London regiments of the territorial cavalry. In total, 267 Crusader were thrown into battle near Gazala, most of which remained there. And yet, at the cost of huge losses, the German offensive was stopped. Success would have been more tangible if the 4th Tank Brigade had arrived in time to help the 2nd and 22nd Brigade, but that day (May 29) it remained in the corps reserve near El Adem almost until the evening, when it moved to Bir el-Kharmat. True, this did not help to save the garrison of Tobruk from defeat - the capitulation was signed on June 21st.
During the battles, the tankers of the 9th Lancers tried out an interesting form of camouflage on their vehicles, when a large tarpaulin awning with a plywood cabin model was installed on the tank hull. All this created the appearance of a truck, but only at long distances - near the tanks they gave themselves away with the clang of tracks and the noise of powerful engines. In such a disguise, not only the Crusader was "hiding". During 1941-1942. the same was done by the tankers who fought on the A13 Mk.IV and the American M3 medium tanks. For greater plausibility, cabin models were used both with and without a hood (to simulate trucks of the AEC “Matador” type).
Somewhat better tanks "Crusader" showed themselves during the battle of El Alamein, which took place from October 23 to November 4, 1942. By that time, it was possible to assemble about 250 Crusader of all modifications, which was approximately 30% of the total number of all British tanks participating in the operation. Despite the fact that this battle allowed the Allies to successfully develop a further offensive in Libya and Tunisia, it almost became a grave for the Crusader tanks. So, during October 27, 11 Crusader II and 1 Crusader III were lost. Further, between October 31 and November 1, the British lost another 10 Crusader IIs and 11 Crusader IIIs. In addition, before November 2, the formations of the 9th Tank Brigade lost another 10 Crusader IIs and 9 Crusader IIIs.
Of course, in frontal attacks, cruiser tanks suffered heavy losses, but in the pursuit of the retreating enemy, the Crusader proved to be simply irreplaceable. In general, most of the positive reviews refer to this period, when the career of these tanks was already coming to an end. However, in quantitative terms, the presence of Crusader tanks was very significant. According to the book of General of the Armored Forces Barras "British Armed Forces in the Middle East" on November 1, 1942, the British forces near El Alamein had 487 tanks in the 1st, 10th and 7th armored divisions, as well as in the 9th th and 23rd tank brigades, the New Zealand and Australian cavalry divisions .. Including: 133 Grant, 152 Sherman, 80 Crusader III and 122 Crusader II. In addition, there was an unspecified number of old-type light tanks. Two days later, their quantitative composition significantly decreased. So, on November 4, 1942, the forces of the British Commonwealth had 270 combat-ready tanks left: 151 "Grant" and "Sherman", 41 "Crusader III" and 78 "Crusader II". The total losses in the Crusader tanks are estimated at 94 units (60 "twos" and 34 "triples"). For the same period, another 15 cruiser tanks were under repair.
The last British formation, equipped with Crusader tanks (albeit not completely), to arrive in North Africa, was the 6th Panzer Division. The 16/5th Lancers, which was part of it, was almost equally equipped with both the Crusader III and the newer Valentine. At the same time, the 17/21st Lancers had only six Crusader IIIs in each squadron, and two CS variant tanks were at the disposal of each headquarters squadron. By the way, it was in this regiment that the so-called “rotatrailers” (), which were two-wheeled armored trailers with an additional supply of fuel and equipment for connecting to the internal systems of the tank, were tested. It was assumed that on the march this would increase the power reserve, and in battle the trailer could be unhooked using a remote control. In fact, it turned out that this system was extremely unreliable, and its mass use had to be abandoned.
Meanwhile, General Montgomery began the final part of his plan to destroy the German-Italian forces in Africa. A powerful offensive under El Guettar, undertaken by the forces of the Indian 4th Infantry and the British 1st Armored Divisions, began on March 23, 1943. The attackers rolled in two waves - the Sherman tanks played the role of a "ram", followed by the Crusader and infantry on Universal Carrier armored personnel carriers. Despite the stubborn resistance of the German 21st Panzer and 164th Light Divisions, it was not possible to hold the defense and the enemy began to roll back to the El Hamma-Gabes line. For the British cruiser tanks, this operation was the last of the campaign in North Africa.
A very small number of Crusader tanks participated in the landings in Sicily in the summer of 1943. Here, obsolete British tanks performed auxiliary functions.
In the mother country, the Crusader were transferred to service with the 11th Panzer Division and the 1st Polish Panzer Division, where they were operated together with the less successful Conenanter throughout 1941-1942. An interesting feature was the use of more tanks of earlier modifications as commanders. The problem was that on the Crusader III modification, the commander had to combine both his own duties and the duties of the loader. Thus, the five-seat Crusader, equipped with a 2-pounder gun, was better suited for the role of command tanks. Finally, tanks of this type were withdrawn from service in the middle of 1943 and almost completely disposed of.
In a single copy of the tank "Crusader III" was transferred to the United States. The Americans needed this car solely for comparative tests, since the U.S. Army did not feel any other need for it. The tank arrived at the Aberdeen Tank Range in October 1941. Reviews of the British car were rather reserved. The Americans have long been skeptical about tanks using the Christie suspension, and with the exception of high dynamic qualities, they did not find any significant advantages over their own tanks.
At the same time, politicians discussed the issue of launching mass production of British tanks at US production facilities. The Crusader, Matilda II and the Universal Carrier armored personnel carrier were chosen as the main samples. While negotiations were going on, the situation on the fronts changed a lot and what was relevant in 1941 lost its former priority the next year. In addition, the Americans considered the production of British-designed tanks too irrational - it was much easier to supply their own tanks. Although, success nevertheless fell to the lot of the Universal Carrier, which began to be produced in the USA under the T16 index and was even used after the war.
In April 1942, the Crusader was handed over to Westinghouse, whose specialists conducted a series of tests with the installation of a gyrostabilizer for the gun on the tank. After that, the tank was sent for storage at Fort Knox, but after the war it was decided to restore it and now it is again in Aberdeen, but already as a museum exhibit.
Australia became the only country in the British Commonwealth that received the Crusader tanks. In August 1941, the first "trial" copy with the number T15630 was sent to a distant continent. Upon arrival in Australia, the tank received a new registration code C6900 and was sent to the Pacapunyal test site, where it underwent a series of tests. Although no further deliveries followed, the Australians partially borrowed the turret design for their own AC1 "Sentinel" tank, and the local press published a number of positive articles. The only sample of the tank was at the end of 1941 transferred to the Armored School, where in 1942 the gun was removed from it and sent to temporary storage by the end of the war. In the post-war period, the Crusader was restored to running condition and is now on display as a museum piece.
Nevertheless, the Australian tankers had to fight on the Crusader of the first modification. Back in June 1941, the 9th Australian Cavalry Regiment (Reconnaissance) was transferred from Syria to Egypt, which received various types of armored vehicles for equipment. The Crusader tanks were handed over by the British command from warehouses and it is possible that these were new vehicles, and not overhauled.
For some time, the Australians were kept in reserve, and only in 1942 did they take part in the battles in Libya. Before the battle of El Alamein, the regiment had five M3A1 light tanks, fifteen Crusader IIs and 52 Universal Carrier armored personnel carriers. After the operation was completed, the British tanks were returned to warehouses in Egypt, and the regiment went home.
An unspecified number of Crusader tanks were used by the Canadian Army. Most of them were a modification of the OR or repair and recovery vehicles. In the "pure" form, these machines were not operated. Also, several Crusader were temporarily part of the South African units that fought in North Africa. In addition, during the battles, the Crusader were provided to the tankers who fought on the side of the Free French.
For the reasons described above, the second largest army, which operated the Crusader of almost all modifications, was the German one. For the first time, Rommel's tankers had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest in British tank building in the summer of 1941, when the first trophies were captured. In addition to infantry "Matilda II", light Mk.VI and cruiser tanks of other types, several "Crusaders" also came across.
In the Wehrmacht, these tanks received the designation Kreuzer-Panzerkampfwagen MK V 746(e). Establish the exact number of Crusader tanks used by the German army in 1941-1943. Now it is very problematic for several reasons at once.
First of all, of the dozens of tanks captured in more or less good condition (in other words, by abandoned crews), some were used exactly until the moment they ran out of fuel or ammunition, or until the tank was completely out of order - after that the Crusader became more of a "ballast" than a profitable acquisition. In addition, some of the vehicles were used in secondary roles and, accordingly, they were not taken into account in combat reports. So far, we can speak more confidently about 10-15 tanks of this type used by the formations of the African Corps. In particular, the British "cruisers" were part of the 15th Panzer Division. At least one Crusader II was sent to Kummersdorf for testing.
Several "Crusaders" in 1941-1942. was captured by the Italians. Unlike the African Corps, although not so often, but still receiving modernized Pz.III and Pz.IV tanks with long-barreled guns, the Italian armored divisions had to be content with a variety of models of medium tanks from M11 / 39 to M14 / 41, the combat value of which turned out to be extremely low. Worse, domestic developers continued to "exploit" the chassis layout, partially borrowed from the British 6-ton Vickers tank, with virtually no work on the development of more modern types of undercarriage.
The use of captured Crusader tanks was short-lived. Several vehicles were used as part of the Littorio division, and due to the lack of spare parts, they were often buried in the sand, turning into armored firing points.
However, during 1941-1942. the Italian command had a very definite opinion about what a "desert tank" should be. In the beginning, there was a very tempting idea to simply copy the British car. However, the Ansaldo engineers assigned to this project very quickly came to the realization that the copying process would be overly complicated and it would be better to create your own fast tank, based on the Crusader. The work that began in 1941 led to the creation of the widely known, the design of which combined both developments in British tanks and in the Soviet T-34. As a result, the Italian vehicle received 30 mm frontal and 20 mm side armor with rational armor plate installation angles. The gun was installed standard, caliber 47 mm, with two additional 8 mm Breda machine guns. Thus, the first prototype of the Selere Sahariano, which appeared in 1942, corresponded to the Crusader I of the 1941 model of the year - having practically no reserves to strengthen armor and weapons, the project lost support from the military and was canceled.
Despite the not very successful combat use in North Africa, the Argentine government showed interest in the Crusader tanks. In 1943, a contract was signed for the supply of several chassis of outdated Crusader I tanks, which had already been converted into ARVs. The purchase of obviously outdated equipment, as it may seem at once, did not pursue the goal of replenishing the fleet of armored forces by spending a minimum of funds - the American М4А2 Sherman had already been chosen as the main battle tanks. Former British armored vehicles were supposed to be used, oddly enough, for the construction of self-propelled artillery mounts. The idea to create self-propelled guns using the undercarriage of the "crusader" belonged to artillery lieutenant Carlos R. Digoli (Carlos R. Doglioli), who proposed to install field artillery systems to increase their mobility.
In the early 1950s three variants were developed and implemented: the Schneider 10.5cm L/18 mod.1928 howitzer, as well as the Krupp 7.5cm L/30 Mod.1909 and Bofors 7.5cm L/40 Mod.1935 field guns. Accordingly, the ammunition was distributed as 12, 16 and 16 shots. It is also indicated that three Madsen mod.1926 machine guns were transported in the stowage.
It is possible that this decision was influenced by British experience with a 5.5-inch gun (140 mm metric caliber), which was intended for the Centurion tank. Although these works were purely experimental in nature, this experience, apparently, was not in vain. Improvements have affected, for the most part, only the body. Instead of the dismantled tower, a massive armored box-shaped cabin was installed. A cutout was made in the upper frontal sheet for the installation of guns, and in the lower there were two hatches. To maintain acceptable driving performance had to sacrifice booking. The frontal part of the superstructure was protected by 7 mm armor plates, the sides - 5 mm each, the aft part of the superstructure - 3 mm.
The full crew of the self-propelled guns consisted of five people: driver, commander, gunner and two loaders. All vehicles retained British Nuffield-Liberty V12 engines. According to Argentine data, the self-propelled guns could reach a maximum speed of up to 58 km / h and a cruising speed of about 35 km / h. With a fuel reserve of 500 liters, self-propelled guns had a cruising range of 140 km. The hull length was 6700 mm, width - 2270 mm, height - 3000 mm.
There is no data on the number of self-propelled guns built, but judging by the photographs, at least a dozen chassis were converted. They did not have to participate in hostilities, except for the military coup of 1955, when self-propelled guns were withdrawn from the streets of the Argentine capital rather as an element of intimidation. The service of Argentine self-propelled guns continued until at least 1965.
The Crusader tank appeared at a difficult time for the British Commonwealth, when the situation on all fronts was not in favor of the Allies. To replenish the tank fleet, which was significantly reduced after the defeat in France, it was necessary to take temporary and "compromise" measures that were far from optimal. As a result, the British tank builders simply did not have time to create a radically new design, but at the same time, the Christie-type chassis had not yet exhausted all reserves. After several rounds of modernization in 1941, the most combat-ready version of the cruiser tank was finally obtained, but even the Crusader II still did not fully meet the updated requirements from the military.
In terms of most performance characteristics, the British Crusader tanks of the 1941 model of the year corresponded to the second prototype of the Soviet T-32 tank, equipped with a 45-mm 20K gun, surpassing it only in armor thickness. In terms of effectiveness, the “two-pounder” was almost identical to the Soviet 20K, but with the advent of more thick-armored Pz.III and Pz.IV (with overhead armor plates, the thickness of the frontal part of the hull was 80 mm), the effectiveness of the armor-piercing projectile decreased significantly. It was necessary to radically change the composition of weapons, but this could not be done in a timely manner due to the lack of a suitable tank gun. The urgently developed 6-pounder (57 mm metric) tank gun was rather a temporary solution, designed to "fill a niche" until a more powerful artillery system appeared.
All this left its heavy imprint on the future fate of the Crusader, which, among other things, was not at all intended for operation in the African desert. Tanks were constantly plagued by overheating of the power plant and other technical problems that greatly hampered their combat use. Nevertheless, the Royal Tank Corps got the opportunity to close the gap with the Panzerwaffe at least for a while. The fact that in 1943 Britain did not conduct large-scale operations, with the exception of landings in Sicily and southern Italy with minimal losses, also helped to increase the quantitative composition of modern equipment. So, the fate of the Crusader tanks was already a foregone conclusion by that time. It is not entirely clear why they did not try to sell the remaining cars to third world countries, such as Syria or Egypt - apparently, the technical condition of the Crusader remaining in Africa was such that it was not possible to use them even for training purposes.
Sources:
P. Chamberlain and K. Alice "British and American tanks of the Second World War." Moscow. AST \ Astrel 2003
M. Baryatinsky “Crusader and others. British cruiser tanks Mk.I - Mk.VI" (Armored collection MK 2005-06)
D. Fletcher "Crusader and Covenanter Cruiser Tanks 1939-45". 2000 Osprey Publishing
W.S.Horst "Beutepanzer unterm Balkenkreuz"
AFV Weapons Profile 08 "Crusader tank"
Tank front: El Alamein. Side losses
The Crusader in Australia
Kreuzer-Panzerkampfwagen MK V 746(e)
PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CRUISER TANKS
"Crusader" Mk.I and "Crusader" Mk.III mod. 1941-1942
| Crusader Mk.I 1941 |
Crusader Mk III 1942 |
|
| COMBAT WEIGHT | 19279 kg | 19750 kg |
| CREW, pers. | 5 | 3-4 |
| DIMENSIONS | ||
| Length, mm | 5994 | 5994 |
| Width, mm | 2642 | 2642 |
| Height, mm | 2235 | |
| Clearance, mm | 406 | |
| WEAPONS | one 40 mm QF 2 pounder Vickers cannon and two 7.71 mm Besa machine guns | one 57 mm cannon and one 7.71 mm Besa machine gun |
| AMMUNITION | 130 shots and 5000 rounds | 65 shots and 5000 rounds |
| AIMING DEVICES | commander's periscope Mk.IV, triplexes in the sides of the turret, optical machine gun sights, telescopic gun sight No.30 Mark I or Mark IA | two periscopes Mk.IV, triplexes in the sides of the turret, optical machine gun sight, telescopic gun sight No.33 |
| RESERVATION (mm \ deg.) | hull forehead - 30 mm \ 30 ° felling forehead - 40 mm \ 90 ° stern of the hull - 28 mm \ 11 ° hull roof — 7 mm \ 0° case bottom — 10 mm \ 0° tower forehead - 49 mm \ 7 ° side of the tower - 24 mm \ 45 ° turret rear - 30 mm \ 32 ° tower roof - 12 mm \ 0 ° |
hull forehead - 30 mm \ 30 ° forehead of the body (top) - 20 mm \ 60 ° felling forehead - 40 mm \ 90 ° hull side - 14+14 mm \ 90° stern of the hull - 28 mm \ 11 ° hull roof — 7 mm \ 0° case bottom — 10 mm \ 0° tower forehead - 51 mm \ 7 ° side of the tower - 24 mm \ 45 ° turret rear - 30 mm \ 32 ° tower roof - 12 mm \ 0 ° |
| ENGINE | Nuffield-Liberty Mk.III, gasoline, 12-cylinder engine, 340 hp. at 1550 rpm, working volume 27040 cm3; fuel capacity 378.6 liters + 113.6 liters | |
| TRANSMISSION | mechanical type: Nuffield 4-speed transmission, Wilson planetary slewing (gear ratio 4.08:1), final drives, external brakes | |
| CHASSIS | (on one side) 5 road wheels with rubber bands and shock absorption on vertical spring springs, front guide and rear drive wheel, small-linked metal caterpillar of 118 tracks | |
| SPEED | 44 km/h on the highway 22-25 km / h on a country road |
44 km/h on the highway 22-25 km / h on a country road |
| HIGHWAY RANGE | 322 km by highway 255 km along the country road |
|
| OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME | ||
| Climb angle, deg. | ? | |
| Wall height, m | 0,78 | |
| Ford depth, m | 0,99 | |
| Ditch width, m | 2,28 | |
| MEANS OF COMMUNICATION | radio station No.11 or No.19 with whip antenna and intercom | radio station No.19 with whip antenna and intercom |
Technical characteristics of the game Tank Crusader
- Tank Crusader game added: 12/06/2013
- Game size: 0.98 Mb
- Game played: 1402 times
- Game rating: 3.65 out of 5 (34 ratings)