Cromwell
Sign in to saveAlso known as Cromwell Tank, Cruiser Mk VIII Cromwell, Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Cromwell, Mark VIII Cromwell, Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, A27M
British WWII cruiser tank
Key facts
- Type
- Cruiser tank
- Place of origin
- United Kingdom
- In service
- 1944–1955
- Used by
- British Army , Israeli Army , Greek Army , Portuguese Army
- Wars
- World War II , 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Korean War
- Designer
- Leyland , then Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from 1942
- Manufacturer
- London, Midland and Scottish Railway , English Electric , Leyland Motors , Morris Motors
- Unit cost
- £10,000
- Number span no built
- 4,016
- Mass
- 27.6 long tons (28.0 t)
- Length
- 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)
- Width
- 9 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (2.908 m)
- Height
- 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
- Crew
- 5 (Commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver, hull gunner)
- Armour
- 64 mm (2.5 in) on the hull front, 76.7 mm (3.02 in) on the turret front
- Main armament
- Ordnance QF 6-pounder , with 75 rounds , Ordnance QF 75 mm , with 64 rounds
- Secondary armament
- 2 × 7.92 mm Besa machine gun , with 4,950 rounds
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 petrol , 600 hp (450 kW)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 27942
- Image
- Cromwell-latrun-2.jpg
- Height
- 2.51
- Width
- 3.048
- Length
- 6.42
- Speed
- 40
Show 5 more facts
- Commons gallery
- Cromwell tank
- Commons category
- Cromwell tanks
- service entry
- 1944-01-01
- service retirement
- 1955-01-01
- total produced
- 4016
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Article
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. 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.