В 1940 году во Франции и Северной Африке действия British armored troops showed that the Covenanter and Crusader cruiser tanks in service with the army were gradually becoming obsolete. Their negative sides were weak armor, unreliable engine and insufficient armament. The standard weapon in 40 mm was inferior to the German guns in 50 and 75 mm in the medium tanks of Germany.
By the end of 1942, British designers developed a new cruising machine, the Cromwell, a tank with high speed and maneuverability.
New engine
Cromwell was developed according to the classicBritish tank design scheme: engine, fuel tanks, cooling systems were installed in the engine compartment, which extended to the rear of the hull. Armor and combat compartment - the middle part of the hull and tower. Transmission and control compartment - the front of the tank.
V-shaped engine "Rolls-Royce Meteor" with 12cylinders and a maximum power of 600 horsepower - is the "Cromwell". The tank easily reached the highway speed of up to 64 km / h. The transmission of the new medium tank included:
- gearbox with synchronizers;
- friction - part of the flywheel of the engine, which worked on the principle of dry friction;
- the extended driveshaft with multistage system;
- swivel mechanism with double differentials.
Armor case and tower
The hull was made of rolled plate armor.Rivets sheets were fixed between themselves and on the frame. The thickness of the hull plates reached 64 mm, feed and side - 32 mm. The bottom and roof of the tank were made without a constant thickness of armor, the value ranged from 6 to 14 mm.
Sheets of armor forming an almost square turretforms, fixed without inclined corners riveted and bolted connections. The thickness of the plates of the frontal part of the turret is 76 mm, the sides and the stern are 51 mm. The new "Cromwell" (tank) was more armored than previous models of the average British combat vehicles.
Modernization
Since the end of 1943 there was a modernizationcruising tank. In the original version there were single models by the end of the war. Both major overhaul and new combat structures with low mileage were upgraded. In the process of improving the tank from 1943 to 1945, Cromwell versions appeared:
- Cromwell I.
- The Cromwell II is a test vehicle with a caterpillar of 15.5 inches wide against 14.
- Cromwell III - 75 mm combat gun.
- Cromwell IV and IVw.
- The Cromwell VIII is a later model with a 95 mm howitzer.
The cruising "Cromwell" (tank) in the process of modifications received enhanced armor and improved weapon.
Reinforced armor and improved weapon appeared in the process of modifications, but with lower speed. Other versions of the machines were also designed.
Armament
The main armament of a cruiser tank is a 57 mm cannon, the barrel is 50 caliber. Various modifications of the Cromwell were equipped with a 95 mm howitzer.
Орудие устанавливалось на переднюю часть башни в square mask with an additional armored plate. The tank was also equipped with auxiliary weapons: machine guns of 27.7 mm - British modifications of Czechoslovak guns. One machine gun was fixed as paired to the main gun, the second - to the left side of the body in front. The set of charges included 3000 rounds.
Exploitation
Cruising tank "Cromwell", whose photopresented above, participated in battles during the Second World War in Western Europe and North Africa. In practice, the car revealed flaws: weak firepower and armor.
The tank could withstand the German "Panther", but waspowerless against the heavy "Tiger." During the battle near the French town of Viller-Bocage in 1944, a British column of medium tanks "Cromwell" suffered a crushing defeat from the Germans armed with "Tiger" tanks. At the same time, the number of German combat vehicles was three times less.
World of Tanks
The game is popular with many people in the world. Custom online arcade allows you to plunge into the days of the Second World War, to learn about military vehicles, in service with several nations.
Танк «Кромвель» в World of Tanks — средняя боевая sixth level machine. In the game, for the best results, the mobility and briskness of the cruising tank is used. It is more profitable to approach the enemy from the flank or rear. The rate of the machine will quickly disable your opponent.
The tank has good speed: due to this, anti-tank equipment and heavy vehicles can be lit.
The main enemies of "Cromwell" in the game:
- PT (anti-tank equipment) 5-6 levels.
- CT (medium cars) 6-7 level with a top gun.
- TT (heavy tanks) at long distances, in melee there are chances of survival.
Крейсерский британский танк «Кромвель» (отзывы users of online games confirm this) well breaks the stern and side. The players marked the dignity of the machine: high speed, mobility of the tower at a good level, profitability.
Of the minuses:
- almost complete lack of armor;
- the gun has low accuracy;
- long mixing guns.
Also in the game, “Cromwell” often finds itself on the battlefield with tanks of the eighth level, where most of the vehicles are heavy vehicles.
It is advisable not to stand still in the game car, butconstantly move to complicate the task of the enemy. An aircraft engine mounted on a vehicle allows an average tank to successfully avoid accumulations of enemy combat vehicles and strike where it is not expected by opponents.
