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The Crusader III was the first British tank to be armed with an effective gun, the 6-pdr. Its other great strongpoint was its suspension, which was so tough that the theoretical maximum speed could often be exceeded.
The Cruiser Tank Mk VI that became known as the Crusader had its origins around the same time as the Covenanter, but was a Nuffield design and therefore used the Nuffield Liberty Mk III engine and a Nuffield gearbox. In overall appearance and layout the Crusader resembled the Covenanter, but there were several differences. One was that the Crusader had five road wheels on each side instead of the Covenanter’s four.
The prototype was known as the A15. It had the unusual feature of two forward miniature turrets, one in front of the driver’s hood and the other for a gunner seated in the front hull. Each of these turrets was fitted with a 7.92-mm (0.312-in) machine-gun, but after early trials the driver’s gun and turret was eliminated. These early trials once more highlighted that engine cooling was inadequate and that the gear change arrangements were unreliable, These problems, and others, took a long time to remedy and, indeed, many were still present when the Crusader was withdrawn from service.
The first production model was the Crusader I, which had a 2-pdr (40-mnV 1.58-in) gun and armour with a 40-mm (1.58-in) basis. When Crusader Is entered service in 1941 they were already inadequate for combat, and as the new 6-pdr (57-mm/2.24-in) gun was still in short supply the armour alone was increased in thickness to a 50-mm (1.97-in) basis to produce the Crusader II, and it was not until the Crusader III that the 6-pdr gun was fitted, This turned out to be the main ‘combat’ version of the Crusader during the North African campaigns before it was replaced by the American M4 Sherman.
In action the Crusader proved fast and nippy, but its armour proved to be too thin, and the Crusaders armed with 2-pdr guns were no match for their German counterparts. Their reliability problems did little for Crusaders’ chances of survival under desert conditions, but gradual improvements were effected. The Crusader IICS was fitted with a 76.2-mm (3-in) howitzer.
Once they were no longer combat tanks the Crusaders were used for a variety of special purposes. Some were converted as anti-aircraft tanks mounting either a single 40-mm (1.58- in) Bofors gun (Crusader III AA I) or twin or triple 20-mm (0.787-in) cannon (Crusader III AA II). There was a Crusader ARV armoured recovery vehicle version without a turret (but with an A’ frame jib) and another turretless version featured a dozer blade for combat engineering purposes (Crusader Dozer). Many Crusaders were fitted with an open box superstructure for use as high-speed artillery tractors (Crusader Gun Tractor), and were widely used in Europe during 1944 and 1945 to tow 17-pdr (76.2-mm/3-in) antitank guns. Many more were used for trials that ranged from engine installations via mine warfare devices to wading trials that led to the ‘Duplex Drive’ tanks.
The Crusader was one of the ‘classic’ British tanks of World War II, and had a dashing and attractive appearance that belied its lack of combat efficiency. Despite its low and aggressive silhouette it was outclassed as a battle tank on many occasions, but saw the war out in several special-purpose variants.
Specification
Crusader III
Crew: 3
Weight: 20067 kg (44,240 lb )
Powerplant: one Nuffield Liberty Mk III petrol engine developing 254 kW (340 bhp)
Dimensions: length 5.994 m (19 ft 8 in); width 2.64 m (8 ft 8 in); height 2.235 m (7 ft 4 in)
Performance: maximum road speed 43.4 km/h (27 mph); maximum cross-country speed 24 km/h ( 15 mph); range with extra fuel tank 204 km ( 127 miles); fording 0.99 m (3 ft 3 in); vertical obstacle 0,686 m (2 ft 3 in); trench 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
