4 years ago

Cromwell A27M - Antwerp 11th Armoured Division, British Army Monument - Walkaround.

The British Cromwell, officially designated Cruiser, Mk VIII,
Cromwell (A27M), was developed in 1940 after the Crusader (Cruiser Mk VI) would become obsolete.

Several companies started to develop prototypes, Vauxhall came up with the A23, a scaled down version of their A22 Churchill infantry tank, Nuffield submitted the A24 and BRC&W, both these designs were heavily
based on the Crusader design.

After struggling to get the cooling issues resolved and fit the right engine.
the first prototype of a Meteor-powered A27M Cromwell was delivered to the Army for trials in March 1942, before the A24 and A27L Centaur.

( The development of British vehicles always seem to be overly complex
with several production vehicles and companies developing the vehicles.
Cromwell developing the Cromwell or are involved in its development
(Vauxhall, Nuffield, Leyland, Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon, Rolls-Royce and Rover) and several production dates and vehicles. )

A complete move to Sherman tanks was not acceptable to British forces who would then be dependent on the US for tank production.
The Cromwell with the Meteor engine and main armament proofed
to be superior then the Sherman.The first real field test of the design was carried out in August–September 1943 and the first production
model design was finalised on 2 February 1944.
Total A27 production consisted of 4,016 tanks, 950 of which were
Centaurs and 3,066 Cromwells and it would see service until 1955.

The Cromwell was the fastest British tank to serve in ww2 this was extremely beneficial in both attack and defense
and it could outmaneuvering opponents in a lot of
circumstances, but the speed did do some damaged to the
Christie suspension and the later models the top speed
was lowered.

Production began in November 1942. new names were given to
all three designs A24 Cromwell I became the Cavalier, the Liberty powered
A27L Cromwell II became Centaur, and the Meteor powered A27M kept the name Cromwell.

Cromwell production was almost cancelled, because of the
Soviets had no interested in the Sherman tank anymore and this led to a surplus in Sherman tank.

But the lack of a high-velocity weapon and the failure to fit a High Velocity 75mm gun, to combat the German heavy tanks, would led to the development of the A34 Comet.

But Cromwell's speed and low profile gave an advantage over other tanks, giving the tank the element of surprise and making return fire more difficult.
Cromwell crews in North-West Europe succeeded in outflanking
the heavier and more sluggish German tanks with superior speed,
maneuverability and reliability.

The Cromwell at Antwerp has no historical information, 1947 the Cromwell tank was donated by the British to the city of Antwerp, to commemorate the liberation of the 11th British Armored Division on September 4, 1944 The tank was replaced in various places and
would be restored in 2011.

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■ Information obtained from several sites.
■ Wikipedia
■ tanks-encyclopedia
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers
■ preservedtanks
■ pantser.net
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Tanks_in_France

■ Some music is from the YouTube Audio Library.

■ Music used:
EpidemicSound.com

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