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Refitting the design of the A24 Cromwell for the Meteor engine was not acceptable to Nuffield, and hence a new specification of tank was created working with Leyland, the A27 Cromwell. In mid-1941, Leyland changed its mind, concerned about cooling problems.
The Rolls-Royce Meteor later renamed the Rover Meteor is a British tank engine that was developed during the Second World War. It was used in British tanks up to 1964. It was a result of co-operation between Leyland Motors and Rolls-Royce who between them in 1941 had suggested that a specialised de-rated version of the Merlin aero-engine would be highly suitable for use in armoured fighting ...
The Rolls-Royce Meteor gave the British a powerful, reliable engine, which was used in the A27M Cruiser Mk VIII Cromwell tank. Robotham's contributions gained him a place in the Ministry of Supply and on the Tank Board, despite his lack of experience in tank design.
It retained the 60° V and 5.4 in (140 mm) bore and 6.0 in (150 mm) stroke of the Meteor. [7] [9] The Meteorite's crankcase, cylinder block and cylinder heads were all cast from aluminium alloy. [10] The engine was lubricated from a dry sump, this had the advantage of allowing the engine to be operated at extreme angles without starving for oil ...
Under the newer A27M specification, Cromwell integrated a number of advanced features. The Meteor engine proved to be very reliable and gave the tank good mobility but some problems appeared based on the vehicle's shared heritage and significant jump in engine power. The tank was prone to throwing its tracks if track tension was not maintained ...
The A24 Cavalier and A27L Centaur used the Nuffield Liberty engine while the A27M Cromwell used the more powerful Rolls-Royce Meteor. When US tanks entered British use, the Cromwell and Centaur design requirement was changed to move from the 6-pounder to 75mm for commonality of ammunition. This reduced the armour penetration.
The Meteor was a tank engine developed from the Merlin in World War II. It was detuned, did not have a supercharger, and ran on lower-octane pool petrol (as did the early Merlins). Manufacture was transferred from Rolls-Royce to Rover, who developed the smaller Meteorite V-8 engine from it.
Part of the Cromwell's success was its high-power to weight ratio, provided by the adoption of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine as the Meteor, which delivered sufficient power for the Cromwell to have a maximum speed around 40 mph (64 km/h) on roads. The M4 Sherman had a top speed on roads of about 30 mph (48 km/h).