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Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the Second World War. Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions to the British victories during the North African campaign .
Crusader was used extensively in North Africa, but suffered from problems with reliability and insufficient numbers were able to be fielded, many returning to workshops for servicing. Works to replace the Crusader continued in Britain, but when its successors were delayed the Crusader was modified to take the 6-pounder gun.
2-pounder armed Crusader in the desert. The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI, , was used in large numbers in the Western Desert Campaign. The contemporary Covenanter was unreliable and was retained in the UK for training use. The Cavalier, Centaur and Cromwell tanks were the planned successors to the Covenanter and Crusader. Intended to be in production by ...
AEC of Southall, England was a manufacturer of truck and bus chassis and its Matador artillery tractor was used for towing medium field and heavy anti-aircraft guns. The armoured car based on the Matador artillery chassis was developed initially as a private venture and a mock-up was shown to officials in 1941 at Horse Guards Parade in London, where it made a favourable impression on Winston ...
The Cruiser MkIV was replaced by two tank designs, the Cruiser MkV Covenanter tank and the A15 Crusader tank. The A13 Covenanter was a radical departure from the original A13 design and constituted an entirely new tank, though design flaws meant it was unsuitable for warfare and it was used only for training.
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk II (A10), was a cruiser tank developed alongside the A9 cruiser tank, and was intended to be a heavier, infantry tank version of that type. In practice, it was not deemed suitable for the infantry tank role and was classified as a "heavy cruiser".
The British developed their own SPAAGs throughout the war mounting multiple machine guns and light cannon on various tank and armoured car chassis and by 1943, the Crusader AA tanks, which mounted the Bofors 40 mm gun or two-three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. Although used during the Normandy landings, by that point German aircraft were contained by ...
Nevertheless, during Operation Crusader Matilda tanks of 1st and 32nd Army Tank Brigades were instrumental in the break-out from Tobruk and the capture of the Axis fortress of Bardia. [26] The operation was decided by the infantry tanks , after the failure of the cruiser tanks of the 7th Armoured Division to overcome the Axis tank forces in the ...