Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), and the related Centaur tank, were one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. The Cromwell tank, named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed from the powerful and reliable Meteor engine, and reasonable armour, all in one balanced package. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank.
The Cromwell first saw action in the Battle of Normandy in June 1944. The tank equipped the armoured reconnaissance regiments, of the Royal Armoured Corps, within the 7th, 11th, and Guards Armoured Divisions. While the armour regiments of the latter two divisions were equipped with M4 Shermans, the armour regiments of the 7th Armour was fully equipped with Cromwell tanks.
The Centaur was chiefly used for training; only those in specialist roles saw action. The Close Support version of the Centaur with a 95 mm howitzer replacing the 75mm saw service in small numbers as part of the Royal Marine Armoured Support Group on D-Day, and a number were used as the basis for combat engineering vehicles such as an armoured bulldozer.
The Sherman remained the most common tank in British and Commonwealth armoured units. Cromwells were used to fully equip only one division, the 7th Armoured Division. The Cromwell was also used as the main tank in the armoured reconnaissance regiments of British armoured divisions, in North West Europe, because of its great speed. The Cromwell in turn was succeeded by small numbers of the Comet tank. Although the Comet was similar to the Cromwell, and shared some components, it was a much better tank with the 77 mm gun (a version of the 17 pounder)
In general the Cromwell was found to be very reliable with remarkable speed and manoevrability though it required more maintenance than the Sherman. The Cromwell was given a modification to the exhaust to direct the fumes so that they were not drawn into the fighting compartment - a problem found when tanks were drawn up together preparing for the advance.
In Northern Europe, the Cromwell was used by Allied units of the 1st Polish Armoured Division and Czech Armoured Brigade.
After the war, the Cromwell remained in British service. It saw service in the Korean War with 7 RTR and 8th King`s Royal Irish Hussars
It was also used by Finland(Charioteer version).
Twee uitvoeringen mogelijk;
- British Royal Army, Artillery Observation Tank, 5th Royal Horse Artillery, Villers-Bocage Normandy, June 1944.
- British Royal Army, 11th Armoured Division, Flers, July 1944.
Lang; 89 mm.
aantal onderdelen: 128
Revell verf kleur nr.'s; 9 / 48 / 65 / 91.
