World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCruiser Mk VI Crusader (A15) tanks were designed by Nuffield Mechanisation somewhat based on the Mk III Covenanter (A13) design. Some of the major differences between Covenanter and Crusader tanks include Crusader tanks' use of five road wheels on each side for better weight distribution, different engines and engine cooling systems, different steering systems, and hand-traversed machine gun turrets on the left-front side of the Crusader hulls (although these auxiliary turrets were often removed in the field). Against their German counterparts, they were relatively lightly armed and thinly armored, and they lacked high explosive rounds, but their higher speed somewhat made up for the difference. The Crusader tanks first saw combat during Operation Battleaxe in North Africa, where they effectively served as the main cruiser tanks. In 1942, an attempt was made to upgrade Crusader tanks' armament to 6-pounder guns, but the eventual availability of M4 Sherman and Cruiser Mk VIII Centaur/Cromwell tanks relegated the now inadequately-armed Crusader tanks to secondary roles, such as anti-aircraft (with twin Oerlikon 20-mm guns) or artillery towing.

ww2dbaseBetween Nov 1940 and 1945, 5,464 Crusader tanks were built. Production of Crusader tanks, broken down by year, was as follows:

SPECIFICATIONS

A15 Mk I (Crusader I)

Machinery	One Nuffield Liberty L-12 V-12 engine rated at 340hp
Suspension	Christie helical spring
Armament	1x40mm QF 2pdr gun (110 rounds), 1x7.92mm Besa machine gun
Armor	40mm front, 14mm sides, 14mm rear, 4mm floor, 20mm turret front, 10mm turret sides, 9mm turret top
Crew	4
Length	5.97 m
Width	2.77 m
Height	2.24 m
Weight	18.0 t
Speed	24 km/h off-road; 42 km/h on-road
Range	235 km off-road; 322 km on-road

A15 Mk II (Crusader II)

Machinery	One Nuffield Liberty L-12 V-12 engine rated at 340hp
Suspension	Christie helical spring
Armament	1x40mm QF 2pdr gun (110 rounds), 1x7.92mm Besa machine gun
Armor	49mm front, 14mm sides, 14mm rear, 4mm floor, 30mm turret front, 10mm turret sides, 12mm turret top
Crew	4
Length	5.97 m
Width	2.77 m
Height	2.24 m
Weight	19.0 t
Speed	24 km/h off-road; 42 km/h on-road
Range	235 km off-road; 322 km on-road

A15 Mk III (Crusader III)

Machinery	One Nuffield Liberty L-12 V-12 engine rated at 340hp
Suspension	Christie helical spring
Armament	1x57mm QF 6pdr gun (65 rounds), 1x7.92mm Besa machine gun
Armor	51mm front, 14mm sides, 14mm rear, 4mm floor, 32mm turret front, 10mm turret sides, 12mm turret top
Crew	3
Length	5.97 m
Width	2.77 m
Height	2.24 m
Weight	19.0 t
Speed	24 km/h off-road; 42 km/h on-road
Range	235 km off-road; 322 km on-road

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments

2.  C. Peter Chen says:
7 Jul 2019 07:05:49 AM

Thanks for your note, Mike of 7 Jul 2019. I am not certain why the stats were so off, but they have been corrected now. Thanks again for pointing this out to us.