Cavalier tank
| Tank, Cruiser, Mk VII Cavalier (A24) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cruiser tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1942–1945 |
| Used by | United Kingdom, Free France |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1941 |
| Manufacturer | Nuffield Mechanization & Aero Limited |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 27 long tons (27 tonnes) |
| Length | 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Height | 8 ft (2.44 m) |
| Crew | 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver) |
|
|
|
| Armour | 13-76 mm |
|
Main
armament |
QF 6 pounder, 64 rounds |
|
Secondary
armament |
2 x 7.92 mm Besa machine gun, 4,950 rounds |
| Engine |
Nuffield Liberty petrol 410 horsepower (310 kW) |
| Power/weight | 14.9 hp (11.2 kW) / tonne |
| Suspension | Improved Christie |
|
Operational
range |
165 mi (266 km) |
| Speed | 24 mph (39 km/h) off road 14 mph (23 km/h) |
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VII Cavalier (A24) was an interim design of British cruiser tank during World War II. It was derived from the A15 Crusader tank and was superseded by the A27 Cromwell tank.
Development of the Cavalier initially started as development of the Cromwell tank.
In mid-1940, the British were considering which tank should follow on from the new cruiser tanks then being developed. A specification was drawn up by the Directorate of Tanks and Transport which included the QF 6 pounder gun. This led to General Staff specification A23 for a cruiser version of the A22 Churchill tank from Vauxhall, and A24 from Nuffield Mechanization & Aero Limited based upon their Crusader tank design. Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) also submitted a design based on the Crusader.
The Nuffield design used an uprated (410 hp) Liberty engine which was expected to give a top speed of 24 mph (39 km/h). Armour would be from 63 to 70 mm at the front, and the 6 pounder gun would be in a turret on a 60-inch turret ring.
The Tank Board meeting in January 1941 decided that as the tank needed to be in production by early 1942 it should be based upon an existing design to avoid the need for prototypes. Six tanks of the A24 Nuffield design were ordered that month, and the tank was named Cromwell.
Rolls-Royce's design team, working with Leyland's engineers, produced the Meteor engine. This gave a higher output than the Liberty for a similar size. Initially intended to be fitted to the A24, the new engine was not acceptable to Nuffield.
Working with Rolls Royce and Leyland, BRC&W were able to produce a prototype of their version of the Cromwell design using the Meteor. This spawned a new specification for Cromwell, A27, using a new Leyland transmission. Leyland later had doubts about the Meteor and wanted to manufacture the Liberty instead, splitting the Cromwell programme further into A24, A27L, and A27M.
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