Centaur tank

Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M)
Cromwell Mk IVd in the Kubinka Tank Museum
Type	Cruiser tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1944–1955
Used by	British Army, Israeli Army, Greek Army, Portuguese Army
Wars	World War II, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Korean War
Production history
Designer	Leyland, then Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from 1942
Manufacturer	Nuffield Mechanisation and Aero
Unit cost	£10,000
No. built	4,016
Specifications
Weight	27.6 long tons (28.0 t)
Length	20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)
Width	9 ft 6 1⁄2 in (2.908 m)
Height	8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Crew	5 (Commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver, front gunner)
Armour	3 inches (76 mm) on Mk.IV, 4 inches (100 mm) on Mk.V
Main armament	Ordnance QF 75 mm with 64 rounds
Secondary armament	2 x 7.92 mm Besa machine gun with 4,950 rounds
Engine	Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 petrol 600 hp (450 kW)
Power/weight	21.4 hp (16 kW) / tonne
Transmission	Merritt-Brown Z.5 gearbox (five forward and one reverse gear) driving rear sprockets
Suspension	Improved Christie
Ground clearance	16 inches (410 mm)
Fuel capacity	110 imp gal (500 l) + optional 30 imp gal (140 l) auxiliary
Operational range	170 miles (270 km) on roads, 80 mi (130 km) cross country
Speed	40 mph (64 km/h) with 3.7:1 final reduction drive

The Cromwell tank, officially Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M), was one of the series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. Named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, the Cromwell was the first tank put into service by the British to combine high speed from a powerful and reliable engine (the Rolls-Royce Meteor), and reasonable armour. However the originally proposed dual-purpose high velocity gun could not be fitted in the turret and the medium velocity dual purpose gun fitted proved inadequate. An improved version with a high velocity gun became the Comet tank.

The name "Cromwell" was initially applied to three different vehicles during development. Early Cromwell development led to the creation of the A24 Cavalier. Later Cromwell development led to the creation of the competing Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Centaur (A27L) design. The Centaur tank was closely related to the Cromwell, both vehicles being externally of very similar appearance. Cromwell and Centaur differed in the engine used. While the Centaur had the 340 hp Liberty engine, the Cromwell had the significantly more powerful 600 hp Meteor.

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, in the 7th Armoured Division, 11th Armoured Division and the Guards Armoured Division. While the armoured regiments of the latter two divisions were equipped with M4 Shermans, the armoured regiments of the 7th Armoured Division were equipped with Cromwell tanks. The Centaurs were not used in combat except for those fitted with a 95mm howitzer, which were used in support of the Royal Marines during the amphibious invasion of Normandy.