Information AboutCruiser Mk Ii |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CRUISER MK II | |
| cruiser tanks | |
| world war ii british tanks | |
| vickers | |
The A10 Cruiser Tank Mark II, was developed alongside the A9 , 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". Use of the A10 was confined to Britain . HISTORY AND SPECIFICATIONS The A10 was developed by Sir John Carden in 1934 by adaption of the A9 design. The two sub-turrets present on the A9 were removed, and extra armour bolted onto that already present on the front and sides of the hull, along with all faces of the turret, providing approximately twice the armor in most areas. There was no separation between the driver's compartment and the fighting compartments. The turret armament consisted of a QF 2-pounder (40 mm) gun and a coaxial Vickers Machine Gun . There was a BESA machine gun mounted in the hull in a barbette to the right of the driver. This was added to give extra firepower but at the expense of simplicity - the Vicker and the BESA using different ammunition. The tank had a total crew of 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver and hull machine-gunner). It used the same suspension and engine as the A9 and as a result it was slower than the A9. The A10 entered service in December 1939 , but was something of an oddity - it had been intended to sacrifice speed for armour like an Infantry tank, but was still relatively poorly armoured, and was, as a result, not effective. Total production was 175 vehicles including the 30 CS versions (see below). COMBAT HISTORY A number of Mark IIs were part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to France in the early stages of World War II . Their cross country performance was recorded as poor but they were still used later in North Africa at the defence of Tobruk in 1941 where reliability and suspension performance in the desert conditions was praised. VARIANTS Mark I Classified as a 'heavy cruiser' and 31 were sent to France with the British 1st Armoured Division , but performed poorly in the following Campaign . Also served in the North African Campaign until late in 1941 . Ammunition:
Mark IIA The coaxial Vickers machine guns were replaced with BESA machine guns. Armoured radio housing added. Mark IIA CS Had a 3.7" (94 mm) Howitzer in the turret instead of the 2 pdr. The standard ammunition load was 40 rounds smoke, and a few HE shells. Other vehicles based on chassis EXTERNAL LINKS SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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