Die Waffenkammer GB018 Cromwell

Cromwell

Very fine resin WW II military vehicle kit, in 1/56 scale (28mm). Needs to be assembled and painted. Crew figure and stowage included.

Master by Tony Ashcroft.

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.

Cromwell was the fastest British tank to serve in the Second World War, with a top speed of 40 mph (64 km/h). This speed was extremely beneficial in both attack and defence, outmanoeuvring opponents. At least one case is known of vehicle commanders using the vehicles fast speed to jump large gaps - In Holland, a troop of three Cromwells was able to leap a 20 ft wide canal when surprised by enemy forces.

The Cromwell's armament was changed from the 6-pounder to the dual purpose 75mm. This gave a significant reduction in armour penetration, compared to some types of 6-pounder shell offering almost twice the penetration, but added the ability to fire High Explosive shells which were more capable against other targets such as anti-tank guns. The High Velocity 75mm gun was developed in an attempt to give both good anti-tank and HE performance, but in May 1943 proved too big to be fitted to the Cromwell. This issue led to the development of the A34 Comet, while the gun bore increased to 77mm to gain compatibility with the 17-pounder (albeit with smaller shell casings). The lack of a High Velocity weapon proved to be a significant limitation against heavy opponents, such as the Tiger, and Cromwell had to rely on mobility.