Crusader
Mk III (UK, WWII)
Crusader,
in full "Tank,
Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader",
also known by its General Staff number A15,
was a British cruiser tank during
the early part of the Second World War.
Over 5,000 tanks were manufactured and they made important contributions
to the British victories during the North African campaign.
The Crusader saw active service in Africa but the chassis of the tank was
modified to create anti-aircraft, fire support, observation,
communication, bulldozer and recovery vehicle variants.
The
first Crusader Mark
I tanks
entered service in 1941 and, though manoeuvrable, they were relatively
lightly armoured and under-armed. The following Crusader
Mark II
had a maximum armour of 49 mm
(1.9 in).
The main armament for the Crusader Mark I and IIs was a 40 mm Ordnance
QF 2-pounder gun;
the following Crusader
Mark
III was
fitted with a 57 mm Ordnance
QF 6-pounder gun
at the expense of one member of the crew in the turret. This variant was
more than a match for the mid-generation German Panzer III and Panzer
IV medium
tanks that it faced in combat. As part of the 1st Armoured
Brigade,
the Crusader was to prove vital during the Second Battle of El
Alamein,
at the siege of Tobruk and
in the Tunisia campaign.
Produced
between 1940 and 1943. About 5300 variants were built
Variants
included :
Pre-hollowed
model
Open
and closed turrets
The model is in 1/56 scale
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