Crusader tank

With the Axis forces in North Africa having pushed the British back to the Egyptian border and the remaining British armour being a mixed force of older tanks with a few Matilda infantry tanks, tanks were hurriedly shipped via the Mediterranean arriving on 12 May 1941. There were sufficient Crusaders to equip the 6th Royal Tank Regiment (6RTR) which with the older cruiser tanks of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR) formed the 7th Armoured Brigade. The rest of the tanks were Matildas for the 4th Armoured Brigade giving the 7th Armoured Division only four tank regiments.

Crusader I tanks in Western Desert, 26 November 1941, with "old" gun mantlets and auxiliary Besa MG turret.

Although there was pressure from London for the 7th Armoured Division to go into action, outfitting for the desert and training delayed the first use of Crusaders until Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk in June. As the brigade swept round the flank, the Crusaders were caught by concealed anti-tank guns and lost 11 tanks. The 6 RTR lost further tanks to action and defects in the fighting withdrawal during the next two days.

The 7th Armoured Brigade was re-equipped with further Crusaders, but, as the brigade had been expanded by the addition of 7th Hussars, there were not sufficient Crusaders to replace the older cruiser tanks.

The 22nd Armoured Brigade comprising three inexperienced armoured regiments[lower-alpha 4] equipped with Crusaders, transferred to North Africa to bring the 7th Armoured up to a strength of three armoured brigades. The 8th Hussars was added to the 4th Armoured Brigade, but these had to be equipped with M3 Stuart light tanks as there were still insufficient cruisers. The 22nd was able to take part in Operation Crusader in November 1941.

In Operation Crusader, the two British corps were disposed such that they could not support each other, but it was expected that, as the British outnumbered the German and Italian forces in tanks, the tank against tank battles would be decided in their favour. However, in the resulting encounters, Rommel did not put his tanks en masse into action against the British ones, and the large numbers of German anti-tank (AT) guns working offensively with the tanks and infantry proved effective.[5] The Germans were mostly equipped with the PaK 38, a long-barrelled 50 mm gun with a range of 1,000 yd (910 m). This superiority in quality and tactical deployment of anti-tank guns was to be a feature of the Afrika Korps throughout the "Desert War". The Crusader's 2-pounder (40 mm) gun was as effective as the short-barrelled 50 mm of the Panzer III, although it was out-ranged by the short-barrelled 75 mm of the Panzer IV.[6]

Although the Crusader was faster than any tanks it opposed, its potential was limited by a relatively light QF 2-pounder gun, thin armour, and mechanical problems. A particular tactical limitation was the lack of a high-explosive shell for the main armament (these existed but were never supplied). Axis tank forces developed an extremely effective method of dealing with attacking tank forces by retiring behind a screen of concealed anti-tank guns. The pursuing tanks could then be engaged by the artillery. With the German anti-tank guns out of range of the tanks' machine guns and without a high-explosive shell to return fire, the tanks were left with the equally unpalatable options of withdrawing under fire or trying to overrun the gun screen.

Crusader Mk III tanks in Tunisia, 31 December 1942.

The Crusader proved prone to "brew up" when hit, a problem that was identified as being due to the ammunition being ignited by hot metal penetrating the unprotected racks. The angled underside of the turret created shot traps that deflected rounds downward, through the hull roof.

The Crusader proved unreliable in the desert. This started with their transport from the UK to North Africa. Poor preparation and handling caused problems that had to be rectified before they could be passed to the regiments and ate into the supply of spare parts. Once in use, the sand caused erosion in the cooling system[7] and the stresses of hard cross-country travel caused oil leaks between the engine block and the cylinders. Since there were few tank transporters or railways in the desert, the tanks had to travel long distances on their tracks, causing further wear.

By the end of 1941, there was only one brigade, the 2nd, which was operating with only Crusaders. In March 1942, US-built Grant medium tanks arrived and replaced one in three Crusader squadrons.[8] While the inclusion of Grants with its effective 75 mm gun gave better firepower against anti-tank guns and infantry, had better armour, and were more mechanically reliable, they were slower, limiting the Crusaders when they had to operate together.[9] From May 1942, Mk IIIs (with the 57 mm 6-pounder gun) were delivered. Of the 840 tanks available to the British, 260 were Crusaders. The German tanks they were facing were improved types with face-hardened frontal armour, which caused 2-pounder shot to shatter rather than penetrate.

Crusader III in Operation Bertram, the deception before Alamein, with 'Sunshade' camouflage

As part of British deception operations, Crusaders could be issued with "Sunshade", which was a metal framework with canvas covering that disguised the tank as a lorry to German aerial reconnaissance. Dummy tanks were also deployed.

Cleaning the barrel of the 6-pdr in Tunisia

Later in the campaign, shipping was improved, Nuffield put an engineering team in Egypt, and crews were better at preventing problems, but the reputation of the Crusader could not recover.

After Montgomery took over command, the imbalance between British and German armour was redressed by better control and the addition of more American-supplied Grant and Sherman tanks. The Crusader was replaced in the main line of battle and used for "light squadrons" trying to flank the enemy when it engaged the heavier units.[10] The Australian 9th Infantry Division operated Crusaders for reconnaissance and liaison.

The British 1st Army landed as part of the Allied operations in Tunisia; some of its units were using the Crusader and these saw action from 24 November. These were not solely Crusader regiments, but mixed Crusader and Valentine tanks; within each squadron, two troops were Crusader IIIs, and there were Crusader II CSs attached to the Squadron HQ. These units[lower-alpha 5] of the 26th Armoured Brigade were used as an independent armoured column, "Blade Force", with the 78th Infantry Division. The operations of Blade Force were on terrain different from the desert of the earlier campaigns, and the fighting took place with smaller numbers of vehicles. These actions were similar to what would be seen later in Europe.[11]

The 1st Army converted to Shermans during the Tunisia campaign, but Crusaders remained in use with the 8th for longer. The last major actions for Crusaders were the Battle of the Mareth Line and the Battle of Wadi Akarit. The North Africa campaign finished shortly after.

Crusader II, and Covenanter at rear, training in Yorkshire, 1942

After the completion of the North African Campaign, the availability of better tanks, such as the Sherman and Cromwell, relegated the Crusader to secondary duties, such as anti-aircraft mounts or gun tractors. In these roles, it served for the remainder of the war.

The Crusader, along with the Covenanter, equipped regiments at home; particularly those of the 11th Armoured Division.

A Crusader bulldozer was developed, but not used operationally. One of these bulldozer tanks was converted for removing munitions following a fire at Royal Ordnance Factory Kirkby.

The Crusader anti-aircraft guns were designed for use in North West Europe. However, with the Allied domination of the air, they were largely unneeded and the AA troops were disbanded. The Crusader gun tractors operated with 76.2 mm 17-pounder anti-tank gun regiments attached to armoured divisions and with XII Corps.

One Crusader was used for testing the 600 hp (450 kW) Rolls-Royce Meteor engine, the increased horsepower over the standard Liberty engine giving a maximum speed in excess of 40 mph (64 km/h).

The turret of a Crusader tank was used by the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to defend the city of Hanoi at the beginning of the first Indochina War.[12]

Crusader I with its auxiliary turret in place

Original production version. The auxiliary turret was often removed in the field, eliminating the hull machine gunner position.

• Crusader I CS (Cruiser Mk VI CS) (Close Support) mounted a 3-inch (76.2 mm) howitzer in the turret instead of the 2-pounder.

The Crusader II had increased armour on hull front and turret front. As with the Mk I, the auxiliary turret was often removed.

• Crusader II CS (Cruiser Mk VIA CS) mounted a 3-inch (76.2 mm) howitzer in the turret.
• Command tank version existed with dummy gun and two No. 19 radios.

Crusader Mk III

Due to delays with the Cruiser Mark VII Cavalier and the need for cruiser tanks, the Crusader was up-gunned with the 57 mm 6-pounder, the first British tank to mount this gun. Design work for a new turret started in March 1941, but Nuffield was not involved until late in the year, when they adapted the existing turret with a new mantlet and hatch.

The turret also received an extractor fan to clear fumes from the firing of the gun. The larger gun restricted turret space, so the crew was reduced to three, with the commander also acting as gun loader, a role previously performed by the wireless operator. The auxiliary turret space was given over to ammunition stowage.

Crusader III also saw the introduction of the Mk. IV Liberty engine, fixing many of the reliability issues previously encountered. This featured the Mk. III engine's later updated water pumps along with a shaft drive replacing chain drive for the cooling fans.

Production started in May 1942 and 144 were complete by July.[13] The Crusader III first saw action, with about 100 participating, at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.[14]

Observation post

This was a tank converted to a mobile armoured observation post for direction of artillery. The turret was fixed in place, the gun was removed and a dummy barrel fitted to give it the same outward appearance of a regular tank. With no requirement for ammunition, the interior was given over to the radios, two No. 19 radios and No. 18 radio, map boards and related equipment. The Royal Artillery could then operate the OP tank up front among the fighting units directing artillery fire in their support.[15]

Crusader AA with 40 mm Bofors gun, at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School, Gunnery Wing at Lulworth in Dorset, 25 March 1943

The 6-pounder was replaced with a Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun with an autoloader and powered mounting in an open-topped turret. The crew numbered four: gun commander, gun layer, loader, and driver. However, those Crusader III, AA Mk I used in NW Europe from D-day on did not have the turret, but a 40 mm Bofors gun mounted directly on the hull top with its standard shield.

Crusader AA Mk II

A Crusader armed with twin Oerlikon 20 mm guns for anti-aircraft use and a single .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine gun.[16] The turret was a small polygonal turret with heavy armour, but poor situational visibility for spotting approaching aircraft. The Mk III only differed from the Mk II by the position of the radio, which was moved to the hull in order to free some space inside the turret.

Crusader AA tank variant mounting a triple Oerlikon gun in a hull-down position, 19 July 1944

A variation with triple Oerlikons was produced in very limited quantities but seem to have been used only for training.[13]

Due to Allied air superiority over the battlefields of north-west Europe, none of the AA versions saw much action against aircraft but a few - especially with the 1st Polish Armoured Division - were used against ground targets. The AA troops - attached to HQ squadrons - were disbanded after the Normandy landings.[13]

Crusader gun tractor

The Crusader gun tractor came out of a need for a vehicle to tow the heavy 76.2 mm QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun. It was a Crusader tank hull with a simple boxy superstructure replacing that of the gun tank. The 14 mm thick structure protected the driver and the gun crew of six. The tractor also carried ammunition on the rear and within the crew area.

Although nearly as heavy as the gun tank, it was still capable of high speed and was officially limited to 27 mph (43 km/h). This was still hard on the towed 17 pounder guns. They were used in northwest Europe from the Normandy landings of 1944 to the end of the war in 1945.

One such unit was the 86th Anti-Tank Gun Regiment, Royal Artillery, part of XII Corps. In the 86th, the Crusader gun tractor replaced earlier Morris C8 gun tractors in two out of the four batteries. Unit veterans reported that the Crusader was popular with the crews and were often driven by former Armoured Corps drivers seconded to the Royal Artillery because of their driving experience. 86th veterans claimed that they removed the 'governors' that normally limited tank speeds. Thus adapted, they credited an empty Crusader with speeds up to 55 mph (89 km/h) and claimed to be able to outrun Military Police motorcycles, which were limited to a wartime speed of just 50 mph (80 km/h) due to low grade petrol.

Some vehicles were also used by battery commanders as armoured command and reconnaissance vehicles.[17]

Crusader ARV

Armoured recovery vehicle based on turretless Crusader hull. One prototype was built in 1942.

Crusader self-propelled gun of the Argentine Army

• A post-war modification was built, probably for testing purposes only, with a 5.5-inch (140 mm) Medium Gun installed at the front of the vehicle, facing back.
• Some Crusader gun tractors sold after the war to Argentina were converted to self-propelled guns, with French 75 mm or 105 mm gun installed in a large, boxy superstructure.[18][19]

• Crusader with Anti-Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) Mk Id: a mine clearing device consisting of four heavy rollers suspended from a frame. Weight of the rollers could be increased by filling them with water, sand etc.

Crusaders were used for experimentation such as a flotation kit, consisting of two pontoons attached to hull sides, special blades attached to tracks to propel the vehicle in water and a cowl over engine air intakes and cooling louvres.

• Bingham, James. Crusader: Cruiser Mark VI. AFV Profile, No. 8. Windsor: Profile. OCLC 54349416.
• Boyd, David (2008). "Crusader tank". WWII Equipment. David Boyd.
• Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis British and American Tanks of World War Two, The Complete Illustrated History of British, American, and Commonwealth Tanks 1933-1945 (1969)
• Fletcher, David (1989). The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 1. HMSO. ISBN 978-0-11-290460-1.
• Fletcher, David (1989). Universal Tank: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 2. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-290534-X.
• Fletcher, David; Sarson, Peter (2000). Crusader and Covenanter Cruiser Tank 1939–1945. New Vanguard. 14. Botley: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-512-8.
• Fogliani, Sigal; Jorge, Ricardo (1997). Blindados Argentinos, de Uruguay y Paraguay (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Ayer y Hoy Ediciones. ISBN 978-987-95832-7-2.
• Milsom, John; Sanders, John; Scarborough, Gerald (1976). Crusader. Classic AFVs. 1. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 978-0-85059-194-1.
• Neillands, Robin (1991). The Desert Rats: 7th Armoured Division, 1940–1945. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-81191-6.