Crusader (Tank)

"Welcome gentlemen, to the 11th Crusade!"

The Tank, Cruiser, MKVI aka the A15 Crusader was an early war tank in service with the royal army. It saw several variants and was one of several deciding factors in the Africa campaign. It was popular among British Tank crews for it's mobility and later armament that was more than match for most German tanks of that period.

Early War

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IRL

The Crusader was first ordered as a lighter tank that would be given to the tank regiments of the Royal Army. The Crusader was developed in parallel to the Coventer, a tank of similar appearance to the Crusader. The Crusader was so rushed through development that the vehicle had no prototypes built before production: they were rushed into service right off the Assembly line.

The Crusader was sent to Africa to supplement outdated tanks and limited numbers of Matilda "light" tanks. During Operation Crusader, the QF 2 pounder cannon was effective against the German Panzer IIIs, but was outgunned by the Panzer IVs with their 75mm cannons.

The Crusader also suffered from several major shortcomings, namely it's light armor, lack of high explosive shells, and design flaws that both caused the vehicle to catch fire when hit or its many mechanical problems due to poor preparation for the desert campaign. The fact that northern Africa also possessed little in terms of logistical capacity in order to transport tanks to depots where they could then drive to the front complicated matters, with some vehicles breaking down far from any tank transporters or tank recovery vehicles and being abandoned where they broke down, with those that didn't break down suffering severe wear and tear en route to their intended targets.

The Crusader was improved by the development of dedicated Engineering teams and improved logistics, and soon the MK III Crusader was available with the QF 6 pounder gun. With the inclusion of the M3 Grant and M4 Sherman tanks, the Crusader was pushed from frontline service and into service with light tank regiments, where they would serve as a flanking force in support of heavier tank forces with Valentine tanks for the remainder of the war.

There were several notable minor variants of the Crusader, the most interesting being the Crusader AA MKII, which was a crusader with two 20mm Autocannons strapped to it, and the MKIII AA, which strapped a Bofors 40mm cannon into a square shaped turret on top of the vehicle. Neither of these saw much service due to the allied Air Superiority during the latter part of the war.