Loading 77mm HV ammunition into a Comet tank Until the Challenger was available, one Firefly would be issued to each troop of Cromwells (giving three Cromwells and one Sherman Firefly) but this was unsatisfactory due to the different maintenance requirements and associated supply complication of two tank models, as well as the performance difference between Cromwell and Sherman. Due to the slow production of Challengers, the Sherman Firefly (a Sherman tank fitted with the 17 pounder gun) conversion received official support. To handle the large gun, the Cromwell hull had to be lengthened and a large turret set on top. There were also some problems with suspension breakage, partly due to the Cromwell's high speed.Ī 17 pounder version of the Cromwell, the A30 Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tank, was under development. The tank was prone to throwing its tracks if track tension was not maintained properly or if it turned at too high a speed or too sharply. The Cromwell's Meteor engine proved to be very reliable and gave the Cromwell good mobility, but some problems did appear. The Cruiser tank Mk VII (A27M) Cromwell was the third parallel development to the Cavalier and Centaur. The initial designs submitted were the A24 Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier tank from Nuffield powered by a Nuffield- Liberty L-12 engine and the A27L Cruiser tank Mk VII Centaur tank from Leyland, which was also powered by the Liberty L-12 but would be able to use the more powerful Rolls-Royce Meteor when it became available. For reasons of economy and efficiency, it had to use as many components as possible from the current A15 Cruiser tank Mk VI Crusader tank. Hence a request was made in 1941 to the Nuffield Organisation and Leyland Motors Ltd for a new heavy cruiser tank that could achieve battle superiority over German models. Combat experience against the Germans in the Western Desert Campaign demonstrated to the British many shortcomings with their cruiser tanks.
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