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Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior)
Type Heavy tank
Place of origin United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer English Electric
Specifications
Mass 40 tons
Length 22 ft 8 in (6.9 m)
Width 11 ft 2 in (3.4 m)
Height 7 ft 11 in (2.4 m)
Crew 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)

Armour 114 mm (4.5 in)
Main
armament
Ordnance QF 75 mm
64 rounds
Secondary
armament
2 x 7.92 mm Besa machine gun
Engine Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 petrol
600 hp (447 kW)
Suspension Improved Christie
Operational
range
99 mi (160 km)
Maximum speed 24 mph, (off-road 12 mph)

The Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior) was a British experimental heavy tank based on the Cromwell (A27) design developed in the Second World War when there were concerns as to performance of the Churchill tank.

Development[]

After the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, there was concern that the Churchill was not as good as expected and a tank to combine the infantry and cruiser tank roles was planned.

While two lines of tanks were still policy, there was interest in standardizing on common components. The design used the Cromwell's combination of Rolls-Royce Meteor engine and Merrit-Brown transmission.

English Electric built two prototypes on a Cromwell tank hull the first with the suspension of the US M6 Heavy Tank and the second with a widened Cromwell track and armoured skirts. The design included extra armour and an Ordnance QF 75 mm gun. When the problems of the early Churchill models were worked out, the project was dropped.[1]

Survivors[]

See also[]

References[]

Notes
  1. Fletcher, David (1993). The Universal Tank. HMSO, for REME Museum. p. 87. ISBN 0-11-290534-X. 
Bibliography
  • White BT, British Tanks 1915-1945 Ian Allen p68-69
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Excelsior tank and the edit history here.
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