Fast and manoeuvrable but not as heavily armoured as the enemy panzers, they use speed and cover to protect themselves. It embodies the dash and daring of the British cavalry. The larger gun, along with ammunition storage and extra ventilation for the gun fumes, didn't leave enough space in the turret for three men, so the commander also had to act as the loader.Ĭrusader's design reflects it was developed for light squadrons of the armoured regiments. It was up-gunned with the powerful new 6 pdr gun, which packed a decent punch. The Crusader III entered service in time for the Second Battle of El Alamein. The Crusader II CS has a shorter, thicker gun barrel than the Crusader II, otherwise, they are visually identical. Making up for the 2 pdr's lack of HE (high explosive) ammunition, the Crusader II CS (Close Support) tank carried a 3-inch (76.2mm) howitzer which could fire high-explosive shells as well as smoke.
The Crusader crews would have to use speed and manoeuvre to survive against the larger guns of the panzers. The Crusader's 2 pdr gun was effective against the lightly-armoured Italian tanks, but when the German panzers arrived it was a different story.
The new tanks were shared out among the squadrons, giving each troop much-needed extra firepower. When the up-gunned Crusader III entered service just prior to the Second Battle of El Alamein, it was eagerly welcomed by the crews. Although the Crusader was vulnerable to enemy fire and prone to certain mechanical difficulties, its speed and cross-country manoeuvrability were said to admired both by its own crews and their German and Italian foes. The Crusader entered service in November 1941, in time for Operation Crusader - the offensive in late 1941 that was named after the new tank. This was quickly discarded, and slightly thicker armour was added. This first model (Crusader I) had an auxiliary machine-gun turret in front of the hull. The most numerous British cruiser tank in the Desert War was the Crusader, which entered service in November 1941. The British developed the concept of a cruiser tank to act as fast mechanised cavalry vehicles, in contrast to their infantry tanks, which were slow and heavily armoured, to operate closely with infantry, even under heavy fire.
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