- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #12
i would like to suggest a particular tank for the Israeli TT. the Cromwell Mk.III
the Cromwell Mk.III tank was a British medium tank that was particularly decent during the middle part of WW2. due to the good armour and good mobility, this tank was for a time, the backbone of the British army. following WW2, the too-large stock of Cromwell was sold around the world but also used in the British colony. it was in a British camp in Palestine where Israel had found their Cromwell
been under the command of a British tank commander, Harry McDonald (Irish-born) and his friend, Mike Flanagan (also Irish-born) who were both sympathizers with the Hebrew cause in Israel. both men had defected the British army, and driving a pair of Cromwell Mk.III tanks, they had joined the line of the Israeli forces in Tel Aviv on 29 June 1948. those tanks were very important for the Israeli forces as they were by far better than any tank currently in Israeli services and also in nearly pristine condition which is a huge difference from the other tanks in Israel who’s were often worm-out and in need of heavy maintenance. those tanks became central assets of the 8th Armoured Division who’s had also fielded M4 Sherman imported from Italian Junkyard (a dozen were put into working conditions in 1948)
those tanks fought during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and are now on display in Lathrun Museum
one of those Cromwells seems to have been refitted with a 17-pounder gun, which does not appear to be possible to work in this turret (UK had tried and had no choice but to create a new turret for fitting that gun) so it’s very likely a modification done for display only.
Mike Flanagan in front of one Cromwell (presumably the one he stole)
Armament
the main armament of the Cromwell III was the 75mm OQF mk.V . which is a pretty decent gun by itself, firing the same ammunition as the Sherman tank. the gun was having a penetration of 101mm at 100m with the APCBC-HE round. even if UK didn’t use the APCBC-HE round and used the modified M61 Shot whose explosive filler was removed, Israel have used the Sherman’s stock of ammunition as those tanks weren’t stolen with a large stock of British ammunition. so they will have the US M61 APCBC-HE rounds . the gun elevation was -12°/+20° and the turret rotation speed of 25° sec making it a very flexible tank in all situation. The rate of fire of 12 round minutes is also pretty great. additionally, the tank has 2x 7.92mm Besa LMG which was coaxial and the other in the hull
Mobility
fitted with a 600 hp engine , the tank wouldn’t lack of mobility. far from it, it would be highly mobile with a top speed of 52 km/h and a power/weight of 21 hp/tons . this tank weighing 28 tonnes would be a great flanker and a perfect forerunner for the battle. the manoeuvrability is much better than the average medium tank would make this tank outstanding on the battlefield without costing it less protection or firepower.
Protection.
the protection of the Cromwell III is pretty good. with 76mm at the front of the turret and 63mm on the turret side , the turret would be rather well protected and not penetrated by everything. the hull featuring 63mm at the front is a lot weaker on the side with only 25mm . despite this thinner armour, it remains petty good. the protection would remain actual until the middle of rank 3 (arrival of Panther and Tiger tank). The crew of 5 men** also allow decent survivability and makes it capable of taking some of it. the tank is of an average size and presents a lot of vertical faces making it rare to have a ricochet.
One of the two Cromwells stole who ended up in Israeli service, the 17-pounder gun seems to be incorporated for display only and the gun mantlet seems to have been welded which indicates this gun goes up or down anymore. adding to the theory that the tank wasn’t working. UK had tried to install the 17-pounder on the Cromwell tank but the turret was too small, they could only redesign the turret to make the Avenger and Comet tank.
Source
- Mike Flanagan (Irish-Israeli soldier) - Wikipedia
- https://twitter.com/ThisDayIrish/status/1277497025454579712?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1277497025454579712|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum.warthunder.com%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FThisDayIrish%2Fstatus%2F1277497025454579712
- https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/393612-cromwell-i-and-v-turret-armour-majorly-nerfed-in-175/
- Beg, Borrow, Steal Part 1: The formation of Israel's Armoured Forces | CivFanatics Forums
- A Visit to Latrun – a brief look at Israel’s armored corps history (I.) | For the Record
http://i.imgur.com/9ilel2q.jpg - https://aviationshoppe.com/british-cruiser-tank-a27m-cromwell-p-1371.html
- Cromwell V - War Thunder Wiki
