Excelsior tank

Infobox Weapon
name=Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior)


caption=
origin=United Kingdom
type=heavy tank
is_vehicle=yes
length=22 ft 8 in /
width=11 ft 2 in /
height=7 ft 11 in /
weight=
suspension=Improved Christie
speed=24 mph, (off-road 12 mph)
vehicle_range=
primary_armament=Ordnance QF 75 mm
64 rounds
secondary_armament=2 x 7.92 mm Besa MG
armour=114
engine=Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 petrol
engine_power=600 hp (447 kW)
pw_ratio=
crew=5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)

The Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior) was a British experimental tank based on the Cromwell (A27) 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.

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. The design included extra armour and an Ordnance QF 75 mm gun. With the problems of the early Churchill models worked out, the project was dropped.

The second pilot vehicle can be seen at Bovington Tank Museum.

ee also