The
Cromwell tank, officially
Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell (A27M),
[a] was one of the series of
cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the
Second World War. Named after the
English Civil War leader
Oliver Cromwell, the Cromwell was the first tank put into service by the British to combine high speed from a powerful and reliable engine (the
Rolls-Royce Meteor), and reasonable
armour. However the originally proposed dual-purpose high velocity gun could not be fitted in the turret and the medium velocity dual purpose gun fitted proved inadequate. An improved version with a high velocity gun became the
Comet tank.
The name "Cromwell" was initially applied to three different vehicles during development. Early Cromwell development led to the creation of the
A24 Cavalier. Later Cromwell development led to the creation of the competing
Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Centaur (A27L) design. The
Centaur tank was closely related to the Cromwell, both vehicles being externally of very similar appearance. Cromwell and Centaur differed in the engine used. While the Centaur had the 340
hp Liberty engine, the Cromwell had the significantly more powerful 600 hp Meteor.
The Cromwell first saw action in the
Battle of Normandy in June 1944. The tank equipped the armoured reconnaissance regiments of the
Royal Armoured Corps, in the
7th Armoured Division,
11th Armoured Division and the
Guards Armoured Division. While the armoured regiments of the latter two divisions were equipped with
M4 Shermans, the armoured regiments of the 7th Armoured Division were equipped with Cromwell tanks. The Centaurs were not used in combat except for those fitted with a 95mm howitzer, which were used in support of the
Royal Marines during the amphibious invasion of Normandy.