A9 CS CLOSE SUPPORT BRITISH CRUISER TANK

Cruiser Tank A9 (also known as: The Cruiser Tank Mark I) was a British high speed / pursuit tank from the interwar period and World War II. The first prototypes of the vehicle were built in 1934, and serial production continued in the years 1934-1941, ending with the production of about 125 copies. The wagon was 5.8 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2.65 meters high. The tank was powered by an engine AEC A179 with 150 hp . The basic armament of the vehicle consisted of a single 40mm 2-pounder cannon and three 7.7mm machine guns. The Cruiser Tank A9 was developed as the successor to the Vickers Medium Mark II. Compared to its predecessor, the new car got a completely different suspension, new main armament and a different power unit. A lot of emphasis was also placed on its maneuverability, which in turn had a disastrous effect on the thickness of its armor, which did not exceed 14 mm! Although the Cruiser Tank A9 was well armed (by the standards of the mid-1930s) and had a modern suspension, it turned out to be a not very successful or modern design. Despite this, the car was used in combat during the fighting in France in 1940, during the fighting in Greece in 1941 and in the initial period of the campaign in North Africa (1940-1943).