Guide to British Premium ST Tier VI – Cromwell B. History of creation, performance characteristics and tactics, pros, cons and farm indicators
Hello tankers!
Her Majesty’s tanks have occupied a special niche in World ofTanks , and, despite their rather specific gameplay, they still fell in love with a large number of players. Any vehicle, regardless of branch and tier, is unique: be it a mid-tier prim AT, imposingly creeping to the flank, or the “top” of the branch – FV 215b 183 caliber, with a gun rumored to have been removed from the Death Star; or fairly mobile STs that gradually increased their armor to the top levels. By the way, it is about the latter that will be discussed, or rather, about one of them. Meet today our guest tank in honor of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell’s England, and even from the famous “Berlin troika» – Cromwell Bed and .
Historical reference
The Cromwell is a World War II British medium cruiser tank. It was created in 1941-1942 by BRCWc and from the fall of 1943 it was mass-produced until 1945. A total of 1,070 Cromwells were produced, and a significant number of vehicles were obtained by upgrading the Mk VIII Centaur tanks to the Cromwell standard. During production, the car was constantly modernized. Our tank was actively used by the British troops in North-Western Europe in 1944-1945, a significant part of the produced vehicles were also transferred to the Allies. These vehicles remained in service until the 50s, and later, some of them were converted into Chariotir tanks. As Cromwell “Berlin” in the game there is a real machine, Cromwell Mk.V with tail number T120582, marked Ajax, the emblem of the 7th Panzer Division (“rats of the desert”) and the number 51 in a red square, built from two vehicles by the British enthusiast from Manchester Rick “eddy8men” Wedlock in 2011-2013. The chassis of the tank was taken from the Charioteer, and the turret was donated by the A27 Centaur. Currently, the car is on the move and completely restored, regularly appears at various thematic events.
One of the surviving “Cromwells”
Analysis of the performance characteristics of the tank
A detailed review of the performance characteristics will be present below, here we will talk about the main and most important characteristics.
Full list of tank performance characteristics
Armor protection.In terms of booking, no surprises are to be expected. The turret armor is 76/64/57 mm, the hull is 64/43/32 mm, which means that even the stern gaze of opponents can leave a hole in the hull. If, nevertheless, by the power of a great randomness, the car is thrown to the top, you will not be able to tank damage with a tower or hull. It is generally forbidden to enter into relations with land mines. Plus, even though we are talking about a premium tank, the preferential level of battles is not provided for us, so the harsh reality will confront us with opponents of the eighth level. For them, our entire tank is one continuous vulnerable zone. But in order not to completely overshadow this tank, it is worth noting that the gun mask completely covers the front of the turret, which creates the likelihood of a ricochet even from high-level vehicles, but this will be rather luck,
Firepower.Cromwell B looks pretty good for level 6. The tank is equipped with a 75-mm VICKERS HV gun, with 145 mm armor-piercing shells and one-time damage of 135 units. Shooting with sub-caliber weapons increases this value to 202 mm, making the tank quite comfortable in Tier VII battles. The armament in our case is absolutely identical to that installed on the pumped analogue, moreover, it has an excellent rate of fire and allows you to inflict colossal 2,100 damage per minute for Tier VI, excluding equipment and perks. In terms of accuracy, our gun is also quite good, but due to its high dynamics, stabilization leaves much to be desired, so effective shooting in motion is possible only at close distances. If we talk about elevation angles, they are more than comfortable:
Dynamics. Dynamics is the main advantage of the tank. With a mass of 28 tons, the Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk. IVB with 650 hp, provides an excellent power-to-weight ratio of 23.2 hp / t and acceleration up to 64 km / h forward. The reverse speed is 20 km / h, which is also quite good. In general, the mobility indicators are absolutely identical to the pumped analogue, but there is one “but”: the rotation rate in place of our car is much higher – 52 ° / s, and this gives more room for maneuvers, which is good news.
Detection. A baseline view of 360 m is a good indicator at Tier VI, and besides, it is easy to improve it with equipment and crew leveling.
The camouflage of the tank is very good for Tier VI, the tank is small and compact, and in general it looks more like an LT, so a good bush and additional equipment will easily allow you to be invisibly in front of the enemy, while illuminating it.
Choice of equipment, consumables and crew perks
Crew pumping. This perk setup will improve all the strengths of the vehicle:
- Commander:“Bulb”, “Combat Brotherhood”, “Repair”, “Eagle Eye”
- Gunner:“Repair”, “Combat Brotherhood”, “Smooth Turret Rotation”, “Sniper”
- Mekhvod:“Repair”, “Battle brotherhood”, “Smooth ride”, “King of the off-road”
- Radio operator: “Repair”, “Combat Brotherhood”, “Radio Intercept”, “Inventor”
- Loader:Repair, Combat Brotherhood, Proximity Ammo Rack, Desperate
Choice of equipment. This tank is ideally suited for the following set of equipment: “Rammer”, which increases the rate of fire of “Targeting Drives” in order to improve the aiming time and “Ventilation”, which increases the overall parameters of the crew. Such a kit will emphasize the advantages, correct the shortcomings of the tank and increase the overall comfort of the game. However, those who like to play LT can replace “Fan” with “Optics” to achieve maximum visibility.
The choice of shells. The ammunition load of our tank contains 64 rounds, this should be enough for almost any battle, but do not forget about the high DPM. In what ratio each of you will decide on your own to compose the BC, I can only recommend such a set of shells:
Set-up of shells for playing in random (BB / BP / HE):
- “Top of the List”– 36/26/2
- “At the bottom of the list”– 26/36/2
Choice of equipment. The set of equipment is identical for any car – a repair kit , a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher . You can, of course, put on “Pudding with tea”, but for a mid-level tank, such an undertaking is rather wasteful, especially as for a “prem”.
Information window about our car
Tank tactics and tips
What do we have in the end: Sir Cromwell “Berlin” is a pretty interesting support car, even more LT than ST. Based on its characteristics, the conclusion suggests itself – dynamics, DPM and completely absent armor – these are the factors that determine this tank, so we build the entire gameplay around them. The lack of armor hints that it is not recommended to make prolonged eye contact with the enemy, praise Her Majesty, we have excellent dynamics, and as mentioned earlier, you can use it to illuminate. Having given the initial clearance on the travels of enemies, I strongly recommend leaving as soon as possible, having made a couple of “curtsies” along the road.
For those who don’t like the LT gameplay, the dynamics will come in handy for a sharp flank change, because the Cromwell B is a good support tank. It is not known where the help of your companions is needed. Covering them from the back, you can implement your rapid-fire weapon with dignity. To impose a battle in splendid isolation is not the best idea, since the strength of our machine is barely enough for three shots, especially in battles with eights, so you should make sure in advance that there are allies on the chosen flank, otherwise it is better to leave, beautifully and in English … By the way, the less often your tank is observed, the less often you see the hangar, because we have an increased intolerance to high-explosive shells. And this in turn means that most gentlemen in the artillery will happily devote their shell to you.
Fortunately, with so many threats, there are many ways to get around them, so the third path of events leads us straight into the bushes. Yes, no one canceled passive lighting, the tank is compact, with good visibility and camouflage, which, in combination with a spreading bush, will pay dividends. In addition, this is exactly what I advise to behave in Tier VIII battles, since even a “gold” shell will barely be enough to penetrate some tanks, for example the IS-3.
Conclusion: hit the bottom of the list, congratulations, you are LT, but if you get to the top of the list, then all the possibilities of this machine will truly be revealed: you will easily punish the enemies of the DPM, circle, change the direction of attack, overexpose your classmates and like a true gentleman come to the rescue of your team exactly where it is needed.
Advantages:
- accurate and rapid-fire weapon;
- good overview;
- excellent maneuverability and dynamics;
- comfortable indicators of armor penetration;
Disadvantages:
- weak booking;
- poor stabilization;
- small one-time damage;
To summarize, the Cromwell B is an interesting car that, in addition to fun and interesting gameplay, gives its owner a unique appearance of a really existing tank, which will certainly delight the eye of any player. This unit is incredibly versatile: for some it will become an excellent analogue of a light tank, someone will like the gameplay of a daring and “explosive” CT with incredible damage per minute, and someone will enjoy the study of flora on the maps with might and main. In any case, the car deserves its place in the hangar, and many will give a lot of pleasant emotions. Is this tank suitable for beginners, or is it for the pros? In my humble opinion, he will equally well fulfill his role for both, ten out of ten Cromwell Lords!