AC III Thunderbolt Cruiser Tank 88MM UK go boom

[Kriegerfaust007]

Australian Cruiser Tank Mk. 3 “Thunderbolt”

The pilot production AC MkIII tank
Type Cruiser tank
Place of origin Australia
Production history
Designed 1942
Manufacturer New South Wales Government Railways Workshops
Produced 1943
No. built 1
Specifications
Mass 29 long tons (29.5 t)[1]
Length 20 feet 9 inches (6.32 m)
Width 9 feet 7⁄8 inch (2.77 m)
Height 8 feet 4+3⁄4 inches (2.56 m)
Crew 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader/Operator, Driver)

Armour Hull front 65 millimetres (2.6 in)
sides and rear 45 millimetres (1.8 in)
Turret 65 millimetres (2.6 in) all round
Main
armament 25 pounder tank gun, 120 rounds
Secondary
armament One .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun, 2,500 rounds
Engine Perrier-Cadillac
397 horsepower (296 kW)[1]
Power/weight 13.7 hp/ton
Suspension Horizontal Volute Spring
Operational
range 200 miles (320 km)
Maximum speed

Ordnance QF 25-pounder

Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun mounted on its firing platform in Dundas, Hamilton, Canada
Type Field gun and gun-howitzer
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1940–present
Used by See users
Wars * World War II

• Indonesian National Revolution
• Indochina War
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
• Greek Civil War
• 1948 Arab–Israeli War
• Malayan Emergency
• Korean War
• Second Arab–Israeli War
• Sino-Indian War
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• Portuguese Colonial War
• Rhodesian Bush War
• South African Border War
• Nigerian Civil War
• Six-Day War
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• Dhofar Rebellion
• Turkish invasion of Cyprus
• Iran–Iraq War
• Lebanese Civil War
• Sri Lankan Civil War
• Iraqi Civil War
  Production history
  Designed 1930s
  Manufacturer Royal Ordnance
  Variants See variants
  Specifications (Mk II on Carriage Mk I)
  Mass 1,633 kg (3,600 lb)
  Length 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
  muzzle to towing eye
  Barrel length 2.47 m (8 ft 1 in) (28 calibres)
  Width 2.13 m (7 ft)
  at wheel hubs
  Height 1.16 m (3 ft 10 in)
  trunnion height
  Crew 6

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Shell 88 x 292mm R
High explosive
Anti-tank
Smoke
HESH[1]
Shell weight 11.5 kg (25 lb) (HE including fuze)
Calibre 3.45 in (87.63 mm)
Breech Vertical sliding-block
Recoil Hydro-pneumatic
Elevation -5° to 45°
(80° with dial sight adapter and digging trail pit or wheel mounds)
Traverse 4° Left & Right (top traverse)
360° (platform)
Rate of fire Gunfire, 6–8 rpm
Intense, 5 rpm
Rapid, 4 rpm
Normal, 3 rpm
Slow, 2 rpm
Very slow, 1 rpm
Muzzle velocity 198 to 532 m/s (650 to 1,750 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 12,253 m (13,400 yd) (HE shell)
Sights Calibrating & reciprocating