A9 Cruiser Mk I

This piece represents an A9 Cruiser Mk I tank in North Africa with the 7th Armoured Division (The Desert Rats), 1940.

In 1934 Vickers-Armstrong had produced a new medium tank, the A9, which was subsequently designated the Cruiser Tank Mark I. It was the first British tank to have a centrally located turret, but was poorly armored, with a maximum of 14 mm thickness, many armor faces were vertical, and there were numerous shot traps.The Cruiser was an effective tank in the French and early North African campaigns. The 2 pdr gun was lethal against the early Italian tanks encountered during the North African campaign and could hold its own against early Panzers. However, the minimal armor made the A9 an easy kill for most Axis anti-tank weapons.

The mechanical unreliability of the Cruiser was also a disadvantage. In particular, tracks were easily slewed causing difficulties. A9s equipped some regiments of the 1st Armoured Division in France until the time of the Dunkirk withdrawal in June 1940. They were also used by regiments in the Western Desert until 1941. The A9 had inadequate armor and too low a speed for the “cruiser” role.

This piece was created in Illustrator CS and is entirely vector.
This was rendered with the pen and knockout tools and some use of the gradient tool.