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Accepted into
service in 1937, the A9 was the first of the Cruiser
tank series with 125 built by both Vickers and Harland
& Wolf of Belfast.
It was armed with a 2 pdr. gun and 3x .303 MG's and
had a crew of six. A Close Support (CS) variant with
a 3.7" Howitzer was also produced.
Used by the 1st Armd. Division in France in 1940, they
also saw action in the Western Desert.
Of the 35 sent to France, six
A9's and a further eighteen A9CS (Close Support) variants
were lost in action.
In the Western Desert, in action against the Italians
from June 1940, they were quite successful but their
limitations were again exposed by the arrival of the
German armour and were withdrawn from front line action
in November 1941.
This
was a particularly complex vehicle with many interesting
facets. Of particular note is the intricate rivet detail.
There are over 1200 rivets on the hull and turrets,
each one painstakingly replicated here and put there
individually by hand!
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