Review by Peter Brown

It is basically four sets of photos taken of surviving Crusaders around the world, some general shots but many detail close ups showing the details modellers look for. All the 220+ photos are in colour and good, though some are better than others they are all useful modelling reference. These are backed up with plans in 1/72 and 1/35 scales. All text and photo captions are dual English and Polish.

The subjects covered are -

Mk I at the RAAC Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, Vic. This is the only Crusader sent to Australia and was intended as a pattern to guide tank design. It is perhaps the only Mk I still surviving and has many early features such as the central headlamp in a square box on the glacis, felt-element air cleaners and the machine gun sub-turret found on Mk I and some Mk II. It does have the cast mantlet cover and not the early style as depicted in the latest Italeri kit no 6432. Details of what is missing on the Museum vehicle like sidelights and the changed gun are described. Some photos are fairly dark due to the tank being stored under cover. Plans show a vehicle of this standard with one stowage box on the mudguards and no turret rear bin.

Mk II at the South African Museum of Military History in Johannesburg. This could be called a "typical" Crusader II, it has no sub turret - come Mk II had them and some did not - but all other features apart from the lack of sand shields are what you would expect from a tank in the desert campaigns. It is painted to depict a tank seen in 1941 which may be wrong for this standard of build. Photos show the vehicle all over and also inside the turret, driver’s compartment and engine bay. Plans have some mistakes, the front plate of the turret is shown thicker than the Mk I style but has Mk I features and the turret bin is oddly shaped, nothing that cannot be corrected using the photos and this section is ideal for someone wanting to build the Italeri "Mk I/II" kit No 6385 as a Mk II

Mk III at the RAC Tank Museum, Bovington, England. Nice complete example, marked as an Alemein-era tank though with no side skirts it is shown all over outside but there are no interior views. Anyone who still has the original Italeri Mk III kit 219, Hasegawa’s 1/72 scale 026 or its Revell version 01235 or even the old Airfix 1/32 kit or older 1/76 one will find this section very useful for adding detail. Plans are not correct around the sides of the turret near the front and like all the ones in the book do not show the exhaust outlet.

Mk III AA Mk III at the Musee des Blindes, Saumur in France. The shortest and least detailed study, this shows the version with twin 20mm guns used in NW Europe as AA cover and later as Command and Observation Post tanks. Some good closeups and a few engine bay shots but not much on the turret. Plans show the AA Mk II and not the III in the photos.

There is a short historical introduction with background on Crusader design and production with several original black and white photos, and another section showing Crusaders in Polish service, with Mk II and III in the UK and AA Mk III in the UK and NW Europe. One page shows the Crusader’s Liberty engine but in its original aircraft version, and two pages show track, suspension and turret details redrawn from original drawings. One useful feature is an index of components, so if you want to locate Towing Hooks or First Aid Box you can quickly find the photos.

Overall a very useful book for Crusader modellers, well worth having.

Page created December 20, 2003