Crusader Mk.III
3rd County of London Yeomanry

This is my take on Border Model's Crusader Mk. III tank. Mark III was the first version of Crusader (and maybe even the first version of cruiser tanks) that crews actually liked. Besides the 6 pdr as a great improvement over 2 pdr mounted on all previous tanks, most of the reliability issues that plagued previous cruiser tanks were finally sorted out. However, it came too little too late, and after brief use at the late stages in NA theater (El Alamein and after and Operation Torch) it was retired and used only as a specialized vehicle.

This model should represent 3rd County of London Yeomanry tank, as seen in reference photos from the beginning of 1943. 3rd CLY arrived in North Africa in September 1941. They were taking part in Operation Crusader, Gazala Battles, and the battle of Alam Halfa, where they fought as a composite regiment together with 4th CLY. They suffered great casualties during these engagements and did not take part in the Battle of Alamein, as they were out of the line, retraining, and re-fitting, near Cairo. The training continued until early 1943, and during this time they received a number of 6 pdr Crusader and Sherman tanks. First Crusader Mk. III tanks were received on January 19th and soon participated in trials. They were compared with the Sherman III's that the unit received at the same time. Here are some comments about its performance from the was diaries:

- The 6pdr has fired by 50 all ranks and proved very accurate at ranges from 1500 yards.

- Little mechanical trouble was experienced with Crusader 6pdr tanks - possibly the new Crusaders are more reliable.

- C Squadron went to ranges ref Cairo Black Hill 610809 and carried out an AP shoot from 6pdr Crusaders. The 6pdr was found to be an extremely accurate weapon but the difficulty was experienced in observation of fire owing to the flash and blast of the gun.

However, in the end, Sherman Mk. III was selected, and all received Crusaders were sent away to be replaced by Shermans. Not sure where these Crusaders ended up, probably as replacements in other units.

After North Africa, 3rd CLY was sent to Sicily, where they landed on July 10th July as part of the 4th Armoured Brigade.

It's not certain how these tanks were painted. However, high contrast on black and white photos suggests that it was probably the Desert Pink ZI/Dark Olive Green PFI combination, which was the actual scheme for newly issued tanks, so I decided to go with that one. The model was painted with MRP lacquers and some Gunze and Vallejo for detail painting and weathered with MIG's nature effects and VMS pigments.

The model was mostly built OOB. The only additions are tow cables (not sure why Border Model haven't included them?), aerials, and some wiring. Decals were also changed with Archer Fine Transfers decals because Border's squadron markings provided are not correct.

In General, Border Model is a great, well-balanced kit. The only issues worth mentioning are missing tow cables, and wrong markings and tracks. Tracks actually look quite nice, except for awful pin marks. Also, once assembled, they are very fragile, and I managed to break them a few times.