Specification Crew : 5 Engine power : 150 hp Combat weight :14,390 kg (31,729 lb) Max speed : road 26 km/h (16.15 mph) Length : 5.59 m (18.34 ft) Range : 160 km (99.36 miles) Width : 2.52 M (8.29 ft) Main gun : 2-pounder(40 mm) Height : 2.65 m (8.70 ft) Armour : 4 mm (0.16 in) to 30 mm (1.18 in)

Designed in 1936,the Vickers Armstrong Cruiser Mark II followed on from the Mark 1.Intended to operate in an infantry support tank,it had heavier armour.It was not actually used in this role,but the Mark II was often referred to at the time as a 'heavy cruiser';the designation was A10.The most noticeable change from the Mark 1 was the removal of the twin auxiliary machine gun turrets.After some debate it was finally accepted that those were of limited combat value and wasted valuable manpower.The single coaxial machine gun retained was a 7.92 mm(0.31 inch)BESA machine gun,a calibre and type adopted only by the Royal Armored Corps.As with the Mark 1 series there was a Cruiser Marks IICS armed with a 3.7-inch(94 mm)close support howitzer.There was little difference between the two marks apart from armament,they even shared the same AEC engine.170 of the Cruiser Mark IIA main production model were ordered in 1938.In the event the Cruiser Mark IIA fell between two stools.It lacked sufficient armour for the infantry support role,yet it was too slow to be a true Cruiser tank.The first examples were delivered during December 1939 and a batch was sent to France,only to vanish in May 1940.More were sent to North Africa where they proved to be mechanically more reliable then the Mark 1s,they served there until 1942 when sufficient Crusaders and Lee/Grants had been sent to the Eighth Army.