The Crusader only saw active service in Africa but the chassis of the tank was modified to create anti-aircraft, fire support, observation, communication, bulldozer and recovery vehicle variants.

As part of the 1st Armoured Brigade, the Crusader was to prove vital during the Second Battle of El Alamein, at the siege of Tobruk and in the Tunisia campaign.

In 1938, Nuffield Mechanizations and Aero Limited produced their A16 design for a heavy cruiser tank based on Christie suspension.

At the left side of the front hull—a place occupied by the engine radiator in the Covenanter—was mounted a small hand-traversed auxiliary turret armed with a Besa machine gun.

The main armament, as in other British tanks of the period, was balanced so that the gunner could control its elevation through a padded shaft against his right shoulder rather than using a geared mechanism.

[3] When it was understood that there would be delays in the introduction of successor heavy cruiser tanks (the Cavalier, Centaur and Cromwell), the Crusader was adapted with a six-pounder gun.

Tanks arriving in North Africa were missing many of the essential tools and servicing manuals needed to maintain operation—stolen or lost in transit.

Several official and unofficial in-theatre modifications were applied in attempts to improve reliability and conserve water, which otherwise had to be prioritised on keeping the vehicles running.

As time moved on, more and more were being returned to base workshops, leading to a shortage of battle-ready tanks and a massive backlog of repair works to be completed.

[citation needed] Delays in producing the next generation of cruiser tanks meant the Crusader was later up-armed with the 6-pounder, which had much better anti-tank performance.

A significant area of concern, however, was the driver's compartment, the side of which had been left exposed by the removal of the secondary Besa machine gun turret.

Despite the many problems, the Crusader was successful in combat against Axis tanks, using its better mobility and greater capability to fire on the move to strike at vehicle weak spots.

This caused a change in German tactics, whereby Axis tanks would feign retreat, drawing Crusader units onto a pre-positioned anti-tank gun screen.

Although there was pressure from London for the 7th Armoured Division to go into action, outfitting for the desert and training delayed the first use of Crusaders until Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk in June.

[6] Although the Crusader was faster than any tanks it opposed, its potential was limited by a relatively light QF 2-pounder gun, thin armour, and mechanical problems.

The Crusader proved[citation needed] prone to "brew up" when hit, a problem that was identified as being due to the ammunition being ignited by hot metal penetrating the unprotected racks.

The German tanks they were facing were improved types with face-hardened frontal armour, which caused 2-pounder shot to shatter rather than penetrate.

As part of British deception operations, Crusaders could be issued with "Sunshade", which was a metal framework with canvas covering that disguised the tank as a lorry to German aerial reconnaissance.

Later in the campaign, shipping was improved, Nuffield put an engineering team in Egypt, and crews were better at preventing problems but the reputation of the Crusader could not recover.

The operations of Blade Force were on terrain different from the desert of the earlier campaigns, and the fighting took place with smaller numbers of vehicles.

After the completion of the North African Campaign, the availability of better tanks, such as the Sherman and Cromwell, relegated the Crusader to secondary duties, such as anti-aircraft mounts or gun tractors.

The Crusader anti-aircraft guns were designed for use in North West Europe but given Allied air supremacy, the AA troops were disbanded.

The only time we saw any aircraft action was when we were attacked by low-flying ‘friendly’ American fighter planes - but that’s another story.The situation must eventually have registered with someone, somewhere, because after a week or so we turned our useless Crusaders in, were given Cromwells and became an operational troop with ‘A’ Squadron of the Regiment.

[citation needed] The turret of a Crusader tank was used by the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to defend the city of Hanoi at the beginning of the first Indochina War.

The turret was fixed in place, the gun was removed and a dummy barrel fitted to give it the same outward appearance of a regular tank.

However, those Crusader III, AA Mk I used in NW Europe from D-day on did not have the turret, but a 40 mm Bofors gun mounted directly on the hull top with its standard shield.

[13] Due to Allied air superiority over the battlefields of north-west Europe, none of the AA versions saw much action against aircraft but a few - especially with the 1st Polish Armoured Division - were used against ground targets.

Unit veterans reported that the Crusader was popular with the crews and were often driven by former Armoured Corps drivers seconded to the Royal Artillery because of their driving experience.

They also claimed to be able to outrun Military Police motorcycles, which were limited to a wartime speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) due to low grade petrol.

The Musée des Blindés in France preserves a Mk III anti-aircraft Crusader and the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands owns a gun-tractor variant.