Excelsior

Excelsior

Excelsior

Britain

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	4.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Heavy tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

MARKET

Description

The Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior) (or just Tank, Heavy Assault, A33 (Excelsior)) is a gift rank III British heavy tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault" during the 2017 World War Two: Chronicle Event, unlocked after obtaining 11 Chronicle Awards. Based off the Cromwell chassis, the Excelsior provides a substantial armour upgrade with speed.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	114 mm (1°) Front plate 55 mm (74°) Front glacis 114 mm (18°), 55 mm (65°) Lower glacis	39 + 25.4 mm	32 mm (1°) Top 20 mm (18-62°) Bottom	20 mm
Turret	114 mm (1°) Turret front 63.5 mm (1-41°) Gun mantlet	63.5 mm	63.5 mm (1°)	20 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and bogies are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
40.0	N/A	41 (AB)
		39 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	775	954
Realistic/Simulator	531	600
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	19.37	23.85
Realistic/Simulator	13.27	15.00

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm Ordnance QF Mk.V
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
104			-12.5°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	14.28	19.80	24.0	26.60	28.20
Realistic	14.28	16.80	20.4	22.60	24.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
6.50	5.75	5.30	5.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
M72 Shot	AP	110	109	92	76	62	51
M48 Shell	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
M61 Shot	APCBC	93	91	84	75	67	61

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
M72 Shot	AP	619	6.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	47°	60°	65°
M48 Shell	HE	463	6.3	0.4	0.5	666	+0°	79°	80°	81°
M61 Shot	APCBC	618	6.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	+4°	48°	63°	71°

Smoke characteristic
Ammunition	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Screen radius in m	Screen time in s	Screen hold time in s:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):
M89	259	3	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M4A3E2 Jumbo.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
64	33 (+31)	17 (+47)	1 (+63)	Yes

Center empty: 33 (+31)

Optics

Explain how the optic's status can affect the tank's gameplay in any unique or meaningful way. A comparison to rival tanks of the rank is welcome.

If you are having problems with it, refer to the optics gallery page for examples.

Excelsior Optics
Which ones	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x1.85	x3.5
Comparable optics	Churchill Mk I

Machine guns

7.92 mm BESA
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,550 (225)				600	N/A	N/A
Hull mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,550 (250)				600	±10°	±10°

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent front armour thickness
• Quite fast
• Hull machine gun works
• -12 degrees of gun depression
• Premium SL and RP rewards
• Access to smoke

Cons:

• Front armour is non-sloping
• Low ammo count
• Large ammo rack in turret ring makes for easy detonation
• Very slow reverse
• Shells have no HE filler
• Weak side armour

History

Prompt

The early combat experience of the Churchill infantry tank raised concerns on its reliability and speed, with a suggestion that production be halted while development focus on an "universal tank" for the British armoured forces to replace the cruiser and infantry tanks. However, until such a design could be formulated, they still needed a tank for the assault role the infantry tanks would take.

Rolls-Royce Company, the company producing the prototype A27 Cromwells, suggested that the Tank Board use the A27 as an interim design with stronger armour, suspension, and armament. The suggestion was supported with the English Electric Company, whom plan to upgrade the A27 with thicker armour and elements from the American M6 heavy tank.

Development and Cancellation

On 07 May 1942, Tank Board approved for the production of these uparmoured A27 under the designation A33, though it would also have the name Excelsior. English Electric Company were in charge of producing the uparmoured A27 models and produced two prototypes. The first had the M6 suspension system and a 6-pdr cannon. The second had a wider track, different armoured skirts, additional frontal armour, and a 75 mm gun. Both used the same V12 Meteor engine as the A27.

Reliability issues with the Churchill were soon ironed out by 1943, to the point it became a very successful infantry support vehicle and multiple variations were made based off the chassis. The A33 Excelsior, meant to replace the Churchill, was no longer needed and the project was dropped in 1943.

Today, the second prototype can be seen at the Bovington Tank Museum.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] WW2 Chronicles vehicles: A33 Excelsior (GB)