A13 Mk II

A13 Mk II

A13 Mk I

Crusader II

A13 Mk II

A13 Mk I

Crusader II

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

Light tank

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

This page is about the British light tank A13 Mk II. For other uses, see A13 (Family).

Description

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk IV (A13 Mk II) is a rank I British light tank with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced along with the initial British tree line in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour". Featuring the QF 2-pounder as the main armament coupled with good mobility, this vehicle is a typical light tank and plays as such.

This tank is a good representative of later rank 2-3 British tanks: good mobility, flat and thin frontal armour, bad reverse speed and minimal post-penetration damage.

Driving

Even though the A13 has good mobility, it sometimes feels weird: it loses speed on turns, does not accelerates quite as fast as it's overpowered engine(38.19 HP/ton, stock) should provide it and hill-climbing feels hard. All of these flaws come from the gearbox, which has bad and uneven ratios, resulting in a kick when changing speed. Knowing that you should always keep an eye on the "gear" counter top-left of your screen (activate it in the options menu) since it provides you crucial information on how your tank will react to your commands. With a bit of practice, one should swiftly masters these peculiarities.

Shooting

Since the QF 2-pounder is used on most tanks of Rank 1, it's important to know it well. This cannon has a major disadvantage at distances since it's bullet lose around 20 mm of penetration for every 500 m it travels, which is a lot. As if this was not enough, it has poor accuracy, even with Adjustment of fire, hence, one should target large components (crewmen, engine, transmission), of the enemy or, as distance increases (500m or more), the general centre of the foe. Firing it, you will easily notice it's last but not least flaw: it does almost no post-penetration damage, which means you will need to snipe, crew members, one by one. Combine this difficulty with a bit of distance and this task can prove tricky pretty quick, sometimes leaving the enemy enough time to replenish it's crew before you finish it off.

On the other hand, this cannon has 5 major advantages: reload speed, close-quarter penetration, a primitive stabilizing system, LOTS of ammo and awesome gun depression. Its fast reloading speed allows it to compensate its poor accuracy: missed a shot? why not take another even before you can reposition ! Close quarter penetration, one of the best at its tier, is also a plus: your enemies will only block you shot if you happen to hit a steep-angled plate of armour. Does this tank have good mobility? nice !, it can fire on the move too, at low speeds and on the relatively flat road though but still, it is much more precise than the comparable BT-7 with its 20-K. Last but not least, small bullets means more bullets: the A13 can bring up to 87 bullets into the game, much more than you need to knock out 3-4 tanks, which means you can try to suppress an enemy and keep it into cover by constantly firing near it (at this rank, this tactic can prove effective against new players). Finally, its good gun depression enables it to fire over hills, peeking only it's a small turret, shooting and disappearing swiftly. Use these features cunningly.

Others

Since the addition of smoke in War Thunder, light tanks have it easier. Use your forward-launching smoke to create a wall of smoke in a strategic place. It can be used to cover your allies, when capturing a point, flanking in a street (urban environment),

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

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

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	14 mm Front plate 14 mm (0-62°) Front glacis 14 mm (64°) Lower glacis	7 mm	14 mm (0-62°)	14 mm
Turret	14 mm (0-15°) Turret front 14 mm (1-63°) Gun mantlet	14 (40°) + 14 mm (21°)	14 (21-30°) + 14 mm (2°)	14 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	14 mm	14 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	54	7	14.5	527	649	36.34	44.76
Realistic	48	6		301	340	20.76	23.45

Armaments

Main armament

40 mm OQF 2-pounder					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	87	-15°/+20°	±180°	Vertical	15.23	21.08	25.60	28.31	30.12	3.64	3.22	2.97	2.80
Realistic					9.50	11.20	13.60	15.04	16.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot Mk.1 AP/T	AP	72	68	52	37	27	19
Shot Mk.1 APCBC/T	APCBC	88	83	64	46	33	24
Shot Mk.1 APHV/T	AP	80	78	67	56	47	40
Shell Mk.1 AP/T	APHE	66	62	49	36	26	20

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot Mk.1 AP/T	AP	792	1.08	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°
Shot Mk.1 APCBC/T	APCBC	792	1.24	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.1 APHV/T	AP	853	1.08	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°
Shell Mk.1 AP/T	APHE	792	1.08	1.2	9	19	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Last updated: 1.77.2.128

File:Ammoracks A13MkI.png

Ammo racks of the A13 Mk I.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	12th rack empty	13th rack empty	14th rack empty	15th rack empty	16th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
87	78 (+9)	75 (+12)	72 (+15)	69 (+18)	66 (+21)	62 (+25)	60 (+27)	56 (+31)	51 (+36)	47 (+40)	43 (+44)	41 (+46)	36 (+51)	31 (+56)	16 (+71)	1 (+86)	No

Center hull empty: 41 (+46)

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.

A13 Mk II Optics
Which ones	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x1.85	x3.5
Comparable optics	AMR.35 ZT3

Machine guns

7.7 mm Vickers
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
3,500 (250)				390	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The A13 Mk.II is a Cruiser tank and plays very much like one. The relative lack of armor and high mobility allow the A13 to easily flank the enemy team. While the armor upgrades in the Mk. II do not help against much more than heavy machine gun rounds, the A13 still has its speed as its biggest advantage. The 2 pounder main armament is an excellent weapon, and allows the A13 to engage effectively at any range. Generally the Shell Mk.1 AP/T (APHE) round should be used, as it has the largest post penetration effect, however for tougher foes the solid AP rounds will easily penetrate. A13 commanders should use cover and try to outmaneuver opponents, engaging whenever they see fit.

Some notable enemies the A13 might face are German Panzer II tanks. These vehicles have auto cannons that will shred through the A13s armor. Commanders should be extra cautious when facing these. Generally it is advisable to try and bait out their volley with a quick push forward and retreat, and then try to take them out while they reload. The A13 is at a disadvantage against these vehicles, its only real advantage being the fact that the 40mm 2 pounder is shoulder stabilized, meaning it is easier to get the first shot off when slowing down.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	Shot Mk.IXB APCBC/T
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Shot Mk.1 APHV/T
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	Shell Mk.1 AP/T

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Better turret armour than it's predecessor
• Good gun for its rank
• Fast
• Slim target
• Has a "lock", which is a primitive form of stabilisation
• Brings lots of ammo
• Has forward-launching smoke launchers
• Coaxial MG
• Good HP/ton ratio
• Decent turret sewing rate
• -15° gun depression
• 4 crewmen

Cons:

• Thin armour
• The gun is too small for its own good
• Barely any response from the engine
• Loses speed when turning
• Wiggles when trying to turn on 5th gear
• Regular MGs can penetrate side armour

History

Development

The British development on their cruiser tanks advanced greatly with the implementation of the Christie suspension system, which they acquired from an American firm. The tank underwent a development program under the name Cruiser Mk III (A13) and the first accepted variant for the military was the A13 Mk.I. The Mk.I featured 15 mm of armour, a 2-pounder cannon, and a Vickers machine gun as its coaxial armament. An order of 65 of these tanks were asked for in 1939 at the Nuffield Mechanization & Auto Limited, but only 30 were made before the a decision was made to upgrade the existing model with more armour and different armament.

The redesigned cruiser tank, the A13 Mk.II, Cruiser Tank Mk IV, had a new armour thickness of 30 mm and additional sloping armour was put onto the sides and rear of the turret. The Vickers machine gun used as the coaxial armament was also replaced by the BESA machine gun, a licensed Czech ZB-53 machine gun, due to issues with the Vickers gun. Around 225 to 665 A13 Mk.II tanks were produced from 1940 until late 1941.

Combat Usage

The A13 first saw combat in the Battle of France under the British Expeditionary Force in 1940. The A13 encountered many trouble during its employment, the crew have little to no training with the new tanks due to their rushed adoption into service, the tanks were in poor condition and some were even missing parts. The A13s were used in the 1st Armoured Division, but many were either destroyed by the superior German armoured forces or abandoned at Calais during the evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk, which forced the units to leave behind their heavier equipment.

After the disaster at France, the A13 were still used to support the war. Some were sent to Greece to support their defense against Germany in the Battle of Greece, but a majority were sent to North Africa as part of the Western Desert Campaign near Libya under the 7th Armoured Division. Compared to the time in France, the A13s in North Africa fared much better, ironing out most of its initial defects, and was even more suited to the environment than other tank designs. The A13 was popular with the crew for its high speed, reliability, and a powerful 2-pounder cannon that could engage a majority of Axis tanks in 1941. However, there was an insufficient number of A13s available for use, so tank units were mixed with the faster cruiser tanks and slower infantry tanks, which caused tactical and logistical difficulties trying to accommodate all of the tanks. Another deficiency with the tank and every other British tank with the 2-pounder was the lack of high-explosive shell issued to the tankers, which made them vulnerable to anti-tank guns, which caused a majority of British tank losses in the North African Campaign. Still, the A13 fared very well with its armour and armament until the late 1941 where better armoured Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs began to appear on the battlefield.

Due to its growing obsolesce on the battlefield, the A13 was replaced in 1941 by the better armoured A15 Crusader tank.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the A13 Mk II from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Best gun depression discusses the A13 Mk II at 1:33 - War Thunder Official Channel

David Fletcher's Tank Chats #1: The A13 Cruiser - The Tank Museum

Read 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.

ETC.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.