Artist's commentary
Canadian Cromwell Tank
The Cromwell was hands down, the most successful 'cruiser' tank prior to the Comet. Entering the war late the thing still managed to run into plenty of action.
I mean that quite literally, Cromwells on Average could get up to 45 miles an hour! Now it didn't just have it's speed going for it, it was as solid as you could get for a medium tank, but the speed really was phenomenal.
They achieved this through the "meteor engine" which long story short was just a heavily upgraded Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. That's right, they took an engine from a plane, upgraded it, and slapped it in a tank!(WAAAAY more to it I know, the story of this engine is a post of its own. A post I'll have to do after I cover the side skirts on the Panzer IV.)
Okay obviously 45 mph isn't much to us now a days, but back then that was pretty useful on an AFV. With great speed came great responsibility, which meant the Cromwell was mostly used in Calvary units and Recon missions.
I can't stress the speed enough, there are a few good stories of Cromwells leaping over sizable gaps and out maneuvering pursuing forces(if you want good first hand stories of Cromwells, I'll recommend the book Troop Leader by Bill Bellamy.) These tanks would be in use with all of the Commonwealth and the 1st Polish Armored division as well.
I'm planning to put all of these Normandy Drawings in an Art book. Of course the breakout and the fighting in the rest of France is going to be included too.
I'm all open for feedback and as many of you know I fluctuate styles on purpose. (compare the Semovente DA 75 with the recent Panzer IV) Its not only for variety but to find what works best. The Semovente is absolutely beautiful, but damn was it time consuming to color(especially all the darn infantry). The say, Peruvian Lt vz 38 didn't take long, but I felt very bored by how it looked. So if you have feedback for me (good and bad, as long as its USEFUL) please let me know.
The lineart, sketch, and a small comic are on instagram.
www.instagram.com/picture_panz…