Don’t underestimate this old tank, which is nearly fifty years old. Even in this era, it is still very useful.
At that time, it was the earl of the previous generation. He felt that this thing was much more powerful than the cavalry. In the end, he took great pains to get two "scrapped" Cromwells from the army.
Over the years, the family has set aside some money every year to maintain the two Cromwells, but...
As time goes by, only one of the two tanks can still be driven, and the other one is used as a spare parts vehicle.
The 75mm guns that were replaced later can fire grenades, which are very effective against buildings and personnel. As for the lethality...
Back then, it was a bit difficult to fight German tanks of the same level on the battlefield, and we could only play flank containment. However, if it was used for things like suppressing local forces and quelling riots.
For an ordinary house, all problems can be solved with one grenade.
Although the 75mm grenade seems not very big, it is theoretically considered a small-caliber artillery, but its killing radius is about 8 meters, which is not small!
It’s a no-brainer to deal with ordinary civilians.
…
Alan stood with his hands behind his back, watching the servants replace the rubber tracks on the tank and wipe the license plate.
This car has a regular license plate and can be driven on the road legally, but it cannot buy insurance. However, his family does not lack this insurance. If there is a car accident on the road, who knows who will hit whom.
Alan stuck the small flag in his hand onto the green tank and clapped his hands in satisfaction.
"Well... it's all done!"
This is Boss Cha's Prince of Wales flag. Anyone with a little knowledge can tell what kind of tank this is by looking at this flag.
Make a name for yourself first, and then drive all the way to London!
…
Time: 1:30 p.m., May 1, 1992.
Location: At the gate of Hill Manor.
Character: Alan, with a group of servants and bodyguards who are ready to cooperate with him to go to London to cause trouble.
Three cars, three support vehicles, a fuel truck, and a tank.
The small convoy, led by a Cromwell Type 4 tank, marched out of the manor gate in a mighty manner, and not far ahead, it turned onto the B4312 road.
Speaking of roads in Britain, there are roads starting with M, roads starting with A, roads starting with B, and more.
Theoretically, roads starting with M can be understood as expressways.
The one starting with A can be understood as a national highway.
As for those starting with B, they are provincial roads.
To be honest, the roads in Wales that start with B are a bit lousy...
Alan has complained many times, but the funds for repairing Welsh roads have not been approved. It is not realistic to build a single section of road from Carmarthen to London for him. If you want to repair this road, you have to repair it in large sections, which is very expensive. The parliament has not approved it, and Alan is too lazy to go to the parliament to make a fuss about such a trivial matter.
…
The turret hatch of the Type 4 Cromwell tank has double doors, with two small doors at the front and rear opening outwards. When opened, they can serve as small shields at the front and rear, providing a certain degree of protection for the observer or the commander.
Alan wore earmuffs and lay on the open door panel, feeling the smoke and dust blowing towards him!
Although this was not his first time riding in a tank, Alan was still very excited to ride in his own tank.
With a body width of 2.91 meters and a length of more than 6 meters, although Cromwell is not big among tanks, this thing runs fast.
After removing some of the armor and internal equipment, this thing can reach a speed of about 65 kilometers per hour at full speed.
In the absence of deceleration glass, leaning out from the turret, watching the scenery on both sides of the road slowly recede, and listening to the humming roar of the engine, it is very exciting!
…
Theoretically speaking, in the UK, if a tank wants to be legally on the road, in addition to replacing the rubber tracks, the fire control, sighting and other systems inside the tank must be removed, and the turret must be facing backwards before it can be legally on the road.
But the tank in Alan's house was said to be "scrapped" when it was brought back, but the inside was completely new. Not to mention the fire control, he even brought five rounds of ammunition in the tank when he went out this time!
As for the turret facing backwards, how unimpressive would that be? Could the muzzle of the tank that Master Allen himself rode in face backwards?
Just forward! The muzzle of the gun is pointed straight ahead.
The convoy was traveling on a two-lane provincial road starting with the letter B. It was quite far away, and the cars coming from the opposite direction, upon seeing this scene, would pull to the side of the road early for fear of disturbing this strange convoy.
As for who would dare to drive a tank on the road in Wales?
Besides that Master Allen, who else would dare to do this around here?
…
"Little Stone, load a shell and let me try firing it!"
Alan held a cigarette in his mouth and kicked the small stone that was huddled in the tank with him with his left foot. After the convoy had been driving for more than half an hour, this time the route to London was in the direction of Cardiff, and its current location was probably not far from Llanelli.
After the initial excitement wore off, Alan felt a little bored lying on the turret, so...
He wanted to fire a shot himself to test its power, but if he left Carmarthenshire, it would be difficult for him to test the power.
Now that he was here and there was ammunition in the car, Alan would feel itchy if he didn't fire a shot.
It's impossible that when there are too many people, they will randomly send a cannonball to the villages they pass by, right?
The Welsh people have been so honest recently, there is no need for that.
…
"Ah? Master? Right here?"
Although Xiao Shitou was confused, he still followed Alan's order and patted the loader beside him, signaling him to load the ammunition. He was acting as a communications soldier this time. There was also a loader and a driver in the car. Alan was of course the driver. Neither of them had to do any work and was only responsible for the experience.
Until Xiao Shitou reminded Alan that everything was ready, the convoy was still driving at a speed of about 60 kilometers. Alan took out the walkie-talkie, recalled the process in his mind, and pretended to report the coordinates of the location of a small woods about 300 meters away from the roadside.
The turret slowly turned to the left.
"Prepare!"
"Ready sir!"
"fire!"
"boom!"
Alan felt his body shaking violently back and forth several times due to the violent vibration, and his chest hit the hatch cover, which caused some pain.
After a burst of white smoke, a small wisp of black smoke emerged from the woods in the distance, and a big tree was blown in half by a cannon.
This power... is more exciting than a machine gun!
The entire convoy was moved by the sudden sound of gunfire. The car leading the way in front turned sharply and then quickly straightened itself out.
Alan laughed out loud when he saw this.
Enjoyable!
"One more shot! Reload!"
"Master, we didn't bring many shells with us. What if we don't have enough when we get to London..."
It was rare for Little Stone to want to advise Alan.
"Idiot! You really think I dare to fire in London? You think I die too slowly? Reload!"
There are not enough shells when the cannonballs reach London. This is to cause trouble in London, not to attack London. If Alan really dares to drive this thing and fire at London...
I won’t say much about other things, but I estimate that the scolding and house arrest from the Queen alone will last at least half a year.
…
The Severn Bridge is located at the junction of the Severn River and Bristol Bay, about ten kilometers east of Newport. On the Welsh side of the bridge, there is a local polo stadium and a supporting horse training ground next to it.
The Severn Bridge.
A police car was parked on the side of the road. Two traffic policemen with beer bellies were leaning against the front of the car, chatting with coffee cups in their hands.
It is now around four o'clock in the afternoon. Although they are on duty outside, our glorious British tradition of afternoon tea cannot be lost. Even if there is no conditions for it while on duty outside, we have to buy a cup of coffee to show our appreciation and treat it as afternoon tea.
There were two rather exquisite snacks on the hood of the police car. Two fat traffic policemen were watching the vehicles crossing the bridge while drinking coffee and chatting.
Until... a slightly different sound was heard in the distance, followed by a cloud of smoke and an extremely unpleasant noise.
Like in an underground parking lot, the squeaking sound of car tires rubbing against the plastic parking lot floor, accompanied by an extremely unrestrained engine roar, comes from far away.
Then... a green tank appeared, with its muzzle facing forward, as if afraid that others couldn't see them. The muzzle was pointed high and slanted forward.
The tall and fat traffic policeman in the lead opened his mouth slightly, looking at the scene in a daze. He didn't react for a while. After all... not every traffic policeman would encounter a tank driving on the road while on duty.
Moreover, it is an old tank that looks older than his father. The most important thing is that it has a civilian license plate!
And it appeared right in front of him.
"Boss...what should we do? Stop them?"
The other short and fat traffic police partner patted his boss lightly.
"Stop it, you idiot! Didn't you see the flag? You ate all the knowledge I learned like a donut?"
"Stand still, idiot! Don't cause any trouble!"
After the boss was woken up by his men, he took his wide-brimmed hat and smashed it hard on his men's forehead. Then he quickly put on his own hat, straightened his clothes, put his legs together, sucked in his slightly protruding belly, and obediently saluted the oncoming tank.
…
“Boom boom boom…”
The green old tank seemed to have seen the two traffic policemen over there, and it accelerated suddenly, increasing its speed a bit. When it was in front of the two of them, it slowly braked. Smoke and dust covered the two fat traffic policemen, but they didn't even dare to fart. The smiles on their faces even brightened as the tank braked.
With a clang sound.
The hatch on the turret was opened.
Little Stone stretched out his body with great effort, hooked his finger at the fat traffic policeman who looked like the leader, and shouted, "You! Come here."
…
The tall and fat traffic policeman used his hands and feet and was pushed by his subordinates from behind to climb onto the more than two-meter-high Cromwell Type IV tank. He rubbed his hands a little awkwardly and looked at Xiao Shitou who asked him to climb up.
At this time, he had already seen the small flag hanging on the tank with his peripheral vision. It was the royal flag of the Prince of Wales, but he still couldn't be sure who was sitting inside, or who was sitting in a certain car in the convoy behind.
I haven't heard that His Highness has been visiting Wales recently?
Did he come to inspect secretly this time?
But... there's no need to deploy an old tank for protection, right?
…
"Do you know who I am?"
As Xiao Shitou asked the question, the tall and fat traffic policeman shook his head honestly, and then quickly nodded.
Xiao Shitou took out his ID from his pocket and handed it to the fat traffic policeman.
The fat traffic policeman didn't even answer, because he recognized the big Hill family emblem on the ID card!
This thing is more famous in Wales than the Prince's flag!
"It turns out to be the Hill family..."
"Okay, you just need to know. My master is still sitting inside..."
Little Stone muttered something, which scared the fat traffic policeman again. When he heard that Alan was still inside, he was so scared that he wanted to take two steps back, but there were still some messy things on the tank, making it difficult to step back.
"Wait... here you go, take this!"
Xiao Shitou bent down, took two plates of things and a small pot from the tank and handed them to the fat traffic policeman.
Two plates of very exquisite snacks and a pot of tea...the teapot is made of silver!
The fat traffic policeman took the things in a hurry, handed the plate to his men first, and held the pot of tea in his own hand, his expression becoming even more reserved.
"Okay...you can go down now. This is a reward from the Excellency for your hard work. Have a nice afternoon tea!"
Xiao Shitou snapped his fingers, signaling the fat traffic policeman to get off the car. His attitude was very casual, even a bit like he was shouting at a servant, but the fat traffic policeman didn't feel insulted at all. Instead, his face turned slightly red, and he seemed very excited!
The fat traffic policeman, who seemed extremely unreal, jumped off the tank nimbly with the help of his men. The two men, one holding a plate and the other holding a teapot, watched the tank emit thick smoke again and then drove onto the Severn Bridge.
…
"Boss? What is this...?"
The short and fat traffic policeman looked at the thing in his hand in confusion.
"What are you looking at? Do you know who just passed by? It was the Earl of Carmarthen! He saw that we were working so hard, so he gave us afternoon tea as a reward."
The tall and fat traffic policeman held the silver teapot tightly and refused to let go. He was reluctant to drink it.
Although a silver teapot is not worth much, it depends on who gave it as a gift or reward!
This was a reward given to him by the legendary and prestigious Earl of Carmarthen. He can take it home and put it in the most conspicuous place in the house to protect it from harm!
As for why these things were taken out of the tank...
Is it any wonder that I can have afternoon tea in my Great British Tank?
Back then... the British Army claimed that you can capture me, but you must provide me with afternoon tea!
The head can be cut and blood can flow, but the tea cannot be cut off. Who in Europe doesn't know this rule?
Back then, the standard for testing the quality of a tank was whether you could drink black tea in it!
Gentlemen of Great Britain must remain elegant even on the battlefield!
…
Severn Bridge.
This Severn refers to the Severn River, not Ultraman Seven.
This bridge was completed only 60 years ago, and at that time it was claimed to have used the latest technology.
Alan didn't understand these technologies, but the bridge with steel cables looked extremely spectacular. The entire bridge span was nearly one thousand meters, connecting Wales and England.
After crossing the bridge, we officially arrived in England, which also meant that the convoy could finally get on the highway starting with M.
However... considering the top speed of the Cromwell tank, even if it gets on the highway, at most the road will be easier to drive on, and the rest is useless because it can't go fast anyway.
After driving for more than two hours, we only traveled a little over 100 kilometers. At this speed...
"Little Stone, change cars after crossing the bridge."