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Infantry Tank IV Churchill. A series of heavy British infantry tanks of the Second World War, the Churchills are best known for their tremendous armor and use as specialised vehicles. This series of tanks was named after the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
History
The British Expeditionary Force, having lost most of their equipment in the rapid evacuation at Dunkirk were in dire need to replace that loss. To accommodate this, the British government pushed forward a tank design that predated the onset of World War II, the A20.
Built to meet the needs of World War I style trench warfare, the main emphasis of the tank was to navigate shell cratered ground and demolish infantry obstacles such as barbed wire. It was redesigned in 1940 based on the swift battles in Poland and France as the A22, but still kept many of the same features that would cause it a disadvantage confronted with the rapid nature of blitzkrieg tactics.
The hurried production and lack of field tests caused the tank to suffer from great mechanical problems and it performed poorly during the disastrous Dieppe Raid.
After numerous modifications, the tank did begin to see better performance in the North African Campaign though, as its exceptionally heavy armor, low silhouette and good climbing abilities gave it a resonable degree of success. The main complaints against it were its very low speed and poor armament, two weaknesses that would haunt it throughout its entire career. The Churchill tank further served in both the Italian Campaign and the Western Front.
The Churchill had many variations, including many specialised modifications. This durability - on a par with the US Sherman, Russian T-34 or the German Panzer IV - is a sign of a successful tank model. The most significant change to the Churchill was that it was upgunned from 2pdr to 6pdr and then 75mm guns over the course of the War. By war's end, some late model Churchills had exceptional amounts of armour - considerably more than the German Tiger tank.
Variations
Churchill I (303)
Equipped with a 2 pounder gun in the turret, and both a Besa machine gun and a 3" howitzer in the hull, this tank was noted for poor mechanical reliability. It was the main tank issued to the Canadian forces at Dieppe.
Churchill II (1,127)
Replaced the hull howitzer for another machine gun to reduce cost and complexity. Sometimes referred to as Churchill Ia.
Churchill IIcs (close support)
Placed the gun in the hull and the howitzer in the turret, available in very limited numbers. Sometimes called Churchill II.
Churchill III (675)
The III was the first major armament overhaul of the series, eliminating the hull howitzer and equipping the tank with a more powerful 6 pounder gun. Unlike early versions, it had a welded turret.
Churchill IV (1,622)
The IV was the most numerous Churchill produced, and was virtually identical to the III, the largest change being its return to the less costly cast turret.
Churchill V (241)
A Churchill III / IV which was equipped with a 95mm howitzer in place of the main gun.
Churchill VI (200)
Along with several minor improvements, it was produced standard with the 75mm Mk V gun. Few were built due to the near release of the VII and current upgunning of the III / IV.
Churchill VII (1,600 with XIII)
The second major redesign from previous models, the VII used the 75mm gun, had an increased width and adds much more armor. It is sometimes called the Heavy Churchill. This version of the Churchill first saw service in the Battle of Normandy, and was redesignated A42 in 1945.
Churchill VIII
A Churchill VII which replaced the main gun with a 95mm howitzer.
Churchill IX
Churchill III / IV upgraded with turret and armor of VII. If the old 6 pounder turret was retained, it took on the additional designation of LT.
Churchill X
VI with armor upgraded to that of the VII.
Churchill XI
Churchill V upgraded to VII armor.
Churchill OKE
A Churchill II with one of the hull machine guns exchanged for a flamethrower. There were three present at Dieppe which were quickly destroyed.
Churchill 75mm
Churchill III / IV with upgraded weaponry using the turret and mantlet from a destroyed Sherman ( NA 75 ), or having their current gun rebored to 75mm ( III* / IV (75mm) ). More IV's were thusly modified then III's, and their performance is virtually identical to the VI.
Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers)
A Churchill III/ IV equipped with a 290mm Petard mortar, it was designed for the quick levelling of fortifications. It could also be equipped with numerous other attachments, such as mine flails, facine rollers, explosive placers etc.
Churchill ARK
A dedicated bridge laying Churchill.
Churchill Crocodile (800)
One of the more notable Churchills, it was a Churchill VII which replaced the hull machine gun with a flamethrower. The fuel was in an armoured wheelled trailer towed behind. The Crocodile was one of 'Hobart's Funnies'.
Designs based on chassis
See also:
External links
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