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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 test s caused the tank to suffer from great mechanical problems and it performed poorly during the disastrous Dieppe RaidThe Dieppe Raid or The Battle of Dieppe or Operation Jubilee was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France on August 19, 1942 during World War II. On the day, the raid was mostly an unmitigated disaster, very little was achieved and a.
After numerous modifications, the tank did begin to see better performance in the North African CampaignThe battle in the North African desert during World War II from 1940- 1943. It is also known as the Desert War . The fighting in this region began with Italian attacks on British occupied areas. Following the terrible reverses suffered by the Italians, th 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 CampaignThe Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war. Following victory in the North African Campaign, there was disagreement between the Allies on the next step. The British, especial and the Western FrontDuring World War II, the Western Front was the theater of fighting west of Germany, encompasing France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, and Denmark. 1939 1941 Fighting on the Western Front was preceded with the Phoney War. Fighting began with Operati.
The Churchill had many variations, including many specialised modifications. By war's end, the late model Churchills had more armor then even the dreaded Tiger tank.
Churchill I (303)
Equipped with a 2 pounder gun in the turret, and both a Besa machine gunA machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. Overview M2 machine gun surrounded by spent shell casings Unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per bullet fired, a machine gun will and a 3" howitzerA howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. Howitzers are used to fire explosive shells at ground targets up to about 25-30 kilometres away. The name comes from Czech houfnice denoting a 15th century cannon used by Hussites. Howitzers are distin in the hull, this tank was noted for poor mechanical reliability. It was the main tank issued to the CanadianCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe 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 Crocodile towed a fuel trailer.