Prototype A20
It was conceived as a 'shelled area tank'on the basis that the war would be fought in true WW1 style between the Maginot and
Siegfried lines (Thy didn't expect us to get kicked out of Europe) and is the true forerunner of the A22 Churchill. The original design had sponsons on
the side (like a First World War tank) but these were later dropped in favour of the mg. ports you see in the photo. It was build by Harland and Wolf but
it would seem that the Army people got fed up dealing with Belfast and eventually got Vauxhall involved - Vauxhall suggested some improvements /
alternatives which obviously went down well as the A20 project was scrapped and Vauxhall then start on A22.
The A20 was designed with the turret
from the Matilda tank with a 2pdr gun.
PrototypeA22
The other pics are from an early Churchill prototype that undergoing automotive trials. The A22 prototype was built by Vauxhall
Motors Ltd. The showed vehicle had a wooden simulated turret. The hull is shorter than that of the A20 and the side air intakes are bigger.
The
turret was one of the last things to get right as originally it was designed for the 6-pdr but when they realised that there wouldn't be any they had
to knock out a 2-pdr one - Makes you wonder why they didn't try the A20 trick of fitting the Matilda turret - perhaps the armour thickness wasn't up to
spec.
MK-I
The Churcill MK-I was armoured with a 2 pounder gun in the turret and an 3 inch howitzer in the front
MK-II
The Churchill MK-II was similar to the MK-I except that the 3 inch gun in the hull, which had a limited field of fire, was replaced by
a Besa Machine gun (MG) A production change on all Churchills was the addition of guards inside the front horns to stop dust and mud obscuring the view
of the driver and front gunner. Triangular support plates in the corners held the dustguards in place, and are visible here.
MK-II CS Close Support)
The Churchill MK-II CS (Close Support) was produced only in small numbers. It had a 2 pounder in the front and a
3 inch howitzer in the turret - a remnant of pre-war policy where a few CS tanks were included in a regiment to provide smoke and HE fire.
MK-II and MK-III
The Churchill MK-III was first used in action in the Dieppe landing of 19 August 1942. Some MK-I's were also used, and of
58 vehicles sent on the raid, 29 actually landed from LCT's. Three vehicles were fitted as flame-throwers (OKE), and leading vehicles carried
primitive rolls of chestnut paling to lay a carpet on the shingle. The use of tanks was abortive, however, and all were knocked out,
most on the beach.
Model built by Gianluca Trivero (Italy) - 1/72 - Mk III/ 25th Army Tank Brigade/ 51st RTR, Italy Gothic Line, Fall 1944
"Armour in Focus" Website
MK-IV - With welded and cast turret
A cast turret was also produced for the 6 pounder gun, and vehicles so fitted were know as Churchill
MK-IV's, but owing to limited manufacturing capacity, these variants were less numerous. The cast turret was nominally better protected than the
welded MK-III turret.
Model built by Gianluca Trivero (Italy) - 1/72 - Churchill Mk IV of 34th brigade 147 RAC/ October '44
Model built by Gianluca Trivero - (Churchill NA75, 25 Army Tank Brigade, North Irish Horse, November '44, Italy - Conversion Italeri/Al.By)
Churchill MK-IV (NA 75)
The British 2 pdr and 6 pdr tank guns fired only armourpiercing rounds. The American Grant and Sherman tanks
entering British service in 1942 had 75mm guns, able to fire both armourpiercing and high-explosive rounds, thus enabling them to engage both
"soft" and "hard" targets and eliminating the need for separate close-support tanks; in addition, German tanks now had 75mm guns and there was
obviously an urgent need for 75mm guns fitted to British tanks. The first fitting was a field modification in Tunisia by the 21st Tank Brigade,
whose workshops took American M3 75mm guns and mantlets from wrecked Sherman tanks and mounted them in 120 Churchill MK-IV's. This type was called
Churchill MK-IV (NA 75). With a capacity for 75 rounds, it was a successful conversion, and the type was used in Italy until the end of the war.
MK-V CS (Close Support)
The Churchill MK-V was a new close-support tank produced in 1943, intended to replace the remaining MK-I's, which
had been retained for close-support purposes by virtue of their 3 inch howitzer armament. The Churchill MK-V had a 95 mm tank howitzer, It was build
in small numbers.
Churchill MK-VII
The Churchill MK-VII was a great improvement, but the redesign increased the weight of the tank to 40 tons and reduced its
top speed to 13mph. In service the MK-VII was soon encumbered with gear and, like the earlier marks, had parts of the track covers removed. The
Churchill MK-VII was available just in time to participate in the Normandy campaign. The spare track shoes, giving extra protection, and missing
track guard centre section. The 75mm gun and circular escape doors identify the vehicles as a MK-VII.
Churchill Flamethrower OKE
The Churchill OKE was a early form of flamethrowing tank developed in 1942. Three Oke's went on Dieppe raid in
August 1942 but all were destroyed before they could use their flame projectors.
Churchill Flamethrower OKE - Used by Dieppe.(Comments by Gwyn Evans)
The OKE flamethrowing tank was named after its designer, Major J.M. OKE, who has submitted his ideas towards the end of 1941. The design was basically for a Churchill tank fitted with the Ronson flamethrowing equipment, which had already been fitted successfully to carriers.
A cilindrical tank containing the flame fuel was fitted at the rear, with a pipe from it leading along the left hand site of the hull, passing under the tracks by the air intake, and emerging between the front horns. There it was connected to a Ronson flame projector mounted in fixed elevation.
This design satisfied the General Staff specification that flame throwers should be mounted only on Infantry Tanks, and that theyshould be capable of installation in unmodified production tanks. The flamethrower's range was 40 or 60 yards.
The rear fuel tank was originally unarmoured, but by the time of the Dieppe raid it had been covered by a large armoured box. Both Peter Chamberlain, in an article in Airfix Magazine in September 1967, and John Reed, in the same magazine in October 1981, state that the
equipment was jettisonable. While this may have been so in the OKE's original form, the addition of an armoured box would seem to make jettison impossible.
Three Churchills were converted by Lagonda Ltd. to take the OKEequipment: T32049, T68875, and T31862. The first two were MK-II's built by Newton Chambers and Beyer Peacock respectively. The T31862 was a MK-III built by Birmingham Railway Carriage Company. (This does not tally with books dealing with the OKE, which say that all were MK-II's.) The three OKE's comprised 8 Troop of 14 Canadian Army Tank at Dieppe; all were lost in the operation. One OKE sank in deep water after leaving it's landing craft prematurely, and another damaged its fuel tank, having made a very heavy landing. It is extremely doubtfull wheter the third tank came within sufficient range of German positions tu uese its flamethroer. There is no evidence that any further OKE's were built.
"Library and Archives Canada - www.collectionscanada.gc.ca - Part 1 Pictures"
"Library and Archives Canada - www.collectionscanada.gc.ca - Part 2 movies"
Churchill Flamethrower Crocodile
Some 800 Churchill Crocodiles were produced during the war and proved a most effective weapon, continuing in
service right up to the Korean war. The trailer carried the flame fluid and there was sufficient for 80 one-second bursts, over a range of 80-120 yds.
The Churchill MK-VII was adapted to the Crocodile role, the flame-gun replacing the hull mounted machine gun, so the tank's main armament could still
be used
Close-up Petards Mortar
A close-up view of the Petard mortar on an AVRE. It was attached to the original 6pdr mantlet of the Churchill IV and
the breech opened by tilting the barrel vertically, loading being effected from the sliding front hatch in the hull. The co-driver acted as loader.
The Flying Dustbin
The "Flying Dustbin" projectile that was fired by the 29cm Petard Mortar. It weighed 40lb, could be fired at the rate of
2-3 rounds per minute, and had a effective range of 80yds.
Churchill AVRE with Petard Mortar
The experience of the abortive Dieppe raid in August 1942 showed that specialised armoured vehicles would
be invaluable for landings over defended beaches, to assist in overcoming obstacles, climbing sea walls, placing demolition charges, etc. This led to
the formation of the 79th Armoured Division, charged with developing suitable vehicles. One of the most important types produced was the Armoured
Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE), and the Churchill tank proved to the best type for the job. The short Petard mortar, in welded MK-III or cast MK-IV
turrets, instead of a gun was its most distinctive feature, but it also had bolt positions on the side to which could be anchored a dozer blade and
other attachments.
Churchill AVRE with Fascine rollers
The AVRE could also carry a fascine (Bundle of wood) on the nose to fill craters and anti-tank ditches.
A wooden cradle supported the fascine, hawsers held the fascine in place until release was required, and slip line allowed release to be carried out
remotely from under cover in the turret. As the commander's view was obscured by the fascine, he often commanded the vehicle from atop the fascine.
This model tows behind it a sledge carrying for extra fascines.
Churchill AVRE with Carpet rol Type D
Most production A.V.R.E.'s were fitted with brackets on the hull for the attachment of fittings
for special tasks. One of these fittings was the carpet layer device for crossing soft patches on beaches, for example. The carpet -the most common
form was hessian matting reinforced with steel tubes- was carried on a large bobbin at the front of the A.V.R.E. and was unwound by the vehicle itself
running over it. A number of these were employed on the D-Day landing beaches. There were several versions, and the carpet layer Type D (waterproofed for
landing from a landing craft) is shown.
Churchill AMRCR with mine-rollers
The anti-mine reconnaissance castor roller. Fitted on Churchills and Shermans. Rollers were carried in a
frame in front of the tank and exploded the mine by pressure. It never reached operational service.
Churchill with SBG. Assault Bridge (Early type)
The Dieppe raid of 1942, in which heavy losses were sustained by both armour and infantry,
chiefly because the tanks were unable to penetrate inland, indicated the need for protection for engineers working to surmount or destroy obstacles.
A suggestion by J.J.Donovan, of the Royal Canadian Engineers, that a tank should be adapted for this purpose was folloewed up by the R.C.E. using a
Churchill tank. The Churchill was chosen because it had well-armoured roomy hull. It also had a relatively large door on each side of the hull,
suitable for use by sappers under fire and for loading stores and equipment. The prototype with rearranged stowage was ready by December 1942 and a
spigot motor, developed separately, was ready by February 1943 and mounted in the modified turret. The spigot mortar, know as Petard, could throw a
40-lb projectile (containing a 26-lb charge) up to an extreme range of 230 yards, and was capable of destroying concrete obstacles
Churchill Folding SBG Assault Bridge(Late type)
The Assault Vehicle, Royal Engineers, or AVRE as it was usually called, was adjudged
successful after trials and modifications to the original design which took place in 1943, and production was ordered. The Churchill MK-III or MK-IV
was used as the basis, and a total of about 700 AVRE's was built by 1945.
An important use of the AVRE was as a carrier for the Small Box Girder
(SBG) bridge, which could carry a 40-ton load (the weight of a Churchill tank) over a 30-ft span. This could be laid mechanically under fire.
Churcill AVRE with Log Carpet
Likes the fascine roller and the carpet roller, there were also a A.V.R.E. version with logs on a steel frame
Churchill AVRE with twice carpet rols (Bobbin Mark I), for every track one
Churchill AVRE with twin Bobbins. One of the various mat-laying devices were fitted to Churchill was this twin bobbin which had two small bobbins of hessian and chespaling, suitable for heavy vehicles.
Churchill AVRE for building Bailey Bridge
There were also Churchills converted to placing Bailey Bridges
Churchill AVRE ARK MK-II
The Ark MK-II (Italian Pattern) was developed by British forces in Italy and used its own tracks as a trackway. The ramps were American Treadway tracks and came in two lengths, with kingposts to hold him up ARK was an "acronym" for "Armoured Ramp Carrier".
Churchill Demolition
Churchill with Jones Onion. One of a number of charge placing devices mounted on Churchill to breach or demolish obstacles. 1,000 lb HE charges were fixed to a frame attached to the front and kept upright by two arms. On reaching the obstacle, the frame was released and a pair of legs at the bottom of the frame met the ground first and made sure that it fell forwards and not back against the tank!. The tank reversed away. The explosives were set-off remotely.
A43 Infantry tank Black Prince
Basically a Churchill MK-VII, but with a wider hull and larger turret containing a 17-pdr gun. Trials prototypes
were delivered in May 1945, too late for European war. No production order followed testing as the A41 Centurion was a much better tank. Known originally
as "Super Churchill", it weighed 50 tons had a crew of five and 6 inch thick armour on the turret front but was under powered, only managing a top
road speed of 10.5 mph.
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