by Delmer Padgett

Created on: May 25, 2010   Last Updated: May 27, 2010

The Churchill was the last British tank to hold the designation "infantry tank". This nomenclature was a holdover from World War I thinking, when tanks were designed specifically for infantry support. The vehicles official name was the A22 Churchill Infantry Tank and it was intended to replace the Matilda II tank, which when the Churchill was first put on the drawing board had yet to enter service.

Design work on the Churchill began in September 1939 at the outbreak of World War II and the Harland and Wolff Company was initially in charge of the project. The first design had many problems however and was scrapped after the production of four prototypes. The Vauxhall Company was then put in charge of the undertaking and instructed not only to do a total redesign, but have the tank ready for production within one year. Vauxhall came through with flying colors and had a test model ready in seven months. The British War Office placed an order for 500 vehicles and the first 14 Churchill's rolled off the assembly line in June 1941 beating the one year deadline by one month.

The Churchill was a very well armored tank for its time and its frontal plate was continuously thickened through out its production run. The Churchill was the first British tank to give the vehicles commander a 360 degree field of vision with the hatches closed. This feature was standard on all German panzer designs. The Churchill's hull was spacious by World War II standards and ample storage space for ammunition was provided. The Churchill's engine was powerful enough, but at first very unreliable. The motor and transmission were also very hard to repair and this gave the tank a bad reputation which despite continuous improvements it could never quite live down.

The Churchill saw its first action in the August 1942 raid on Dieppe and a few were delivered to North Africa in time for the victory at El Alamein. It was at El Alamein where the tank first gained its noted reputation for being able to take a hit from an enemy round. The vehicle also saw saw service in Tunisia; the Italian campaign, and at Normandy. Quite a number of Churchill's were delivered to the Soviet Union as well.

Eight distinct Marks or variants of the Churchill were produced, each of which was upgraded and improved. The Mark I mounted a two pounder gun in the turret along with a coaxial machine gun. It also carried a three inch howitzer in the hull similar to the French Char-B tank. This feature was replaced with a hull mounted machine gun beginning with the Mark II as the howitzer was very hard to aim. The Mark III was upgunned with a six pounder gun in the turret and this was later improved to a 75 millimeter starting with the Mark VI. The last Mark, number eight, carried a 95 millimeter main gun.

The Churchill was also the basis for many special purpose vehicles, including ones for; mine clearing, tank recovery and bridging. The two most famous of these were the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers or AVRE and the Churchill Crocodile, a flame throwing tank. The AVRE was the primary armored vehicle of the Royal Engineers until the early 1960s. The Crocodile was a very innovative tank that towed a trailer filled with jellied gasoline for use in a flame thrower mounted in its front hull. This AFV was to prove very useful during the European campaign. The Crocodile was versatile also, when needed the trailer could be detached and the tank could be used in its traditional role. Nearly 800 of the Crocodile versions were produced.

In all 5460 Churchill's of all variants were made. The Churchill as a main battle tank didn't completely leave British service until the mid 1950s. 

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