Churchill
The Churchill – named not after the WWII Prime Minister but after his ancestor, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough – was designed to overcome conditions similar to those of WWI’s Western Front, with the result that one of its most distinguishing feature are long tracks intended to traverse trenches. It was rushed into production after the 1940 defeat in France revealed the limitations of Britain’s then-standard tank, the Matilda II, and Churchills went from the drawing board to rolling out the factory floor by June of 1941. After overcoming early glitches, the Churchill went on to become the most successful British tank of WWII.
It was intended as an infantry tank – designed to assist infantry attacks, necessitating heavy armor to work closely with foot soldiers while taking heavy fire. Heavy armor came at the expense of speed, which was deemed unimportant for a tank whose mission was to accompany slow-moving infantry, and at 41 tons, the Churchill was one of the heaviest Western Allies’ tanks of WWII. In line with that close infantry support mission, Churchills were exceptionally good at climbing steep gradients and traversing rough terrain.
Early models had riveted armor, replaced by welding in later versions. The Churchill Mark I was armed with a two-pounder gun in the turret, increased to a 6 pounder or 75mm gun in later models, and a 3-inch howitzer in the hull, which was replaced by a machinegun in later versions. The Mark IV, the most produced Churchill version and the one which saw the most combat, weighed 39 tons, had a range of 90 miles, and was armed with either a 6 pounder or 75mm gun, plus two machine guns.
Churchills were generally outgunned by German tanks, but fighting tanks was not what they had been designed to do, and when they did find themselves faced with panzers, their heavy armor tended to compensate for what they lacked in firepower. In the Battle of El Alamein, a detachment of six Churchills was fired on repeatedly by German and Italian antitank guns, with one but only one Churchill was knocked out, while the remainder survived up to 80 hits. The Mark VII version, introduced in 1944, was the best-protected mass-produced tank of the war, affording its crews greater safety than that afforded any other tankmen.
The Churchill’s platform also proved adaptable to specialized tasks, and in line with its primary mission of close infantry support, some Churchills were adapted to operate as flame throwers or were equipped with 290mm petards for bunker-busting. Its powerful chassis also lent itself to uses such as bridge laying or mines weeping, with some versions equipped with heavy chains on a rotating drum flailing the ground clear of mines on D-Day and subsequent campaigns.