Thick-skinned beast (British infantry tank "Churchill"). British infantry tank "Churchill"

Raid on Dieppe

The first combat operation involving the Churchills was the raid on Dieppe on August 19, 1942 - Operation Jubilee. Dieppe is a small French city - a fishing port on the English Channel. The purpose of the landing was to reconnaissance in force of the enemy’s defenses on the coast and to practice the interaction of various types of troops. It was believed that such a raid would provide the necessary experience to plan a large-scale invasion of Western Europe.

58 Churchills of modifications I, II and III of the 14th Canadian Army Calgary Tank Regiment (Calgary Regiment) took part in the operation. The regiment landed on a rocky beach just inside the city, following the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the Essex Scottiish Regiment. The task of the tankers was to support these two units with fire and maneuver during the capture of the city.

Before the operation, the tanks underwent special training - their hulls were sealed, and the exhaust pipes were extended with vertical pipes. After this, combat vehicles could ford the surf and they could be landed from LCT-type landing ships without coming close to the shore.

From the very first minutes of landing, everything did not go quite as expected. The fact is that the beach, sandwiched between the eastern and western breakwaters, was separated from the city embankment with the boulevard by a dam, which Churchill tanks could not overcome on their own. The exits from the beach were blocked by barricades, and the beach itself was under crossfire from artillery and machine guns. It was planned that the dam and barricades would be blown up by sappers, but both they and the infantry suffered such losses in the phase after the landing that they could not complete their task in full. The tanks were to land in four waves: in the first - 9 tanks, in the second - 12, in the third - 16, in the fourth - the remaining forces of the regiment. In practice, all three waves landed almost simultaneously. At the same time, not all vehicles reached the shore - one of the landing ships of the third wave sank along with the six Churchills on board. One tank received a direct hit from a howitzer shell before leaving the ship, the other two sank when trying to enter the water too far from the shore; Several had their tracks torn on the pebbles of the beach, and some had their undercarriages jammed by stones. The stopped cars were immediately knocked out by the Germans. The tanks returned fire, but the 2- and 6-pounder guns did not have high-explosive shells in their ammunition loads, and the 76-mm howitzers had too little elevation and were hampered by the dam.

To top it all off, the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andrews, was killed. He was in one of the sunken tanks, but managed to leave the car, and when he got ashore, he was hit by a German bullet. Nevertheless, the crews of combat vehicles left without a commander continued to carry out the task as best they could. Sappers found areas where the height of the dam did not exceed 60 cm, laid fascines, and 13 - 15 tanks managed to climb onto the embankment and boulevard. It turned out that all the streets leading deeper into the city were blocked by concrete anti-tank barriers. All attempts by Canadian sappers to blow them up were unsuccessful due to heavy German fire. Tanks tried to destroy the holes by firing 6-pounders at them. armor-piercing shells, however, at this time German 37-mm anti-tank guns opened fire on the Churchills. They could not penetrate the armor of the British tanks, but managed to destroy the tracks on several vehicles and forced the rest to retreat. As a result, all the Churchills of the Calgary Regiment that landed during the raid on Dieppe operated on a relatively small area of the beach, embankment and boulevard. The fourth wave of tanks was not landed - by 9 o'clock in the morning it became clear that the operation had failed and it was necessary to try to evacuate the landed troops. Six Churchills, having returned to the beach, fought until the last, covering the withdrawal of the Canadian infantry. All the tanks were hit and the crews abandoned them. However, only one tanker was lucky enough to return to England. 157 people were captured.

North Africa

Six Churchill III tanks in the 1st tank division were tested during the second battle at El Ala Main in October - November 1942. They were brought together into a group under the unofficial name Kingforce (literally - “royal forces”). In fact, this loud name - nothing more than ifa words - was associated not so much with the king as with the group commander, Major Morris King. During the battles, his tanks received a total of 106 hits from high-explosive and armor-piercing shells. One tank burned down, one failed due to damage to the track, and the turret of one was torn off. The burned-out Churchill was hit by three German shells - 75 mm and two 50 mm. One of them hit the gas tank, which caused a fire. The same tank received three direct hits from 6-pound British shells in the rear of the turret and one in the transmission compartment. Apparently, the crew of the anti-tank gun was unable to identify their tank during the battle.

The report compiled from the results of these military tests stated: “During the attack, the Churchill tanks were able to advance significantly further than the Sherman tanks.” They managed to withstand very heavy anti-tank fire." The document emphasized that there were no cases of engine overheating, but some tanks had problems starting the engine at high ambient temperatures. True, this was more likely due to the low qualifications of the driver mechanics (the crews arrived from training units and the Churchills had never been seen before) than to climatic conditions.

The first in North Africa The military unit armed with Churchill tanks was the 25th Army Tank Brigade, consisting of the 142nd Regiment of the Royal Tank Corps (142nd RAC), the 51st Royal Tank Corps (51st RTR) and the Northern Irish Horse. (North Irish Horse) regiments. She was given the task of counterattacking Rommel’s troops advancing in the Kasserine Passage in Tunisia. The tankers had to make a 100-mile march, some of the tanks arrived on their own within 24 hours, and some were transported on transporters. On February 21, 1943, two tank platoons and a platoon of guards infantry attacked the German forward positions, destroying several machine gun nests and anti-tank guns.

On the morning of February 28, the British decided to conduct reconnaissance in force with seven tanks of squadron “A” of the 51st Royal Tank Regiment in the direction of a farm nicknamed “Steam Roller” (it actually had such a machine on its farm). At about 16:00, anti-tank guns camouflaged on the outskirts of the farm suddenly opened fire on the Churchills. The tanks crawled across natural shelters - ditches along the highway and dry stream beds. Here they were caught by a raid by Ju 87 dive bombers, which cost the British five combat vehicles. However, one tank from 1st Platoon, under Captain Holland, managed to break into the farm, where it encountered two 88mm guns. The Germans, nervous from surprise, managed to miss from 20 m, and the Churchill crushed both guns. After that, he went behind enemy lines and set fire to several cars. Under the cover of Captain Holland's tank, Lieutenant Renton's car broke into the farm. When two German Pz III tanks tried to stop the British, they were knocked out. During this battle, the Churchills destroyed 25 vehicles, eight anti-tank guns, and two anti-aircraft guns. From intercepted radio messages, it became known that the Germans had lost up to 200 soldiers as a result of the attack of this, as they called it, “crazy tank battalion.”

To the north, a German tank group under the command of Colonel R. Lang was advancing, which included, among other things, 14 “tigers”. The fighting here was also extremely fierce. On February 27, two squadrons of the Northern Irish Regiment also entered the battle. Lang's tanks attacked the British twice during this day and both times were unsuccessful - they were stopped by the fire of artillery batteries and Churchills dug into the ground. By evening the German offensive had stalled. It would be worth noting that the Northern Irish Cavalry Regiment became the first tank unit of the British army to destroy the German heavy tank"Tiger".

The first massive use of Churchill tanks in an offensive took place in April 1943. The 25th and 21st Army Tank Brigades attacked German positions in the Medjerda River valley. The 21st Brigade included the 12th and 48th Royal Tank Regiments and the 145th Royal Tank Corps Regiment. The offensive began on April 23 and developed, in general, successfully. In the first echelon were the 24th Guards and 2nd Infantry Brigades, supported by the 145th and 142nd Tank Regiments. The Germans defended themselves extremely fiercely, positions changed hands several times. The defense was broken through only in the evening of April 23 after squadrons of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment were brought into battle.

On the same day, the 36th Infantry Brigade captured the western peak of Longstop Hill, Mount Jebel al-Ahmera. Its slopes turned out to be too steep for the Churchills, so the infantry had to act independently and, as a result, suffer heavy losses. Three days later, tanks of the Northern Irish Regiment took part in the assault on an enemy stronghold on Mount Jebel Rar. The morale in the regiment was very high, as can be judged from the recollections of one of the participants in these battles: “By the start of the attack, all Churchills received at least one hit, but the mood of the crews was as if they were to take part in pre-war exercises " In the battle for Jebel Rar, Sergeant O'Hara distinguished himself by suppressing four machine-gun emplacements. Lieutenant Pope's tank destroyed a machine-gun emplacement, a mortar and a 75-mm cannon. As a result of the actions of these two tanks alone, more than 50 German soldiers surrendered.

By April 26, the British reached the valley between the mountains of Jebel Asud and Jebel Bu Okaz. This place was defended by German tanks, including the Tigers of the 501st heavy tank battalion. The British were unable to break through their defenses. Over the course of two days, 28 and 29 April, the 12th Royal Tank Regiment, for example, lost 36 Churchills here. After a short lull, during which the British regrouped their forces, fighting resumed on May 6. The German positions were bypassed on the right by the 4th British Infantry Division and the 21st Tank Brigade, on the left by the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 25th. By evening, the valley was cleared of the enemy, and the tanks of the 7th British Tank Division moved through it. A week later, the fighting in North Africa ended.

Italy

Passed more than a year, before the 21st and 25th Army Tank Brigades reentered the battle. All this time they were in Algeria, waiting to be sent to Italy. The Churchills' baptism of fire on the Apennine Peninsula took place only in May 1944, when the 25th Tank Brigade, together with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, stormed the so-called “Hitler Line” - the defensive position of German troops near the Garigliano River on southern approaches to Rome. The terrain favored the defenders, but ditches, minefields, and long-term firing points, including the use of Panther turrets, made the advance of British tanks very difficult. After massive artillery and air preparation, at dawn on May 23, the Canadian infantry launched an attack. Intense fire from all types of weapons immediately pinned the Canadians to the ground. The Churchills, who were in infantry combat formations, began a fierce duel with German artillerymen at short distances. Due to the intense shooting, tank ammunition was used up very quickly, and all soldiers and officers of tank squadrons not directly involved in combat had to manually bring shells to their vehicles. Gradually, the German fire began to weaken, which allowed the Canadians to knock them out of their positions. By nightfall, at the cost of huge losses in manpower and tanks, the “Hitler Line” was broken. On June 4, 1944, Anglo-American troops entered Rome.

The next time in Italy, Churchills were used massively to break through the “Ready Line” - without exaggeration, the most senseless operation of the Allied forces in Italy. The “Goth Line” (a defensive position on the Pisa-Rimini line) had the same fortifications as the “Hitler Line”, but extended to greater depth. On August 26, the assault began. According to the commander of the 8th English army General Lisi, these were “the bloodiest battles in the history of the English army.” Both army tank brigades operated together with the 1st Canadian and 5th British corps. All hills and elevations had fortifications on the reverse slopes. Only tanks marching in infantry formations could defeat them with targeted fire. Here is what was said in the report of the commander of the 128th Infantry Brigade: “Churchill tanks, together with the infantry, overcame enemy defenses day after day, moving through rugged terrain, in Peaceful time considered inaccessible to them. Squadron commanders often left their combat vehicles and, walking ahead, showed the tanks passages through obstacles.” By September 29, the entire defensive zone of the Ready Line, with the exception of a small part in the west, had been overcome. In the winter of the same year, the 142nd and 145th Tank Regiments were disbanded, the Northern Irish Cavalry Regiment was transferred to the 21st Tank Brigade, and on the basis of the 51st Royal Tank Regiment of the 25th Brigade a formation was formed armed with Churchill-Crocodile flamethrower tanks "

The offensive of the British troops resumed on April 10, 1945 in the area between the cities of Faenza and Lake Comacchio. The "Crocodiles" of the 21st Brigade, with fire and tracks, paved the way through the German positions for the infantry of the 8th Indian and 2nd New Zealand Infantry Divisions. Now the only obstacle separating the 8th Army from the Po Valley was the Argenta Pass between Lake Comacchio and the Reno River. The last German defensive line in Italy collapsed on April 18, 1945, under the attack of the Churchills of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment and the infantry of the 36th Brigade. The front in Italy fell apart, the slow Churchills did not have time to pursue the rapidly retreating Nazis. On April 21, the allied forces took Bologna, on April 26 they crossed the Po River and entered Verona. Two days later, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, who were trying to cross the Swiss border, were killed by Italian partisans in the town of Dongo. On April 29, the commander of German forces in Italy, General Heinrich von Vietingoff-Scheel, signed an act of unconditional surrender and surrendered to the English Field Marshal Alexander with his almost million-strong army.

Normandy

The invasion of the European continent in the summer of 1944 involved two tank brigades: the 34th Army (107th, 147th and 153rd Regiments of the Royal Tank Corps) and the 6th Army Guards (4th Grenadiers, 4th Coldstream - and 3rd Scots Guards battalions*), armed with Churchill tanks. Both brigades had Churchills of various modifications: both armed with 6-pounder guns and 75-mm ones. It should be noted that at that time there were no other infantry tanks in the tank forces of the British Army. The only exceptions were a few “Valentines”. used as forward artillery observer vehicles and command tanks in anti-tank units armed with Archer self-propelled guns.

A significant number of Churchill tanks, converted into various special-purpose vehicles, were part of the 79th Tank Division, which organizationally included four brigades: the 1st and 31st Army Tank Brigade, the 30th Tank Brigade (Armoured Brigade) and the 1st Assault Brigade of the Royal Engineers (Assault Brigade Royal Engineers). In addition, the division included several separate assault regiments and squadrons, artillery units, communications, control units, etc.

Moreover, most of the Churchills were concentrated in the 31st Brigade.

Of the family of various special equipment created on the basis of the Churchill, first of all comes the Churchill-Crocodile - without a doubt, the most famous flamethrower tank in the world. It was developed in 1942. The supply of nitrogen-based fire mixture was located in a single-axle armored trailer. towed by a tank. The mixture was supplied to the flamethrower through a flexible pipeline running under the bottom of the tank hull. The flamethrower was installed in the control compartment instead of the Besa machine gun. The firing range of the flamethrower was 120 m.

At the beginning of 1943, six prototypes were produced based on the Churchill IV tank. For these vehicles, the thickness of the trailer armor plates was increased to 14 mm. In 1944, a variant on the Churchill VII modification chassis went into production. A total of 250 flamethrower vehicles were produced. “Crocodiles” were considered a terrible weapon - their mere appearance on the battlefield forced the garrisons of German strongholds to lay down their arms.

However, they were also very vulnerable: one well-aimed shot from an anti-tank gun at a trailer led to its explosion, and the flames often spread to the tank. Even if the crew managed to leave the car, this did not mean salvation. There was no chance of captivity for the tankers - during World War II, soldiers of all armies shot flamethrowers on the spot. True, after using up the fire mixture, it was possible to detach the trailer, and the tank could fight as usual. The main disadvantage of the Crocodile was the rapid drop in gas pressure, which displaces the fire mixture from the trailer, so the crews had to pump in gas immediately before the battle.

The most widespread special-purpose vehicle created on the basis of the Churchill was the Churchill AVRE (Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers) combat engineer tank. The vehicle did not have standard weapons - a smooth-bore 290-mm mortar was mounted on the front armor plate of the turret, firing 20-pound bombs that turned any dugout or pillbox into a shapeless pile of rubble. The mortar was loaded from the muzzle; this function was performed by a shooter from a front-mounted machine gun. There were several options assault tank"Churchill" AVRE - fascine carrier, bridge layer, self-propelled crane, temporary road surface layer and others. In total, over 700 linear vehicles of models III and IV were converted into various modifications of the Churchill AVRE tank. To overcome anti-tank ditches, scarps and ravines, 50 vehicles of variants II and IV were converted into Churchill ARK bridge tanks, and another 200 into Churchill Bridgelayer bridgelayers. ARK was a linear tank without a turret, in the front and back parts which housed folding ramps. Another ramp was mounted on the body, rigidly fixed. The tank crawled to the bottom of a ravine or ditch, the ramps folded back, and a bridge was created. If it was necessary to overcome very wide ditches, several of these vehicles could stand one after another.

Based on the Churchill, several modifications of minesweeper tanks with roller, knife and striker type trawls were created. Some of these trawls could also be installed on ordinary linear tanks.

It was produced on the Churchill chassis and ARV (Armored Recovery Vehicle - armored recovery vehicle), and in two versions. The first was a Churchill I or II tank, on which a crane was mounted instead of a turret. The second version was produced on the basis of models III and IV. Instead of a turret, these machines were equipped with a fixed wheelhouse and improved crane equipment with a two-speed winch.

It was the various engineering assault "Churchills" of the 79th Tank Division that were among the first to land on the French coast on D-Day - June 6, 1944. Their task was to overcome numerous enemy fortifications in the coastal strip, which they, in general, did a good job of. However, more than once they had to use their standard cannon weapons. Here it would be useful to note that these “monsters”, hung with trawls, fascines and guides for launching extended mine clearance charges, operating on land like ordinary tanks, made a much greater contribution in this capacity to the successful course of hostilities than when using their special engineering equipment . The 31st Army Tank Brigade entered the battle on June 26, 1944. Two of its regiments, the 7th and 9th Royal Armored, supported the advance of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division southwest of Caen. The third regiment of the brigade, the 141st Tank Regiment (141st RAC), armed with Churchill-Crocodile flamethrowers, was dispersed along the front and operated in the second echelon. After heavy fighting, tankers and Scottish infantry crossed the Odon River and began a battle on the outskirts of Hill 112.

Squadron C of the 7th Tank Regiment was the first to attack. The Churchills were supported by a battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Having crossed the ridge of the height, the British came under aimed fire German tanks. German snipers also caused considerable damage. The fact is that platoon and squadron commanders often went into battle standing in the turret hatch. This position is certainly

Provided better visibility, but was too risky. In the battle for Hill 112, two regimental headquarters officers and three platoon commanders fell from sniper bullets. Despite serious losses, the British managed to knock the Germans out of the reverse slope of the height. Enemy counterattacks were unsuccessful. On July 15, the 34th Army Tank Brigade entered the battle. She had to fight hard battles against German tank units, repelling the attacks of the Tigers and Panthers. The 153rd Essex Tank Regiment was especially hard hit. In a matter of minutes, the Panthers knocked out 12 Churchills from the Essexians. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Wood, was wounded, the Essex troops were led by Major Norris King - the same one who commanded the “Royal Forces” at El Alamein. However, the British were already convinced that Normandy was not El Alamein. One English tank officer, who had just arrived in France, recorded a conversation with his regimental adjutant about tank affairs at the front.

—What is the most important thing for the Germans?
- “Panthers”. A Panther can run through a Churchill like butter a mile away.
— How does “Churchill” overtake “Panther”?
— Sneaks up on the Panther. When direct contact occurs, the gunner attempts to fire a shot into the enemy tank's embrasure shutter below the gun. If he succeeds, the projectile will pass through the thin armor above the driver's head.
- Has anyone succeeded?
- Yes. Davis from S Squadron. He is now in the rear at headquarters, trying to regain his nerves.
— How does Churchill overtake the Tiger?
“They say you have to come to a distance of two hundred yards and shoot through the periscope.”
- Has anyone succeeded?
- No.

This dialogue is borrowed from the book Operation Overlord by Max Hastings, published in the USSR in 1989. It makes sense to attribute some technical terms that cause confusion (“embrasure shutter,” “shoot through a periscope”) to translation errors, but even taking this into account, it is clear what a difficult situation the British tank crews found themselves in after landing on the European continent. Of course, this dialogue borders on satire, but the real state of affairs, indeed, differed little from what follows from this passage. "Churchills", armed with 75-mm and even more so 6-pound cannons, could hit "tigers" and "panthers" only at close range.

Meanwhile, the 15th Scottish Division was transferred to another sector, in the area of the city of Caumont, where it replaced the exhausted 53rd infantry division. Now the Scots were supported by the "cher-chilli" of the 6th Guards Brigade. On July 18, they attacked Hill 309, trying to prevent German attempts to flank American troops - not far from Caumont there was a junction between the 2nd British and 1st American armies. Persistent attempts to gain control of the height continued until July 30. For almost two weeks, 174 Churchills, several Crocodiles and well-trained, battle-hardened Scottish infantry could not break through the German defenses. Frontal attacks were not successful, but the first attempt to bypass the height was crowned with success. On the right, the strong point was bypassed by tanks of the 4th Coldstream Guards battalion with infantry on the armor, on the left by the 3rd Scottish; At this time, the guards grenadiers, pinning down the Germans, staged another frontal attack. By evening the British captured the heights.

The battles in the Comon area turned out to be the most intense tank battles on the Western Front in the summer of 1944. It was here, supporting the infantry, that the Churchills showed their best qualities. In some cases, no other Allied tank could cope with the tasks that the Churchills performed. To replenish heavy losses in other units, the 153rd Tank Regiment of the 34th Brigade had to be disbanded in August and replaced by the 9th Royal of the 31st. On September 10, the Churchills of the 34th Army Tank Brigade entered Le Havre to enthusiastic greetings from the French.

October 1944 found both brigades armed with Churchills in Belgium and Holland. On October 27, the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, together with the infantry of the 15th Scottish Division, drove the Germans out of Tilburg, and then turned east to prevent enemy tanks and paratroopers from breaking through the positions of the 7th American Tank Division. Units of the 34th Brigade fought to the west - they were faced with the task of clearing the mouth of the Scheldt River from the enemy. In these battles, tank crews of the 107th and 9th tank regiments distinguished themselves. However, the losses were significant: in 10 days, the 107th Regiment lost 19 Churchills, while destroying only eight enemy tanks and self-propelled guns.

At the beginning of 1945, squadrons of the 6th Guards and 34th Tank Brigades were concentrated near the Dutch city of Nijmegen. They were to take part in the assault on the Reichswald (“Imperial Forest”), a large forested area in northwestern Germany, which was a natural element of the Siegfried Line. The German command considered the forest impassable. The offensive began on February 8, 1945. Tanks of the 34th Brigade were advancing on the right flank, and tanks of the 6th Guards were attacking on the left, in the direction of Kleve. Tanks and infantry slowly, step by step, made their way through the thicket. Some Churchill trees were uprooted, others had to be cut down. Within six days, British troops completely suppressed German resistance in forest area. The assault on the Reichswald was perhaps the last operation in which tank brigades equipped with Churchills were used. The fighting on this section of the front ended when the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, in cooperation with the 17th American Airborne Division, crossed the Rhine and occupied the city of Munster. However, individual Churchill-Crocodile flamethrower tanks continued to be used in battles until May 8, 1945.

Soviet-German front

The only foreign army (not counting Canada, a Commonwealth country) to receive Churchill tanks during World War II was the Red Army. As part of the Lend-Lease program, 344 combat vehicles of modifications III and IV were sent to the Soviet Union, of which only 253 units reached their destination. The first 10 tanks arrived in the USSR in July 1942. "Churchills", as well as Soviet-made heavy tanks, were supplied to separate guards breakthrough tank regiments. According to state number 010/267, each regiment was supposed to have 21 tanks and 214 personnel. The rank of “Guards” was awarded immediately after the order to form the regiment. In addition to the breakthrough regiments, in 1944, separate tank regiments of army or front-line subordination began to be created. They often included foreign tanks. It should be noted that in Soviet documents of those years these vehicles were usually designated MK.IV or MK-IV.

The combat debut of the Churchills on the Soviet-German front took place during the Battle of Stalingrad. The 47th and 48th separate Guards breakthrough tank regiments took part in the defeat of the encircled German group. Subsequently, 48 dept. Guards The TPP was withdrawn to the rear, replenished with materiel and transferred to the operational subordination of the 38th Army, with which it participated in the liberation of Kyiv on November 6, 1943.

On the Leningrad Front in April 1943 there were 49 divisions. Guards TPP, which was armed with 21 Churchill tanks and three Universal armored personnel carriers. This regiment, together with the 36th division that arrived at the Leningrad Front. Guards TPP, fought until the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. Included Volkhov Front Since March 17, 1943, the 50th Separate Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment fought under the operational subordination of the 8th Army. A rare case - this unit, in cooperation with other units, had to act in accordance with its tactical purpose - to break through the enemy’s long-term defense line. While operating Churchill tanks in wooded and swampy areas, our tank crews noted their insufficient maneuverability and inability to cope with the conditions of the Russian winter. In particular, after a few days of operation, all standard catalytic heaters, at the request of the tankers, were replaced with domestically produced stoves.

The Churchills also took part in the Battle of Kursk. For example, the 5th Guards Tank Army in the battles near Prokhorovka included the 15th (10 MK.IV) and 36th (21 MK.IV) guards regiments breakthrough. Subsequently, the 15th regiment received KV-1S tanks, and the 36th was again replenished with Churchills and was transferred to the Leningrad Front. The 10th division arrived in the 1st Guards Tank Army in mid-July. Guards TPP, and on July 21, in cooperation with the 39th Tank Brigade, 174th and 57th Infantry Division, he attacked enemy positions in the direction of Andreevka - Petropole - Kopanki. During the battle, the tanks were cut off from the infantry and almost all were knocked out - on the first day, 16 Churchills burned down. After this, the regiment was taken to the rear and rearmed with other equipment. On July 13, 1943, the 34th Guards Division arrived to the Bryansk Front. On August 5, 1943, his Churchills were the first to break into Oryol.

By the beginning of the Vyborg operation on June 10, 1944, the 21st Army of the Leningrad Front had 21 Guards TPP detachments, partially staffed by Churchills. His tanks fought for Vyborg from June 18 to 20. By the time the city was liberated, the regiment consisted of six Churchills and 32 KVs. As already mentioned, line tank regiments were also equipped (sometimes partially) with Churchill tanks. For example, the 39th separate Kiev tank regiment as of March 2, 1944 was distinguished by a very motley composition of combat vehicles: three KB, two Matildas, three Churchills, two T-70s, two T-60s and 38 T-34s . The 8th Army of the Leningrad Front included 82 detachments. (11 KV-1S and 10 Churchills). In September 1944, this regiment took part in the liberation of Tallinn and the islands of the Moonsund archipelago from the fascist invaders. These were the last battles of the Churchills on the Soviet-German front.

Post-war period

The Churchills were removed from service with the British Army at the end of the 1940s and transferred to parks for storage. They had to be disturbed after the start of hostilities in Korea. The 25th Infantry Brigade Group was sent to the Far East, which included C Squadron of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, armed with Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tanks. The squadron landed in Busan on November 15, 1950. Most of the tanks were transported to the front line by rail, but some of the vehicles marched along the highway, setting a kind of record for tanks of this type - 200 miles under their own power! The squadron arrived at the front in the midst of the offensive of the Chinese People's Volunteers. Since situations requiring the use of flamethrowers did not arise, the “crocodiles” were used as ordinary cannon tanks.

UN forces retreated under Chinese pressure. Already on January 4, the “crocodiles” of squadron C retreated across the Hangan River. By mid-January the front had stabilized. Until the end of the month, the Churchills operated together with American troops. They joined their 25th brigade on February 12, 1951 and later took part in the counteroffensive in the Hangan River area. Moving in infantry combat formations, the Churchills fired directly at firing points. After leaving the battle on February 21, almost all vehicles needed repair and maintenance. C Squadron left Korea in October 1951. It should be noted that in addition to the flamethrower “crocodiles”, the Churchill ARV ARV, which was part of the 8th Royal Irish Hussars, also took part in the Korean War. Recovery vehicles pulled damaged “centurions” and other equipment from the battlefield and helped clear debris on the roads.

After the Korean War, Churchills never saw combat again. Linear tanks were soon written off. Engineering vehicles were used somewhat longer. In particular, the post-war modification Churchill AVRE sapper units were in service with the British Army until 1965.

About use armored vehicles obtained during the war, there is quite contradictory information in the literature. Our story today is about the only heavy Allied tank used by the Red Army in 1942–1944.

Work on the Churchill began in September 1939 at Garland and Wolfe in Belfast. First 14 serial tanks were manufactured in June 1941. These tanks were produced with 2-pounder (40 mm) guns in the turret and 3-inch (76 mm) CS howitzers in the front of the hull next to the driver's position.

In March 1942, production of 6-pounder (57 mm) Mk.III 43 caliber guns began. According to British data, the cannon's armor-piercing shell penetrated 81 mm armor at a distance of 500 yards (457 m) at an angle of 30° to the normal. A sub-caliber projectile for a 6-pounder gun was created in England only in 1944 and was not supplied to the USSR. The Churchill tank with a 6-pounder gun received the designation Mk.III.

At the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942, the British demonstrated the Churchill tank to a member of the USSR Military Mission in England, engineer-Lieutenant Colonel Kovalev. According to his report, in March 1942, the Soviet government agreed to supply 50 units of Churchill tanks in exchange for the supply of the English Matilda tank. In addition, the British themselves offered 25 more Churchill tanks for testing on the condition that the results of these tests be provided to them.

On May 19 of the same year, a special decree of Glavlit was issued: “Prohibit the publication in the press of any data or information about the British Churchill tanks.”

As of November 9, 1942, 84 Churchill tanks arrived in the USSR. In total, in 1942–1943, England supplied Soviet Union 301 tanks Mk.III and Mk.IV. Several dozen more tanks were lost on the way to Russia. Thus, on the famous convoy PQ-17, the ship Empastre Byron carried 30 Churchill tanks. However, on July 4, 1942, the ship was sunk by the submarine U-703, and the captain of the engineering forces, John Rymington, who was accompanying the tanks and was supposed to train the Russian crews, was lifted from the lifeboat aboard U-703.
The first samples of the Churchill tank were tested at the Kubinka test site. The findings are reflected in the test report dated September 16, 1942. It notes that the Mk.IV tank is inferior to the KV-1 and KV-1 S tanks in terms of cannon power, but has advantages in armor protection. The Mk.IV tank has three times more ammunition for machine guns compared to KV tanks. An armor-piercing grenade from a 57-mm cannon mounted on a Mk.IV tank penetrates the armor of two sides of a German medium T-III tank with a total thickness of 60 mm from a distance of 950 m. The Mk.IV tank has a significantly lower specific power and, as a result, a lower maximum speed. Despite this, the Mk.IV tank is not inferior in average speed to the KV-1 and KV-1 S tanks.

The English heavy tank Mk.IV has insufficient reliability in the operation of individual units and is an unfinished vehicle both in design and production terms.

The Mk.IV tank does not overcome slopes well when moving with a roll due to the tracks being thrown off. Fuel consumption is quite normal in all road conditions.

It's worth making a few additional notes here. The lantern-mounted metal tracks on the Churchill tank caused slippage in muddy roads and ice. Therefore, domestic craftsmen inserted special steel “spurs” into them, which made it difficult for the tracks to slip.

The inside of the Churchill was much more spacious than in Soviet tanks, which greatly facilitated the work of the crew.
At one time, Winston Churchill told reporters: “The Churchill tank has more shortcomings than I myself.” But this was just ordinary political PR. In general, the vehicle was not bad for an infantry tank.
The fact is that in 1942–1943, for a number of reasons, there were interruptions in the production of heavy tanks in the USSR, although in just these two years about 5 thousand units were produced.

Heavy tanks were literally worth their weight in gold. If before the war our KV and T-35 were sent in bulk by mechanized corps, then by October 1942 all heavy tanks were consolidated into separate heavy breakthrough tank regiments (OTTRB), which were in the reserve of the Supreme Command. They were sent exclusively to the most dangerous sectors of the front.

In October 1942, Stalin ordered the creation of four OTTPPs consisting of 21 tanks from Churchill tanks and giving them the name Guards. The crews of Churchill tanks, as well as the KV, by special order of Stalin in 1942, were staffed exclusively by officers. At the end of 1942, two regiments equipped with Churchill tanks were sent to the front, south and north, to test the tanks in different climatic conditions.

The 48th heavy breakthrough tank regiment as part of the 21st Army from January 21 to February 2, 1943 operated in the area of the village of Gumrak north-west of Stalingrad. The regiment included 21 Churchill tanks.

During the time from the end of the formation of the regiment to the moment it left the battle (March 20), the tanks worked on average 480 hours (1000 km of run).

The technical condition of the tanks on February 20 was as follows: on the move - 4 tanks; hit by artillery fire: 6 tanks in the chassis, 3 tanks in the hull; The hydraulic control drive is faulty – in 8 tanks.
The 50th heavy breakthrough tank regiment (21 Churchill tanks) was sent for military trials to the Volkhov Front, where from March 17, 1943 it fought under the operational command of the 8th Army. Here this unit, in cooperation with other units, had to act in accordance with its tactical purpose - to break through the multi-echelon long-term enemy defense line.

The 8th Army seemed to prepare carefully for the operation: reconnaissance of the area was carried out and column paths were created to advance to the enemy trenches, since they had to advance through bushes 35–40 cm high. But in the 50th breakthrough regiment, which arrived in just days before the attack, we did not have time to do this. On March 19, tanks went on the attack in the Cannon Mountain area, interacting with units of the 374th Infantry Division. Of the 21 tanks that took part in the attack, 12 got stuck in the swamp and were blown up by mines, and two were hit by artillery fire. The seven remaining vehicles burst into German positions, but the infantry did not support the attack, and the tanks, having fired their ammunition, returned to their original position.

On March 22, five Churchill tanks under the command of the guard captain Belogub, according to the order of the headquarters of the 374th Infantry Division, attacked the enemy in the direction of a fork in the road 400 m east of Lake Beloye. By order of headquarters, the attack was scheduled for 8.30. The signal for the infantry attack should have been the start of the movement of tanks through it. battle formations. At the appointed time, the Churchills launched an attack, but the infantry did not go forward, since the command of the 374th Infantry Division canceled the operation, but the tankers were not notified about this. The tanks burst into German positions, where four vehicles were hit by artillery, and only one returned to its original position.

From 11 a.m. on March 22 to March 25, 1943, tanks were in this area - the crews sat in the tanks and fired from the spot. Every night, machine gunners of the 50th Breakthrough Tank Regiment delivered ammunition and food to the tankers, and left before dawn.
During this time, the Churchills destroyed an artillery battery, four bunkers, an ammunition depot and up to two infantry platoons. Captain Belogub's guard tank kept the enemy's 105-mm battery under fire and did not allow it to be moved to another location.

Despite repeated requests from the commander of the 50th breakthrough tank regiment, the headquarters of the 374th Infantry Division did not advance infantry to the line occupied by tanks. The Germans repeatedly asked the tank crews to surrender, to which the tank crews responded with fire. Due to the fact that radio communication between tank crews and infantry was carried out in plain text, the Germans became aware that the group of tanks was commanded by Guard Captain Belogub. On March 25, they invited him to abandon the tanks and retreat to his own. Belogub refused. Then a white cross was placed in front of his tank - a sign that German soldiers The Soviet commander will be buried.

After this, heavy artillery fire was opened on the tanks, then the infantry went on the attack. The tankers fought back for several hours. When the shells and cartridges ran out, they fought back with grenades, throwing them out through the left side hatch. Guard Captain Belogub called fire on his tanks to sweep away the advancing enemy infantry, but even this the artillery of the 374th Infantry Division could not do - the shells were not delivered in time! At this time, two Churchills, repaired by the 50th Breakthrough Regiment, and an infantry platoon from the 374th Infantry Division came to the aid of the tankers. They managed to hook Belogub's tank with a tractor and evacuate it to the rear (the crews of the other three damaged tanks retreated with the infantry).

Without assessing the tactical intelligence of the battle, we can say that the lives of the tank crews (and the crews who sat in the tanks for three days did not lose a single person killed) were saved by the Churchill’s armor, which the German artillery was unable to penetrate in three days.

On August 3, the head of the British military mission in the USSR, Lieutenant General Martel, asked the Soviet side about the experience of using Churchill tanks. He was sent a certificate from the chief of staff of the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army, Colonel Zaev: “When breaking through the strong German fortifications, the heavy KV and Churchill tanks fully coped with the role of breakthrough tanks and, as breakthrough tanks, reinforcing the attacking infantry, they fully justified themselves.”

Zaev also prepared some recommendations, taking into account the increase in calibers and initial speed of the enemy’s anti-tank, self-propelled and tank artillery used to combat advancing tanks; the armor of breakthrough tanks should be strengthened to 100–120 mm. The Churchill tank is generally suitable for the role of breakthrough tanks and for reinforcing infantry, but experience has once again confirmed the weakness of its cannon armament. The tank's gasoline fuel significantly increases the risk of fire compared to KV diesel tanks. The main enemy of tanks in these operations was anti-tank self-propelled artillery and tanks. Minefields caused significantly less harm. As for irretrievable losses, they are completely insignificant in minefields, since most tanks remaining in minefields are damaged only in the chassis and are quickly restored...

A tank gun on a heavy tank should have a caliber of 75 to 100 mm and a high muzzle velocity, then this tank will be both a breakthrough tank and a powerful anti-tank defense weapon (like the German Tiger tank)…

It should be noted that other Lend-Lease tanks, such as the Valentine, Matilda, M.3 Stuart, had weak artillery armament. In this regard, OKB-92 in Gorky in 1941 received an order for their re-equipment. In December 1941, the Valentine tank was tested with a ZIS-95–45 mm 20 K tank gun and a DT coaxial machine gun and the Matilda with a ZIS-96–76 mm F-34 tank gun and a coaxial DT machine gun were tested.

Both installations were accepted into service, and an order was issued for the first batch of 100 ZIS-95 installations. However, due to the urgent need for 45-mm tank guns for T-70 tanks and 76-mm guns for T-34 and KV tanks, the ZIS-95 and ZIS-96 installations never went into production.

The Main Armored Directorate thought to partially solve the problem by adopting our round with the 2-pounder (40 mm) British gun. fragmentation grenade steel cast iron. This grenade was tested at Factory No. 179 in March 1942. In the same year, Matilda CS tanks with a 76 mm cannon were purchased from England.

And in the American M3 Stuart light tanks, it was decided to replace the standard 37 mm M5 gun with a domestic 45 mm tank gun. In mid-October 1943, the Stuart tank with a 45-mm cannon was tested at the Kubinka training ground. However, things never came to the point of mass rearmament of M3 tanks.

From the beginning of April 1943, the 49th OTTPP, which included 21 Churchill tanks and 3 British Universal tracked armored personnel carriers, successfully operated on the Leningrad Front.

On the Kursk Bulge, the 5th Guards Tank Corps included 21 Churchill tanks, 106 T-34 tanks and 86 light tanks, and the 2nd Guards Tank Corps included 17 Churchill tanks, 90 T-34 and 59 tanks light tanks.
It is curious that in the battle near Prokhorovka, “Churchill” from the 15th Tank Regiment of the breakthrough made a frontal ramming of the “tiger”. At the same time, the entire crew of the tank, commanded by Lieutenant Smirnov, and the driver was Lieutenant A.F. Loginov, was not injured. After the battle of Prokhorovka, Lieutenant Loginov became the commander of the Churchill tank and participated in the battles for Kyiv. Loginov’s tank was knocked out by a “tiger”, ensuring that an armor-piercing shell hit between the armor of the turret and the hull. Loginov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In June 1944, Churchill tanks from the 21st OTTPP actively participated in street battles for the city of Vyborg.
Apparently, the last time the Churchills were used on the Eastern Front was in September 1944 as part of the 8th Army of the Leningrad Front during the liberation of Tallinn and Northern Estonia. The 82nd OTTPP operated successfully there, which included 10 Churchills and 11 KV-1 S tanks.

The main conclusion from the use of Churchill tanks in Russia is obvious: a tank with design flaws, in the hands of experienced and courageous people, and even with competent tactical use, can cause serious damage to the enemy.

It remains to add that the Churchills were used to a limited extent in the British Army, although 5,460 units were manufactured in 1942–1944. The Churchills made their first debut on August 19, 1942 during the raid on Dieppe. Of the 30 tanks, 27 were lost in the operation. The British used one brigade of Churchill tanks in North Africa and Italy in 1942–1943. The two brigades fought in France and Germany in 1944–1945. Last thing combat use“Churchill” by the British happened in Korea in 1951–1953. Over the next three years, the Churchills were withdrawn from service with the British Army.

Tank creation

Experienced "Churchill" A.20 with a turret from "Matilda"

In September 1939, the British Army developed a design specification called the A.20, which later became Churchill. It was supposed to replace the Matilda tank and was supposed to be superior to it. The British assumed that the new tanks would be used in trench warfare. Therefore, the tank combined thick frontal armor, low speed and was good at overcoming obstacles such as ditches and embankments. At the beginning, it was planned to place weapons like in World War I tanks - in the side sponsons. A prototype without a turret or armament was built in mid-1940. Its weight was 37.5 tons, which greatly exceeded the planned one. There were problems with the engine, which could not develop the required power.

The war was already in full swing, the “Battle of Britain” was underway, the Germans were preparing to rush across the English Channel. The development of the tank should have been accelerated. For the new tank, Vauxhall Motors offered its 12-cylinder Bedford engine with a power of 350 hp, which was two paired 6-cylinder automobile engines of the same name, well proven in production and operation. This variant was called A.22. Instead of sponsons, the weapons were placed in a “normal” turret in the middle of the hull. The first 14 production tanks, which received the army designation Mk IV, left the Vauxhall Motors workshops only in June 1941. The new combat vehicle was named “Churchill”, in honor of the British Prime Minister.

Even during the design of the tank, the so-called “Churchill Tank Production Group” began to take shape, which, in addition to the general contractor - Vauxhall Motors, included 10 more companies that produced it. Organization of tank assembly at 11 enterprises, 10 of which were located in England, and one in Northern Ireland, caused many difficulties, especially since the components were supplied by a hundred more companies.Nevertheless, the first Leyland Churchill was assembled in June 1941, and a month later it left the factory floor machine manufactured by Metro-Cammel.

It must be said that the 1941 Churchills were poorly developed structurally and technologically. A War Department commission in November 1941 identified at least 16 major design defects, mainly in the transmission and chassis, which led to frequent failure of tanks even in “greenhouse” operating conditions in units stationed in Great Britain. So, for example, in one of the army tank battalions, during the first trip to the field for tactical training, 30 out of 54 combat vehicles failed! Moreover, at least a third of them were never able to get to the place of permanent deployment on their own.

It is quite natural that numerous changes were made to the design of the tank during mass production, which, however, did not affect the overall layout, chassis, engine, or transmission. Basically they came down to installing various weapons options. It is not without reason that it is generally accepted that the history of the Churchill tank reflects the history of the development of British tank guns.

Modifications:

Churchill I- 2-pounder (40mm) gun in the turret and 76 mm howitzer in the hull, no fenders
Churchill II- Instead of a howitzer, there was a machine gun in the hull
Churchill III- (February 1942) 6-pounder MkIII gun (caliber - 57mm) in an enlarged turret
Churchill IV- The tower did not differ in construction, but was cast. The length of the gun barrel was increased.
Churchill V- Fire support tank with 95 mm howitzer
Churchill VI- (late 1943) A 76 mm gun was installed in the turret
Churchill VII (A22F)- Hull forehead armor increased to 152mm
Churchill VIII- Fire support tank with 95 mm howitzer based on the Model VII
Churchill XI- Previous models upgraded to Mk.VII level
Churchill IXLT - Upgraded tanks previous models that retained the old turret
Churchill X- Mk.VI with a turret with a 76 mm cannon and reinforced armor installed on them

Design Features

The basis was a rectangular body. The caterpillars covered him. There were hatches on the sides for emergency exit. The turrets of all modifications varied slightly in size and armament, but were generally similar. Tanks of versions VII and VIII received a rotating commander's cupola with seven periscope viewing devices. The first models used an insufficiently powerful 40 mm gun. Starting with modifications III and IV, more powerful 57 mm guns were installed. But still firepower inferior to tanks from other countries. The Churchill VII was armed with a 75 mm Mk V cannon with a 36.5 caliber barrel. This gun was also inferior to similar guns from other countries. All tanks had a 2-inch (50.8 mm) mortar in the roof of the turret on the right for firing smoke mines (on the Churchills that fought in the Red Army, fragmentation mines from a 50-mm Soviet-made company mortar were also used for firing the mortar). Tanks of all modifications were equipped with the same brand of engine - a 12-cylinder horizontally opposed carburetor liquid-cooled Bedford “Twin-Six” with a power of 350 hp. at 2200 rpm.

Grade

The tank had reliable armor, which often could only be dealt with by 88 mm anti-aircraft and tank guns, but it itself had insufficiently powerful weapons. The 57 mm QF 6 pounder gun was superior in accuracy and armor-piercing power to the Soviet 57 mm gun, although it had a shorter barrel length. But the British did not have any other guns for tanks in those days. Churchill had large ammunition for cannon and machine guns. For example, the ammunition supply for machine guns was three times greater than the supply of cartridges for the KV tank. In technical terms, it was an unfinished design. The mechanisms and components were unreliable and imperfect. The tank often broke down due to technical reasons even outside of combat. The caterpillar could fly off spontaneously while moving. The rollers broke easily. The driver's visibility was very poor - the tracks, covered with large mud slides, were in the way.

Use of the tank by Great Britain

Destroyed Churchill on the beach in front of Dieppe.

At first it was planned that Churchill tanks would be used in trench warfare with Germany, similar to the First World War. But the defeat of France and the evacuation of the British army changed these plans. The first combat use of this tank was the raid on Dieppe on August 19, 1942. A small town on the French coast became the target for a test landing. It was planned that the troops would suddenly land, conduct reconnaissance of the area and the condition of the fortifications, capture prisoners for interrogation and immediately return back. Churchill was prepared for a ford landing. But it turned out that the path was blocked by a dam that the tanks could not overcome. Moreover, the tanks sank and were destroyed by artillery fire while still in the water. With losses, the landing troops managed to break through to the streets of the town, but they were blocked by fences and were shot through by cannon fire. The armament of the tanks turned out to be unsuitable - there were no fragmentation shells in the ammunition. The operation failed, all 58 tanks were lost (the survivors covered the withdrawal of the troops until the last moment). The raid failed.

Several tanks were used in battles in North Africa. Six Mk.IIIs took part in the battles of El Alaimen and showed their resistance to anti-tank gun fire. Tanks were actively used in battles in Tunisia since 1943. Here they encountered German heavy Tiger tanks, against which they turned out to be almost useless (although there were cases of Tigers being destroyed in open battle). The losses were significant, but still single tanks that broke through into the depths of the German defense caused great damage to manpower. At the beginning of May 1943, fighting in Africa ended with the defeat of the Germans.

For about a year after this, Churchill tanks were in Africa, not taking part in battles. But in May 1944 they were thrown into battle on Italian territory in the so-called. "Hitler Line" near Rome. It was a fierce battle, victory in which came with losses. The German fortifications were destroyed during these battles, and the Germans themselves retreated. On June 4, 1944, Anglo-American troops entered Rome. The next time in Italy, Churchills were used massively to break through the “Ready Line” - without exaggeration, the most senseless operation of the Allied forces in Italy. The “Goth Line” (a defensive position on the Pisa-Rimini line) had the same fortifications as the “Hitler Line”, but extended to greater depth. On August 26, the assault began. According to the commander of the 8th English Army, General Lisi, these were “the bloodiest battles in the history of the English army.” All hills and elevations had fortifications on the reverse slopes. Only tanks marching in infantry formations could defeat them with targeted fire. Here is what was said in the report of the commander of the 128th Infantry Brigade: “Churchill tanks, together with the infantry, overcame enemy defenses day after day, moving through rugged terrain, which in peacetime was considered inaccessible to them. Squadron commanders often left their combat vehicles and, walking ahead, showed the tanks passages through obstacles.” By September 29, the entire defensive zone of the Ready Line, with the exception of a small part in the west, had been overcome.

Churchill tanks were used during the famous Normandy landings. In the British Sword landing zone, tanks equipped with mine trawls and plows were used. These vehicles made it possible to quickly overcome obstacles and avoid losses in manpower. Immediately after the landing, the German guns opened fire, plunging the landing zone into chaos, but were methodically shot down by Churchills one after another. The Germans' concrete fortifications were destroyed by powerful charges from special Churchill AVRE tanks. At landing zones Juneau and Gold, successes were also achieved thanks to special Churchill-based equipment. These were tanks in which a 290 mm mortar was installed to destroy concrete fortifications. The explosion of their shells split the bunkers. Mine trawls of various designs, plows, reels with tracks, trailers with charges and flamethrowers (known as Churchill Crocodile) were installed in front.

Lend-Lease supplies

Use of the USSR tank

"Churchill" near Kiev, November 1943

The combat debut of the Churchills on the Soviet-German front took place during the Battle of Stalingrad. Later, these tanks were used in the liberation of Kyiv in 1943. On the Leningrad Front in April 1943, there was a regiment armed with 21 Churchill tanks and three Universal armored personnel carriers. While operating Churchill tanks in wooded and swampy areas, our tank crews noted their insufficient maneuverability and inability to cope with the conditions of the Russian winter. In particular, after a few days of operation, all standard catalytic heaters, at the request of the tankers, were replaced with domestically produced stoves. Also, the Churchills took part in the Battle of Kursk. By the beginning of the Vyborg operation on June 10, 1944, the 21st Army of the Leningrad Front had a guards tank regiment, partially equipped with Churchills. His tanks fought for Vyborg from June 18 to 20. By the time the city was liberated, the regiment consisted of six Churchills and 32 KVs. As already mentioned, line tank regiments were also equipped (sometimes partially) with Churchill tanks. For example, the 39th separate Kiev tank regiment as of March 2, 1944 was distinguished by a very motley composition of combat vehicles: three KB, two Matildas, three Churchills, two T-70s, two T-60s and 38 T-34s . During the battles, the Churchills suffered heavy losses and by the end of 1944 their use ceased.

Post-war use

After the end of hostilities, Churchill tanks remained in service until the end of the 40s, when they were sent to warehouses. But with the outbreak of the Korean War, Churchill Crocodile tanks were sent there. But mostly more modern Centurion tanks were used there. In addition, recovery vehicles based on this tank were used there. In October 1951, the Churchills were withdrawn from Korea and never saw combat again. Soon the line ones were written off, but the Churchill AVRE sapper post-war modifications were in service with the British Army until 1965.

The attitude of the tank crews towards the Churchill was twofold, but of all the Allied tanks it had the best armor, which means that the crews of these vehicles had the best chance of surviving the battles. If we take into account the fact that the issue of survival for tank crews is the main one, then there is no doubt that they treated the Churchills with respect

Before the start of the German offensive in France and the Benelux countries, the British high military command was in the blissful delusion that the fighting that began on September 1, 1939, would be of a positional nature, similar to the grueling confrontation of the First World War (hereinafter referred to as WWI). Moreover, even the Polish campaign of the Wehrmacht did not alert and did not teach the generals of His Majesty’s army anything, therefore, based on these erroneous views, the Tank Development Directorate (hereinafter referred to as URT) under the War Ministry ordered the appropriate armored vehicles from private developers and manufacturers.

Awakening from hibernation

Two days after the Wehrmacht attacked Poland, on September 3, 1939, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Expeditionary forces were sent to France, which (together with their French, Belgian and Dutch allies) were in no hurry to storm the western strip of German fortifications (the so-called “Siegfried Line”), despite the fact that the bulk of the Wehrmacht forces were occupied in the east in combat actions against the Poles. This almost peaceful confrontation in world historiography was called the “Strange War”.

Meanwhile, for the needs of the expeditionary forces, in September 1939, URT ordered the development of a new infantry tank, designated A20, from the Harland and Wolf shipyard located in Belfast (Northern Ireland). This shipyard is interesting because 28 years before the events described, the legendary cruise liner Titanic left its slipways. Now the government of the country has involved this non-core enterprise in the design of armored vehicles. It should be noted that for both France and England, the participation of shipbuilding companies in the production of tanks was not something out of the ordinary.

A20 tank prototype
Source - all-tanks.ru

According to the characteristics approved by URT, the armor of the ordered vehicle was to reach 80 mm for the front armor parts, 30 mm for the side armor parts, and 16 mm for the rear parts. The A20 was planned to replace another infantry tank, the Mk.II Matilda II, whose speed and armor did not quite suit the British military. Various artillery systems were considered as possible weapons for the A20: 2-pounder (40 mm) anti-tank guns, 6-pounder (57 mm) guns, as well as 75 mm or 76 mm howitzers. Finally, the military settled on a 40 mm anti-tank gun located in the turret and a 76.2 mm howitzer placed in the tank's hull. To increase the vehicle's maneuverability, it was planned to make it as long as possible, and the tracks to completely cover the hull, in the best traditions of British tank building during WWI.

Northern Irish designers in minimum terms carried out pre-design and design work. The contract for the assembly of two prototypes of the new tank URT and the shipyard were signed in February 1940, and the engineers took into account all the wishes of the military regarding the armor, size and layout of the tank. The A20 turned out to be a rather heavy vehicle (43 tons) and slow, since the power of the 300-horsepower 12-cylinder flat engine “DAV type” from the Henry Meadows company was not enough for a heavy infantry tank. Both prototypes were assembled in June 1940 and tested that same month.

In the summer of 1940, British armored forces found themselves in a catastrophic situation. Of the 704 tanks sent to France as part of the expeditionary force, only 25 were evacuated. After the Dunkirk disaster in England, there were barely 150-200 tanks (many of which were training) and only about 500 guns (at the same time, anti-tank artillery was completely lost ). The car park was also catastrophically damaged. All these losses urgently needed to be compensated by the purchase and production of new weapons.

Allied equipment abandoned at Dunkirk
Source - tzem.info

Churchill Mk.IV NA-75 with a 75 mm gun removed from a Sherman tank
Source - icvi.at.ua

From Mk.I to "Black Prince"

The early A22 Mk.I/II/III differed little in appearance from the later Mk.VII/VIII, but almost all surviving tanks from the first series were subsequently modernized, which led to the appearance of intermediate modifications Mk.IX, X and XI. The later series Churchills were better armored and, at the same time, became the slowest of all models of this tank. The most striking difference from the first Mk.I was the famous experimental Churchill A43 “Black Prince,” designed to combat the latest modifications of German tanks.

In total, in 1941, British enterprises assembled 303 tanks. Churchill Mk.I. Their main differences were: a cast tower with rounded shapes; 75 mm howitzer located in front of the hull; 40 mm cannon mounted in the turret. Having a lot of shortcomings, these tanks were mainly used to train new crews. Over time, some of them were converted, re-equipped or converted into special vehicles.

In the next modification Churchill Mk.II(sometimes the index "Churchill" Mk.Ia is used) the howitzer was replaced with a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun in order to free up additional space in the tank and reduce the cost of its design. During operation, these tanks also revealed a lot of shortcomings. A total of 1,127 vehicles of this model were produced until mid-1942, which were later modified to the level of new models or converted into special vehicles.

In the building "Churchill" model Mk.II CS a 3-inch howitzer was installed that fired exclusively smoke shells. The tank was considered a failure, having produced only a few units.

In case of Churchill Mk.III For the first time, engineers made serious adjustments to the design of the tank - they changed the shape of the turret and began to use welding instead of casting in its production. A 57 mm cannon was installed in the turret (instead of a 40 mm caliber gun), and the howitzer in the hull was finally abandoned, replacing it with a machine gun. The engine and transmission have undergone significant changes, and top part the tracks were protected by wings, fenders and side screens. In total, the industry produced 675 tanks of this modification (all produced in 1942).

"Churchill" Mk.IV on display at the museum in Kubinka
Source - en.wikipedia.org

The most numerous modification of the tank "Churchill" was Mk.IV– 1622 units. Mk.IV received the cheapest and most technologically advanced cast turret. Early production vehicles had a counterweight attached to the rear of the turret, which balanced the 6-pounder gun.

Model "Churchill" Mk.V, in essence, was a Mk.IV model intended for "close support" of infantry. To do this, the vehicle was armed with a 47-pound (95 mm) howitzer of the 1943 model.

Churchill Mk.V on display National Museum War and Dutch Resistance in Overloon. The turret was shielded with welded tracks from other tanks
Source - anyfille.dyndns.org

Churchill Mk.VI was a small, improved version of the Mk.IV with a new 6-pounder (57 mm) Mk.V gun. A total of 200 tanks of this modification came out of the assembly shops, but the Mk.VI was soon replaced by the Mk.VII. Most of the Mk.III/IV tanks that survived the battles were later also upgraded to the Mk.VI level.

Modification "Churchill" Mk.VII was the second model in the design of which British engineers contributed so much significant amount changes that it can be considered a new tank. After strengthening the armor, the weight of the vehicle increased by two tons. Thanks to the frontal armor increased by almost 1.5 times (from 102 to 152 mm), the tank became one of the most protected armored vehicles of the Second World War (hereinafter referred to as WWII). A new powerful 17-pounder (75 mm) gun was mounted in the turret. This modification became the final version of the tank, which received the index A22F and remained unchanged until the end of the war (in 1945 the index was changed to A42). By the end of 1944, British industry had produced about 1,400 tanks of this model.

"Churchill" Mk.VII on display at the Tank Museum in Latrun (Israel)
Source - armor.kiev.ua

Churchill Mk.VIII was a modification of the Mk.VII, intended for direct infantry support and was armed with a 47-pounder (95 mm) howitzer of the 1943 model. In total, the industry produced about 200 units of this equipment.

All subsequent Churchill models arose not as a result of the production of new tanks, but as a result of modifications of existing vehicles that were supplied to factories for repairs. The level of their armor and armament was raised to the standards of subsequent models, resulting in intermediate modifications.

Churchill Mk.IX was actually a modification of the Churchill Mk.III/IV, which was equipped with a new turret developed for the Mk.VII, as well as new transmission and suspension. At the same time, on some copies the turret remained old - such vehicles received the index Mk.IX LT (light turret - “light turret”). Such vehicles did not undergo any changes in armament.

Churchill Mk.X was a modification of the Mk.VI, improved to the standards of the Mk.VII - the armor on the tank was increased, and the 57-mm gun was replaced with a 75-mm.

Churchill Mk.XI– Mk.V, improved to the level of Mk.VII and also receiving additional armor.

The operation to convert the Churchill Mk.IV into modification NA75 received the code name “White Heat” and the highest level of secrecy. In total, about two hundred Churchill Mk.IVs were modified - 75-mm guns from decommissioned and damaged American Shermans were installed on them along with armored masks. The first 48 vehicles were modified by British Expeditionary Force North Africa repair officer Captain Percy Morell, who was later awarded for this. A 57-mm gun was cut out of the Churchill turrets and an American gun was inserted into the resulting embrasure, after which its mantlet was welded to the British turret. In this case, some inconveniences arose, since the Churchill turrets were arranged for guns that were loaded from the right side, while the American gun had the loader on the left. Therefore, the guns had to be rotated 180° around their axis, and then the guidance and aiming devices had to be adapted to the new position of the gun. In addition, the engineers had to balance the turret with counterweights, since the new gun turned out to be heavier than the previous one.

Captain Percy Morell
Source - panzerserra.blogspot.com

"Black Prince" (A43)– by 1943, the Churchill had become the heaviest tank in His Majesty’s army, and the British command considered it an adequate response to the German “tigers” and “panthers”, subject to rearmament with a more powerful 17-pounder gun. The experimental tank was created on the chassis of the Mk.VII model at Vauxhall Motors, installing on it a new turret developed for the new Comet tank. By the beginning of 1945, tank builders had produced only six prototypes, when the cheaper and more successful American Sherman VC (Sherman Firefly) tanks, modernized by the British and armed with the same guns, had already proven themselves well. showed themselves well and latest modifications other tanks, so the “Black Prince” was considered a vehicle too expensive, unpromising, and further development of the project was abandoned.

"The Oddities of Hobart"

An interesting and unusual series of vehicles, created on the basis of the first modifications of the Churchills, was engineering equipment nicknamed “Hobart's Funnies” by British soldiers for its original layout.

On August 19, 1942, the Churchill Mk.III of the 14th Calgary Tank Regiment of the 1st Tank Brigade of the Canadian Army took part in the unsuccessful landing of Allied troops on the French coast of the English Channel in Dieppe. The bulk of the tanks were never able to overcome the fortifications of the coastal strip and died under enemy artillery fire and dive bombers. Six vehicles were still able to break through to Dieppe, but, deprived of infantry support, which the Germans cut off with fire, they died or were abandoned by their crews.

Major General Percy Hobart
Source - i3.coventrytelegraph.net

In order not to lose armored vehicles in vain in the next landing operation, specialists of the 79th Tank Division developed a number of engineering and combat vehicles based on the Churchill chassis, designed to make it easier to overcome coastal defensive fortifications. They played a significant role during Operation Overlord in the Normandy landings and served as the forerunner for a whole class of British armored engineering vehicles. These vehicles received their informal nickname in honor of the commander of the 79th Tank Division, Major General Percy Hobart.

Flamethrower tank "Churchill" Oke- was designed in mid-1942 before the raid on Dieppe and received its name in honor of Major J. M. Oke, who created it. This was a modification of the Churchill, represented by three prototypes that received personal names: “Boar”, “Beetle” and “Bull”. The container with the reagent was mounted externally at the rear of the tank, and was connected by a system of tubes to the Ronson system flamethrower installed on the left side in the frontal part of the hull. A machine gun was mounted on the right side. All three vehicles took part in the unsuccessful landing at Dieppe.

Rear view of Churchill Oke
Source - all-tanks.ru

"Churchill" AVRE– the most widespread of all special modifications of the tank, created after the raid on Dieppe. The vehicle received special weapons - a 290 mm mortar capable of firing 18 kg grenades at a distance of up to 150 yards (137 meters). According to the engineers, it was necessary for firing at pillboxes, bunkers and other enemy fortifications.

The mortar was loaded from the muzzle side, so when reloading the second driver-loader had to lean out waist-deep from his hatch facing the turret each time, risking getting shot in the back. The mortar did not have sufficient penetrating power to penetrate the armor of an enemy tank, but the high-explosive effect of the grenade was enough to disable it.

Churchill AVREs were also used to clear minefields, deliver explosives to enemy fortifications, and transport fascines to fill anti-tank ditches and trenches. Among other things, bridge layers and other engineering equipment were mounted on its chassis.

Churchill AVRE turret with a grenade leaning against its front wall
Source - tochek.net

Bobbin carrier – this modification was used during the landing on sandy beaches and soft soils (mainly where impassable mud has formed). A canvas cloth 10 feet (3 meters) wide was wound onto a bobbin. “Churchill,” who led the landing, unwound and laid the canvas on the ground, and along it, like a carpet, the rest of the vehicles landed on the shore.

Carrier of fascines- a technical solution found during WWI, and often still used today. Fachines are bundles of stakes and branches that have been used since time immemorial by troops to fill up ditches and trenches when storming fortresses, fortified camps and other fortifications. Starting from WWI, armored vehicles were used to deliver them to the target. If there was a need to fill up the bed of a small river with a fast flow with fascines or to make its bank convenient for landing, hollow metal pipes were inserted into the fascines, allowing water to flow through them without destroying the structure.

Self-propelled small beam bridge– used as a bridge or assault ladder to overcome ditches, streams and canals no more than nine meters wide, and also as an air bridge to overcome impassable obstacles.

Canadian paratroopers from the Stormont, Dundes and Glengarry Highlanders, part of the 9th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, land in the Nan White sector of Juno Beach near the town of Bernier-sur-Mer. On the right you can see the Churchill chassis, from which a beam bridge is installed, along which soldiers climb to the embankment
Source - en.wikipedia.org

"Bull Plow"- “Churchill”, equipped with a mine trawl designed for extracting and detonating mines. A tank with a striker trawl, nicknamed “Toad,” was developed after the war, in 1950.

"Double Onion"- appeared as a result of the use of cumulative explosive devices by British troops. A frame structure was hung on the tank, on which two explosive charges were attached. The tank delivered them to the reinforced concrete wall of the enemy fortification and blew them up from a safe distance. Another alternative name for the tank is “Goat”.

"Churchill" ARV(Armored Recovery Vehicle - “armored repair vehicle”) - this modification was a Mk.I tank, with the turret removed and the lifting equipment necessary for repairing armored vehicles installed. The lifting capacity of the front crane beam was 7.5 tons; a counterweight was installed on the machine at the rear to balance it. The rear beam crane could lift loads weighing 15 tons, and the winch crane - 25 tons. The small turret housed a mock-up of a machine gun. The only real 7.92 mm machine gun was housed in a housing in which, after dismantling the turret and armament, there was enough space to accommodate the crew of a damaged tank.

"Churchill" ARK(Armoured Ramp Carrier - “armored bridge layer”) - this vehicle without a tower transported a folding beam bridge. In combat position, the length of the bridge reached 20 meters.

Bridgelayer "Churchill" ARK
Source - armor.kiev.ua

"Churchill" "Crocodile"- one of the most famous flamethrower tanks in the world, as well as the most numerous flamethrower tank of the Allies in the European Theater of Operations (in total, the British industry produced about 800 vehicles of this modification). In fact, the “Crocodile” was a modernized Mk.VII, in which the BESA machine gun was replaced with a flamethrower. The container with the flamethrower mixture was towed by the tank in a single-axle armored trailer. The firing range was approximately 150 yards (137 meters) when firing short shots lasting no more than one second.

Flamethrower "crocodiles" on the march
Source - armor.kiev.ua

"Churchill" "Kangaroo"- a turretless version of the vehicle, used as an infantry fighting vehicle.

88-mm self-propelled gun "Churchill" Mk.I (A22D)- the result of virtually the only attempt to create on the basis of "Churchill" anti-tank self-propelled gun. The turret was not installed on the chassis; instead, a well-armored wheelhouse was built above the hull to the height of the dismantled turret. It featured a 3.5-inch (88 mm) gun mounted in a ball armored mount. In 1942, British enterprises assembled about fifty of these machines, the fate of which is unknown to the author. This project was subsequently abandoned in favor of tanks armed with 75 mm cannons.

88-mm self-propelled gun "Churchill" Mk.I (A22D)
Source - shushpanzer.ru

Churchill in Africa

After the appearance of the first Mk.I/II in the African theater of operations, the main problem faced by their crews was the inability of these vehicles to operate in dry conditions. tropical climate- and so overloaded engines simply overheated under the influence of the hot sun. The ventilation could not cope with the increased loads and often broke down, and the filters quickly became clogged with dust, requiring constant cleaning and replacement. It was difficult to hit enemy tanks with 75 mm howitzers for a number of reasons, and the penetrating power of 40 mm turret guns turned out to be insufficient. In addition, the situation was worsened by the appearance of the Germans' new Pz.Kpfw.III, armed with a high-power 50-mm cannon.

Churchill Mk.I and Mk.II in North Africa
Source - thetankmaster.com

The British felt their appearance at the front before the Second Battle of El Alamein, when they themselves brought the first six Churchills of the Mk.III model into battle. These tanks actively supported the advance of the 7th Motorized Brigade, suppressing enemy anti-tank artillery positions. However, none of the six vehicles were damaged, and one of them later received at least 80 hits from enemy shells, none of which penetrated the armor. This success forced the War Department to hastily create three armored regiments and a full brigade, equipped with new tanks. These units arrived at the front in 1943, and all tanks of the previous series were recalled and sent by ship to the UK for modification.

Failure in Dieppe

On August 19, 1942, British and Canadian troops launched an amphibious operation to land on the French coast of the English Channel and attack the port city of Dieppe, occupied by German troops. The operation was intended to “test” the reliability of the German coastal defense and ended in complete failure - of the 6,086 people who landed on the shore, 3,623 were killed, wounded or captured. 60 Churchills (Mk.III and other modifications) of the 14th Calgary Tank Regiment of the 1st Tank Brigade of the Canadian Army also took part in this landing. The tanks were to land in four batches: the first - 9 tanks, the second - 12, the third - 16, and the fourth - the remaining forces of the regiment. However, circumstances were such that all three parties landed almost simultaneously.

One of the landing ships of the third wave sank along with six Churchills on board, and two more tanks sank, leaving the deck too far from the shore. In addition, one vehicle received a direct hit from a large-caliber howitzer shell before it could go ashore.

The remaining tanks landed, but the pebble beaches turned out to be a real trap for them. The tracks skidded on the pebbles, the tanks buried themselves in the ground up to their fenders and, immobilized, became easy targets for German artillerymen. As a result, all tanks of the first three waves of landing were lost or abandoned by their crews. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andrews, also died - he was in one of the sunken tanks, managed to leave the car, but, having climbed ashore, was hit by a German bullet. The Allied command refused to land the fourth batch of tanks.

Destroyed Canadian Churchill tanks and a burning British landing ship on the beach of Dieppe
Source - waralbum.ru

However, having failed in Northern France, the Churchills completely rehabilitated themselves in Tunisia.

Tunisian revenge

When Churchill tanks began arriving en masse in the British Expeditionary Force in North Africa, the Allies had already won the Battle of El Alamein and were pushing German and Italian troops westward into Libya and then Tunisia. At the same time, the United States and Great Britain landed their troops in French Algeria and Morocco (Operation Torch). The African forces of the Axis countries found themselves in a pincer movement, but received significant reinforcements, including the latest Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger heavy tanks. The Churchill Mk.III and IV, armed with weak 57 mm guns, could not penetrate the armor of these giants.

On the other hand, it was difficult for the Tigers to cope with the armor of the Churchills. In addition, British tanks had significantly higher maneuverability. In the mountainous terrain of Tunisia, the Churchills were able to fully demonstrate their unsurpassed cross-country ability. They climbed slopes that seemed impregnable to any type of armored vehicles (providing infantry support where the Tigers were denied access), and often appeared in the most unexpected areas for the enemy, sowing panic in his ranks.

An Italian soldier inspects abandoned Churchill Mk.III tanks
Source - waralbum.ru

In one of the battles, the Churchill crew successfully hit the turret ring and managed to jam the Tiger turret, as a result of which the German crew chose to abandon their vehicle. Almost undamaged, the newest German tank ended up in the hands of the Allies, which was a real gift for British intelligence. This vehicle is now on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The incredible adventures of the Churchills in Europe

After the Tunisian revenge, Churchills were actively used throughout the Italian campaign. The main reason for their widespread use was the mountainous terrain, convenient for defense. The advancing Allied infantry required constant fire support to suppress enemy fire, and the Churchill was perfectly suited for this role. Specialized engineering vehicles based on the tank also found widespread use in the 8th Army and other Allied units. The experience gained on the Italian battlefields soon came in handy for the troops landing in Normandy.

It was in Italy that most of the improved Churchill NA-75s found their application. The 75-mm Sherman guns on the Churchill chassis turned out to be more accurate and effective due to the fact that the mass of the latter was much higher, and the guns, when firing at a constant sight, were less likely to lose sight.

After the landing in Normandy, the Churchills, along with the Shermans, turned out to be the main armored “fist” of the Allies. Specialized modifications of British tanks and special vehicles on their chassis played a significant role in the process of landing and capturing the main bridgehead, and were also indispensable in clearing mines, establishing crossings and crossing canals. In addition, the first months of fighting were accompanied by heavy losses among the Allied armored vehicles, the repair vehicles based on the Churchills played a significant role in the evacuation and restoration of which. The AVRE “Churchills” also found their “specialization” - their heavy mortars showed their effectiveness in the fight against reinforced concrete bunkers, against which heavy artillery and aviation were powerless.

Churchill tanks Mk.IV NA-75 drive through the narrow streets of an Italian town
Source - panzerserra.blogspot.com

The excellent cross-country ability of the Churchills helped the allies during the offensive of the 2nd British Army from July 30 to August 7, 1944 during Operation Bluecoat. The main goal of the British was to capture and hold key objects near the town of Vir in the department of Calvados (including the commanding heights of Mont Pinson) in order to ensure a successful offensive by American troops operating in accordance with the Operation Cobra plan. The exceptionally good maneuverability of the Churchills allowed the British to quickly capture key height 309. Somewhat later, these tanks took an active part in the liberation of the Benelux countries from the invaders.

During the Allies' crossing of the Siegfried Line, as well as the fortifications erected along the banks of the Rhine, the Churchills again proved their effectiveness, especially after the arrival of Mark VII tanks to the front. Invulnerable to the vast majority of enemy anti-tank guns, these vehicles could safely use their weapons against enemy fortifications. In the battles on the Siegfried Line, flamethrower “crocodiles” became so notorious due to their terrible efficiency that the mere sight of this tank slowly approaching the next bunker was sometimes enough for the German garrison to surrender to the mercy of the victors. However, such “popularity” also had a downside - the Germans did not take the crews of the “crocodiles” prisoners as a matter of principle (however, this principle applied to all flamethrowers of both warring sides). Just as actively as during the breakthrough of the Siegfried Line, Churchills were used in battles on the territory of the Third Reich.

"The British" on the Eastern Front

Churchill was the only heavy tank that the USSR received under Lend-Lease. A total of 301 vehicles of the Mk.III and Mk.IV modifications left British ports for distant shores. Of these, 43 tanks sank along with the sunken transport ships of the northern convoys, while the rest took part in the hostilities - they were mainly equipped with separate heavy breakthrough tank regiments (hereinafter - from.tpp.). The Soviet “Churchills” received their first baptism of fire at Stalingrad (the 47th and 48th Guards detachments of the Ttpp. (hereinafter referred to as the Det. Guards Ttpp) took part in the defeat of the encircled German group, which were armed with, among other things, “ Churchill." Subsequently, the 48th Division of the Guards TTPP was withdrawn to the rear, replenished with materiel and transferred to the operational subordination of the 38th Army, in which it participated in the liberation of Kiev on November 6, 1943. However, the most noticeable part was the participation of British tanks manifested itself during the battles on the Kursk Bulge.

On July 13, 1943, the 34th Guards Division arrived at the Bryansk Front, and on August 5, its Churchills were the first to break into Orel. July 21, 10th Guards Division. in cooperation with the 39th Tank Brigade, as well as the 174th and 57th Rifle Divisions, attacked enemy positions in the direction of Andreevka-Petropole-Kopanki. During this battle, the tanks were cut off from the infantry and almost all were knocked out - on the first day, 16 Churchills burned down.

47th Guards Division. The 2nd Tatsinsky Tank Corps, which was armed with 21 Churchill tanks at the beginning of the battle on the Kursk Bulge, acted against the left flank of the Death's Head division and the right flank of the Das Reich division on July 5-6. During the night march, four tanks fell behind due to breakdowns. Of the remaining 17 vehicles, after an attack on enemy positions in the village of Smorodinovo, the regiment lost nine (6 burned and 3 damaged), after which it retreated. The main reasons for the failure of the tankers were the lack of coordination of actions with neighboring tank units and the lack of effective support from infantry, artillery and aviation.

However, there were more successful cases of using these vehicles, where their thick armor came to the rescue Soviet tank crews. So, on the Volkhov Front on March 22, 1943, there were five Churchill tanks of the 50th Guards Division. under the command of the guard captain Belogub attacked German positions. Four of the five vehicles were hit in enemy positions, and one retreated back. The crews did not abandon the damaged tanks, continuing to fire at enemy positions and rejecting all offers to surrender. From March 22 to March 25, the tankers continued to fight, but at night they received ammunition and food from the machine gunners of the 50th regiment who were making their way to them. In three days of fighting, the Churchills destroyed an artillery battery, four bunkers, an ammunition depot and up to two infantry platoons. In the end, Captain Belogub's tank was towed to the rear. The crews of the other three Churchills also emerged from the battle without losses - the tank crews were saved by reliable British armor.

Subsequently, the Churchills took part in the liberation of Kyiv, Tallinn, Vyborg and the islands of the Moonsund archipelago. The attitude of Soviet tank crews towards them was twofold. Ashot Apetovich Amatuni recalls (interview published on the website iremember.ru): “...as far as I know, there were... Churchill tanks in the hull - we called it “Crocodile” because it was very tall. The name went down in history. By the way, the crews loved their “Crocodiles”. And they rated them well.” However, not all tankers assessed these vehicles positively. Joseph Yakovlevich Sreznikov recalls (interview published on the website iremember.ru): “...then we had Churchill tanks that burned like matches. Can you imagine iron burning? It's burning."

Unknown "Churchills"

A little-known page of history was the participation of the Churchills in the battles in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Several of these tanks were sent from Great Britain to Australia in mid-1944 and were included in the Australian Armed Forces, which operated in New Guinea until the very end of the war. The Australians were able to compare these tanks with the Shermans and Matilda IIs already in use and, in the end, gave them preference. However, of the 510 vehicles ordered, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps received only 46, since after the end of the war the order was canceled.

The last time “Churchills” took part in hostilities was during the Korean War - in 1950, a British squadron of “crocodiles” took part in the Third Battle of Seoul.

British tank Churchill fires at North Korean forces across the Han River
Source - fototelegraf.ru

Later, four Churchills supported the defense of the 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. In 1952, the last Churchills were withdrawn from service, while engineering vehicles based on their chassis (for example, bridge layers) were used until 1970. A significant portion of Churchill tanks have survived to this day and are exhibited in various museums.

Like the Soviet tank crews, the British had an ambivalent attitude towards the Churchill. Thus, the tank’s “namesake” Winston Churchill said: “The tank that bears my name has more flaws than I do!” On the other hand, of all the Allied tanks, it was the Churchills that had the best armor, which means that the crews of these vehicles had the best chance of surviving in battle. If we take into account the fact that the issue of survival for tank crews is the main one, then there is no doubt that they treated the Churchills with respect.

Note

Don't be put off by the complexity of the numbering - the Churchill itself is an infantry tank Mk.IV (Infantry Tank Mk.IV "Churchill"), but within the family there were also various modifications, designated in a similar way. Therefore, each variety could be named, for example, as Churchill Mk VIII or even Infantry Tank Mk IV, Churchill V.

The history of the heavy infantry tank "Churchill" began in September 1939, when the General Staff of the British Army developed a technical specification for the A.20 tank, which was going to replace the heavy infantry tank Mk II "Matilda" (A .12). The need for a new, even more powerful combat vehicle was understandable. The Second World War was flaring up, British troops were again sent to the continent and the fortifications of the Siegfried Line, bristling with gun barrels, stood in their way again...

History of creation

The history of the heavy infantry tank "Churchill" began in September 1939, when the General Staff of the British Army developed a technical specification for the A.20 tank, which was going to replace the heavy infantry tank Mk II "Matilda" (A .12). The need for a new, even more powerful combat vehicle was understandable. The Second World War was flaring up, British troops were again sent to the continent, and the fortifications of the Siegfried Line, bristling with gun barrels, again stood in their way. It is enough to read the terms of reference for the A.20 to understand that the fear of a positional war with Germany was already genetic among the English military leadership.

So, it was assumed that the new combat vehicle would have frontal armor of at least 60 mm, which would provide it with protection from 37 mm German anti-tank guns, and would reach a speed of about 16 km/h. The armament - two 2-pounder cannons and coaxial Besa machine guns - was planned to be placed in sponsons along the sides of the tank. Finally, in order to more effectively overcome vertical obstacles, the track had to cover the body of the vehicle. The combination of all these characteristics resulted in a tank... from the First World War period, made at a higher (after all, 20 years have passed!) technical level.

In fairness, it should be noted that there were other weapon options that differed from those described both in caliber and placement of guns. However, the developers of the technical assignment saw an alternative to sponsons only in installing one gun in the turret and another in the front hull (following the example of the French B1bis heavy tank).

As a result, the contract for the final development of the project and the construction of four prototypes was concluded in December 1939 with the Woolwich Royal Arsenal and Harland and Wolff Ltd. from Belfast. The power plant was supposed to use either a 300-horsepower diesel engine or a new 12-cylinder Meadows gasoline engine. As for the transmission, there was no alternative to Dr. H. E. Merritt's design. The first prototype without a turret and weapons was ready by mid-1940. Already trial tests at the test site could not help but cause pessimism. The Meadows DAV engine did not develop the required power, the transmission did not work smoothly and, most importantly, they had no prospects for modernization, since after installing the turret and weapons, the mass of the tank would have reached 37.5 tons, instead of 32 according to the technical specifications.

And here, just in time, Vauxhall Motors offered for the new tank its 12-cylinder Bedford engine with a power of 350 hp, which was two paired 6-cylinder automobile engines of the same name, well proven in production and operation. The idea was liked, and the order was transferred to Vauxhall along with two semi-finished A.20 prototypes. The other two were not built at all. Work on the new prototype, designated A.22, was carried out at a rapid pace, drawings arrived in the workshop literally from the drawing board. It was July 1940, the Battle of Britain was underway, the Germans were preparing to rush across the English Channel. The A.22 prototype was produced in the fall, and its testing continued until the end of the year. The first 14 production tanks, which received the army designation Mk IV, left the Vauxhall Motors workshops only in June 1941. The new combat vehicle was named “Churchill”, in honor of the British Prime Minister.

Organizing the assembly of tanks at 11 enterprises, 10 of which were in England and one in Northern Ireland, caused many difficulties, especially since components were supplied by a hundred more companies. However, the first Leyland Churchill was assembled in June 1941, and a month later a car manufactured by Metro-Cammel also left the factory floor.

The most serious defects of the chassis included jamming of the road wheels and rupture of the tracks. The transmission quickly broke down due to the use of materials of insufficient strength and rapid wear of the main clutch. In the engine systems, fuel leakage from the fuel pump and pipelines, rapid destruction of flexible oil lines and unsatisfactory sealing of the ignition system were observed. List of identified " weak points“Vauxhall Motors employees sent it to tank units along with the operating instructions, providing it with an eloquent appeal to the personnel: “We know that not all mechanisms and assemblies of the tank will work as expected. All shortcomings will be eliminated as soon as we have the necessary materials and new components at our disposal. Please do not draw the wrong conclusions from our sincere admission of our mistakes. The Mk IV tank is a good car. The problems encountered during its testing are not the norm. What is abnormal is that we did not eliminate them before starting mass production.” To assist technical personnel in eliminating design deficiencies, engineers from manufacturing plants were sent to combat units. However, the military sometimes had to cope on its own, and not without success, as was the case, for example, in the 147th Hampshire Regiment. One of the Churchill components that constantly failed was the gearbox control rod. It constantly broke down, and there were no spare rods. The problem was solved by purchasing a large number of axle shafts for a Ford car from automobile repair shops in Norfolk. The axle shafts were quite suitable for installation on a tank instead of standard rods and, moreover, exceeded them in strength.

Over the course of six months, 1,000 of the 1,200 units of newly released tanks were repaired and re-equipped with new components and assemblies to one degree or another! So public events to eliminate design defects that caused a lot of noise, apparently, forced Winston Churchill to utter his famous phrase: “The tank that bears my name has more flaws than I myself!”

Churchill I

First production model. The main design feature is the placement and composition of weapons. Having no other tank gun other than the 2-pounder in 1941, the British placed it in the turret in a coaxial mount with a 7.92 mm Besa machine gun. For a tank weighing 37.9 tons, this apparently did not seem enough, so a 3-inch howitzer was installed in the front hull plate, to the left of the driver. The firing capabilities of the latter, however, were greatly limited by the forward placement of the guide wheels. As a result, the howitzer's firing sector, as well as the driver's viewing sector, was 30 - 32°. The combination of a howitzer and a cannon provided a balanced ability to hit targets with both high-explosive and armor-piercing shells, since the 2-pound gun did not contain high-explosive shells in its ammunition load.

The maximum thickness of the hull armor is 101 mm, the turret is 89 mm. The maximum speed reached 27 km/h, the crew consisted of five people. On early production vehicles, the slots in the air supply windows to the radiators of the cooling system, located on the sides of the tank in special boxes, were facing down. During operation, the disadvantage of this design quickly became apparent - the fans sucked in dust and sand along with the air, clogging the radiators and leading to overheating of the engine. The design was changed - the boxes were turned upside down.

A feature of the first modification of the Churchills was the absence of fenders.

The Churchill ICS (CS - Close Support) support tanks produced in limited numbers had 3-inch howitzers installed in both the turret and hull.

Churchill II

On the Churchill II modification, instead of a howitzer, a Besa machine gun was placed in the front hull plate. Churchill IICS support tanks had a 3-inch howitzer in the turret and a 2-pounder gun in the hull.

Churchill III

In February 1942, production began of the Churchill III modification, armed with a 6-pounder Mk III gun, which was installed in a new welded turret of increased size. The towers were manufactured by Babcock and Wilcox. In addition, the tracks on these vehicles were covered with wings.

Churchill IV

"Churchill IV" was no different from the previous model, with the exception of the method of manufacturing the turret - it was cast. Most of these tanks were equipped with a 6-pounder MkV gun with a longer barrel. It is easily distinguished from the earlier Mk III by the counterweight at the muzzle.

The British 2- and 6-pounder guns used on the Churchills had a significant drawback - their ammunition did not include high-explosive fragmentation shells. The latter circumstance significantly reduced the effectiveness of the use of infantry support tanks. During the battles in North Africa, 200 Churchill IVs of the 21st Tank Brigade, instead of the standard 6-pounders, were equipped with American 75-mm MZ cannons, coaxial with Browning machine guns, in mask installations borrowed from Sherman tanks "

The possibility of such an alteration occurred to the deputy commander of the 665th tank repair shop, Captain Percy Morell. He proposed welding the Sherman mask directly onto the Churchill turret, since the Sherman gun moved in a vertical plane not with the mask, but in its embrasure. True, with such welding, due to design features turrets of an English tank, the elevation angle of the gun decreased, and the declination angle increased. The required guidance range was restored by cutting out the embrasure at the top and welding it at the bottom. Another problem was the difference in the placement of crew members in English and American tanks. In the Sherman, the loader was located to the left of the gun, in the Churchill - to the right. But since the American gun had a horizontal wedge breech, Morell proposed turning it 180°. The Browning machine gun remained in the same place. A standard American periscope sight was installed in the turret roof to the left of the gun instead of the Mk IV observation device. In order to unify the ammunition, the Besa machine gun was also replaced with a Browning.

The vehicles rearmed in this way received the designation NA 75 (NA - North Africa). For developing the installation of an American cannon on the Churchill, Percy Morell was awarded the rank of major ahead of schedule.

Churchill V

The lack of high-explosive fragmentation shells in the ammunition loads of linear tanks significantly limited their ability to hit unarmored targets. The Churchill V tanks were a modification of the Churchill IV, armed with a 95 mm howitzer with 47 rounds of ammunition. The howitzer's ammunition included high-explosive fragmentation shells. The combined use of these support tanks with line tanks made it possible to hit targets of all types.

Churchill VI

The Churchill VI modification received a new English 75-mm Mk V cannon and appeared only at the end of 1943. However, this gun had very mediocre ballistic characteristics and was inferior to German tank guns of a similar caliber. "Churchill VI" received additional armor protection for the sides and lower frontal plate of the hull, which was secured with bolts. Otherwise, this modification was identical to the Churchill IV tank.

Churchill VII (A22F)

Unable to increase the power of weapons, the British took the path of strengthening armor protection, which was especially important in the run-up to the landing in Normandy. This is how the modification “Churchill VII” arose. The frontal armor of the hull was increased to 152 mm, the turret - to 95 mm. The design of the tower became mixed - cast, with a welded rolled roof. A rotating commander's cupola appeared. The weight of the vehicle increased to 41 tons, the speed decreased to 20 km/h. It was necessary to strengthen the elements of the chassis - the suspension and tracks. The shape of the driver's inspection hatch and the evacuation hatches in the sides of the hull were changed. Based on the Churchill VII modification, the Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank (Churchill CrocodMe) was produced. The flamethrower was installed in the front hull plate instead of the Besa machine gun. To transport the fire mixture, a special single-axle armored trailer was intended, towed with a tank and connected to the flamethrower by a pipeline.

Churchill VIII

The fire support tank is a variant of the Churchill VII model, armed with a 95 mm howitzer.

Churchill IX

Tanks of earlier modifications "Churchill III" and "Churchill IV", modernized to the level of "Churchill VII" by installing additional armor protection and a new turret, but retaining the same armament - a 6-pounder gun.

Churchill IXLT

For vehicles of this modification, increased armor protection affected only the body. The turrets remained the same - standard welded or cast from the Churchill III or Churchill IV tanks, respectively (LT - Light turret - light turret).

Churchill X

The Churchill X combat vehicles were Churchill VI tanks, on which the frontal armor and a new turret from the Churchill VII variant with a 75 mm cannon was installed.

Churchill XLT

An option for partial modernization of the Churchill VI tanks, which provided for the preservation of the standard turret, which housed the 75-mm gun. Churchill XI Fire support tank "Churchill V", upgraded to the level of "Churchill VIII", that is, received enhanced armor protection and a new turret.

Churchill XILT

Combat vehicles similar to the Churchill XI modification, but with a standard turret from the Churchill V tank. The production of Mk IV infantry tanks continued until October 1945. During this time, 5,640 combat vehicles of this type were manufactured. Unfortunately, relatively accurate data on the production of Churchill tanks by various companies can only be given for the first five modifications.

Thus, 3968 units of tanks of the first five modifications were produced, the remaining 1672 are vehicles of variants VI, VII and VIII. It turns out that “Churchills”, armed with 75-mm cannons. Made quite a bit. However, it should be taken into account that most tanks of modifications III and IV were re-equipped with guns of this caliber.

Here we need to mention two more combat vehicles created as part of the development of the Churchill tank design. We will talk about the 3-inch self-propelled gun (3 inch Gun Carrier) and the Black Prince tank.

An order for the development of a self-propelled gun followed in September 1941, after the British command was finally convinced that the British 2-pounder tank guns were too ineffective for

fighting German tanks in North Africa. The main armament of this vehicle was a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun. 100 of these guns arrived at the plant of the developer Vauxhall Motors. The design was completed by December 1941, and in February 1942 the self-propelled gun entered testing. Appearance The machine was truly monstrous. The entire front part of the hull was occupied by a rectangular fixed cabin, in the front plate of which a large round embrasure was cut out for a 3-inch gun, which had extremely small vertical and horizontal guidance angles. Judging by the height of the cabin, the crew served the gun while standing.

The initial order was 100 units, but was soon reduced to 24. The War Office did not see much need for mass production of self-propelled guns, since by that time Churchill had received a 6-pounder gun. After the assembly of self-propelled guns began at the Beyer plant in July 1942, the order for 100 vehicles was revived, and then again reduced, but to 50 units. The release of the self-propelled guns was completed at the end of the year. They did not make it to the front, because by that time the military had relied on a 17-pound tank gun. Some of the vehicles were converted into minesweeper tanks, while others were used for various experiments.

In 1944, an attempt was made to equip the Churchill with a “long arm” - a 17-pounder gun. This weapon, capable of fighting German “tigers” and “Panthers”, was by that time installed in the A.30 Challenger tanks (created on the basis of the Cromwell) and in the Sherman Firearms. Work on the tank, designated A.43 "Black Prince" (sometimes called the "Super Churchill"), began in January 1944.

The new gun did not fit in the standard turret of the Churchill VII tank. The turret was enlarged, and significantly, with the possibility in the future of installing a 3.7-inch (94 mm) gun in it, the armor-piercing characteristics of which were 25% higher than that of the 17-pounder. Since the clear diameter of the turret ring also increased, the tank hull had to be expanded by approximately 180 mm.

Despite the fact that the armor protection remained the same, the weight of the A.43 increased by 8 tons, and the speed decreased to 16 km/h. The tracks and suspension were again strengthened. It should be noted that when creating the new vehicle, the components, assemblies and hull parts of the Churchill VII tank were used as much as possible.

The first six prototypes entered military testing in May 1945. Serial production of this vehicle, whose armament power matched its armor protection, never began. The war in Europe was over, and, in addition, preference was given to the universal A.41 Centurion tank, which was considered by the British military leadership as the main combat vehicle for the future.

Description of design

Structurally, the Mk IV Churchill tank was a very original vehicle. The tank body was made in the form of a rectangular welded box. By covering it with tracks, the British designers managed to make the hull as wide as possible - equal to the width of the tank. This ensured a fairly free arrangement of components and assemblies inside the vehicle and comfortable working conditions for the crew. A characteristic feature of the hull was the presence of emergency hatches on its sides (at the level of the control compartment): rectangular for modifications I - VI and round for VII - VIII.

In the control compartment there were seats for the driver and machine gunner (on the Churchill I modification - the driver-loader of the 76-mm howitzer). To put them into the tank, there were two rectangular hatches with double-leaf covers. On tanks of modifications I - VI, the driver's inspection hatch had a rectangular cover, on tanks VII - VIII - a round one.

Air supply ducts to the radiators of the cooling system were bolted to the sides of the hull at the level of the engine compartment.

TOWERS According to the manufacturing method, tanks were divided into three types: cast (modifications I, II, IV - VI), welded (III) and mixed construction (VII and VIII). Varying slightly in size and configuration, all towers were almost identical in the placement of units, hatches and hatches, surveillance devices and weapons.

Starting with the Churchill III tanks, the loader's hatch was located at an angle to the axis of the vehicle. Tanks of versions VII and VIII received a rotating commander's cupola with seven periscope viewing devices. Starting with late Model IV vehicles, the tower fan hood began to be located along the axis of symmetry of the tower. All towers were equipped with a rotating butt.

WEAPONS. On tanks of modifications I, ICS, II, IICS, a 2-pounder (40 mm) Mk IX gun with a 52-caliber barrel length and a 3" Howitzer OQF Mk I or Mk IA tank howitzer of 76 mm caliber were installed in various combinations.

The gun consisted of a barrel, a semi-automatic bolt, a cradle, a recoil device, a trigger mechanism, a sleeve catcher and a shoulder rest. The weight of the barrel without the bolt is 130.2 kg. The normal rollback length is 265 mm.

Vertical pointing angles ranging from +20° to -15° were attached to the cannon and coaxial machine gun using a shoulder rest, which was attached to the left cheek of the cartridge case bracket and could be adjusted in accordance with the height of the gunner.

The ammunition load of the Churchill I tank's guns consisted of 150 rounds for the gun and 58 for the howitzer.

Tanks of modifications III and IV were armed with 6-pounder (57 mm) Mk III and MkV guns, and variants VI, IX and IXLT were armed with Mk V.

The Mk III 6-pounder gun, with a 42.9 caliber barrel, was developed from the Mk II towed anti-tank gun. The shutter is a vertical wedge, semi-automatic - a copy type. Gun weight - 326.88 kg.

Vertical guidance in the range from -8° to +17° was carried out using a shoulder rest and two “pistol” handles, on which the electric triggers of the gun and coaxial machine gun were located.

The 6-pounder Mk V gun had a 50-caliber barrel length and a high muzzle velocity. Its vertical guidance was carried out using a screw-type lifting mechanism.

The ammunition load of tanks with a 6-pounder gun consisted of 84 artillery rounds.

The Churchill VII combat vehicles were armed with a 75-mm Mk V cannon with a barrel length of 36.5 calibers. Wedge shutter, semi-automatic. Rate of fire - up to 20 rds/min. Gun weight - 314 kg. Vertical guidance from - 12.5° to +20° using a screw-type lifting mechanism. Electric trigger - foot. Models VII and X tanks had 84 rounds of ammunition; XLT - 71 shots.

Tanks of modifications V, VIII, XI and XILT were equipped with a 95-mm Mk 1 tank howitzer with a 20.75-caliber barrel length. The howitzer's ammunition included 47 rounds. Churchills of all modifications (with the exception of I, ICS and IICS) were equipped with two 7.92 mm Besa machine guns - coaxial and course. The pointing angles of the coaxial machine gun coincided with the pointing angles of the cannon. The directional machine gun had an elevation angle of +17° and a declination of -8°. Horizontal guidance was possible in the 47° sector. The machine guns' ammunition capacity is 4950 rounds of 7.92 mm caliber (in any case, this amount is indicated in all English sources). However, the stowage of the Churchill III tank, which was tested in the USSR at the NIBT Test Site in September 1942, contained 7875 rounds of this caliber (35 boxes).

Some vehicles had a Lakeman anti-aircraft gun mounted on a special bracket on the roof of the turret for the 7.7 mm Brep infantry machine gun. Its ammunition included 594 rounds.

All tanks had a 2-inch (50.8 mm) mortar in the roof of the turret on the right for firing smoke mines (on the Churchills that fought in the Red Army, fragmentation mines from a 50-mm Soviet-made company mortar were also used for firing the mortar). Mortar weight - 7.6 kg. Maximum range throwing a smoke mine - 137 m, fragmentation mine - 415 m. Vertical firing angle - from +5° to +37°; horizontal - 360° (set by rotating the tank turret). Standard ammunition - 30 smoke mines.

The No. 24B Mk I telescopic sight was used to fire the 2-pounder cannon and coaxial machine gun; for firing from 6-pounder guns - telescopic sights No. 39 Mk I or No. 33 Mk II; from a 75-mm cannon - No. 50x3L Mk I. For firing from the course machine gun, telescopic sights No. 30 Mk I or Mk IA and No. 33 Mk IS or IIS were used.

ENGINE. Tanks of all modifications were equipped with the same brand of engine - a 12-cylinder horizontally opposed carburetor liquid-cooled Bedford “Twin-Six” with a power of 350 hp. at 2200 rpm.

Cylinder diameter -127 mm. Piston stroke - 139.7 mm. Working volume - 21,237 cm3. Dry engine weight: 1533 kg.

The number of fuel tanks is six main (three on each side of the engine) and one additional external one, connected to the engine power supply system. The total capacity of the tanks is 828 l. There are four carburetors, each for three cylinders of the Solex 46FWHE brand.

Lubrication system - circulating, under pressure, with a dry sump. The type of oil pumps is two-section gear pumps: one is pumping, the other is pumping. The working capacity of the lubrication system is 50 l. The cooling system is liquid, closed type, with forced circulation. Two tubular radiators were installed on both sides of the engine. Cooling system capacity - 118 l.

TRANSMISSION included a Borg and Beck single-disc main dry friction clutch, a Mernt-Brown H4 mechanical four-speed gearbox, combined into one unit with a turning mechanism, and final drives. The rotation mechanism (cylindrical differential with two planetary mechanisms) ensured rotation in place and ease of control of the tank while moving. The minimum turning radius in 1st gear is 3.3 m. Control of the machine was further facilitated through the use of hydraulically driven servomechanisms.

The engine and transmission compartment was isolated from the combat compartment by a special armored partition, which significantly reduced crew losses in the event of an engine fire and, on the other hand, kept the engine and transmission intact in the event of an ammunition explosion.

CHASSIS applied to one side, it consisted of 11 non-rubber-coated double road wheels of small diameter, a rear drive wheel with two removable rims (23 teeth) and two rubber tires, and a guide wheel. There were no support wheels; their functions, as on tanks of the First World War, were performed by special guides. Individual spring suspension.

Each track included 70 tracks with a width of 356 mm and a pitch of 211 mm or 72 tracks with a pitch of 202 mm.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT The tank consisted of two batteries, a generator, a relay regulator, a starter, a generator and an electric drive motor for turning the turret, sewing control devices, internal and external lighting devices.

In addition, the tank had an additional charging unit, consisting of a single-cylinder carburetor engine and a generator. MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. The tank was equipped with a simplex telephone-telegraph radio station No. 19, which operated in the KB and VHF bands and had its own internal communication system for five subscribers. Work in each radio wave range was carried out using a separate antenna. Radio station No. 19 had a range of 15 km on short waves by telephone, 32 km by telegraph, and up to 1 km on ultrashort waves by telephone.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TANK "Churchill III" Combat weight, t...................................... .39.6 Crew, people............................................... ..5 Overall dimensions, mm: length.................................... .......7442 width.................................... ......3251 height.................................... .....2450 ground clearance............................................... ....530 Armor thickness, mm: hull forehead...................................... .....101 board................................................... .......76 feed................................... ..........64 roof.................................... .......15-19 bottom.................................... .............19 turret forehead.................................... ............88 side and stern................................... .........76 Max. driving speed, km/h.........................28 Average driving speed, km/h: on the highway....... ........................................25 cross-country...... .......................17.5 Cruising range, km: on the highway.................. ........................246 along a country road.................. ...............166 Obstacles to be overcome: angle of ascent, degrees............................... ..........30 wall height, m.................................... ..0.76 ditch width, m...................................3 .66 fording depth, m....................................1.22 Specific pressure, kg /cm?........................0.93 Specific power, hp/t...... ....................8.75

Combat use

Raid on Dieppe

From the very first minutes of landing, everything did not go quite as expected. The fact is that the beach, sandwiched between the eastern and western breakwaters, was separated from the city embankment with the boulevard by a dam, which Churchill tanks could not overcome on their own. The exits from the beach were blocked by barricades, and the beach itself was under crossfire from artillery and machine guns. It was planned that the dam and barricades would be blown up by sappers, but both they and the infantry suffered such losses in the phase after the landing that they could not complete their task in full. The tanks were to land in four waves: in the first - 9 tanks, in the second -12, in the third -16, in the fourth - the remaining forces of the regiment. In practice, all three waves landed almost simultaneously. At the same time, not all vehicles reached the shore - one of the landing ships of the third wave sank along with the six Churchills on board. One tank received a direct hit from a howitzer shell before leaving the ship, the other two sank when trying to enter the water too far from the shore; Several had their tracks torn on the pebbles of the beach, and some had their undercarriages jammed by stones. The stopped cars were immediately knocked out by the Germans. The tanks returned fire, but the 2- and 6-pounder guns did not have high-explosive shells in their ammunition loads, and the 76-mm howitzers had too little elevation and were hampered by the dam.

To top it all off, the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andrews, was killed. He was in one of the sunken tanks, but managed to leave the car, and when he got ashore, he was hit by a German bullet. Nevertheless, the crews of combat vehicles left without a commander continued to carry out the task as best they could. Sappers found areas where the height of the dam did not exceed 60 cm, laid fascines, and 13 - 15 tanks managed to climb onto the embankment and boulevard. It turned out that all the streets leading deeper into the city were blocked by concrete anti-tank barriers. All attempts by Canadian sappers to blow them up were unsuccessful due to heavy German fire. The tanks tried to destroy the holes by firing 6-pound armor-piercing shells at them, but at that time German 37-mm anti-tank guns opened fire on the Churchills. They could not penetrate the armor of the British tanks, but managed to destroy the tracks on several vehicles and forced the rest to retreat. As a result, all the Churchills of the Calgary Regiment that landed during the raid on Dieppe operated on a relatively small area of the beach, embankment and boulevard. They did not land the fourth wave of tanks - by 9 o'clock in the morning it became clear that the operation had failed and it was necessary to try to evacuate the landed troops. Six Churchills, back on the beach, before the last one was led battle, covering the retreat of the Canadian infantry. All the tanks were hit and the crews abandoned them. However, only one tanker was lucky enough to return to England. 157 people were captured.

North Africa

Six Churchill III tanks as part of the 1st Armored Division were tested during the Second Battle of El Al Main in October - November 1942. They were brought together into a group under the unofficial name Kingforce (literally - “royal forces”). In fact, this loud name - nothing more than ifa words - was associated not so much with the king as with the group commander, Major Morris King. During the battles, his tanks received a total of 106 hits from high-explosive and armor-piercing shells. One tank burned down, one failed due to damage to the track, and the turret of one was torn off. The burned-out Churchill was hit by three German shells - 75 mm and two 50 mm. One of them hit the gas tank, which caused a fire. The same tank received three direct hits from 6-pound British shells in the rear of the turret and one in the transmission compartment. Apparently, the crew of the anti-tank gun was unable to identify their tank during the battle.

The first military formation in North Africa armed with Churchill tanks was the 25th Army Tank Brigade, consisting of the 142nd Regiment of the Royal Tank Corps (142nd RAC), the 51st Royal Tank Corps (51st RTR) and the Northern Irish Horse Regiments. She was given the task of counterattacking Rommel's troops advancing in the Kasserine Passage in Tunisia. The tankers had to make a 100-mile march, some of the tanks arrived on their own within 24 hours, and some were transported on transporters. On February 21, 1943, two tank platoons and a platoon of guards infantry attacked the German forward positions, destroying several machine gun nests and anti-tank guns.

On the morning of February 28, the British decided to conduct reconnaissance in force with seven tanks of squadron “A” of the 51st Royal Tank Regiment in the direction of a farm nicknamed “Steam Roller” (it actually had such a machine on its farm). At about 16:00, anti-tank guns camouflaged on the outskirts of the farm suddenly opened fire on the Churchills. The tanks crawled over natural shelters - ditches along the highway and dry stream beds. Here they were caught by a raid by Ju 87 dive bombers, which cost the British five combat vehicles. However, one tank from 1st Platoon, under Captain Holland, managed to break into the farm, where it encountered two 88mm guns. The Germans, nervous from surprise, managed to miss from 20 m, and the Churchill crushed both guns. After that, he went behind enemy lines and set fire to several cars. Under the cover of Captain Holland's tank, Lieutenant Renton's car broke into the farm. When two German Pz III tanks tried to stop the British, they were knocked out. During this battle, the Churchills destroyed 25 vehicles, eight anti-tank guns, and two anti-aircraft guns. From intercepted radio messages, it became known that the Germans had lost up to 200 soldiers as a result of the attack of this, as they called it, “crazy tank battalion.”

On the same day, the 36th Infantry Brigade captured the western summit of Longstop Hill, Mount Jebel al-Ahmera. Its slopes turned out to be too steep for the Churchills, so the infantry had to act independently and, as a result, suffer heavy losses. Three days later, tanks of the Northern Irish Regiment took part in the assault on an enemy stronghold on Mount Jebel Rar. The morale in the regiment was very high, as can be judged from the recollections of one of the participants in these battles: “By the start of the attack, all Churchills received at least one hit, but the mood of the crews was as if they were to take part in pre-war exercises " In the battle for Jebel Rar, Sergeant O'Hara distinguished himself by suppressing four machine-gun emplacements. Lieutenant Pope's tank destroyed a machine-gun emplacement, a mortar and a 75-mm cannon. As a result of the actions of these two tanks alone, more than 50 German soldiers surrendered.

Italy

More than a year passed before the Army's 21st and 25th Tank Brigades returned to action. All this time they were in Algeria, waiting to be sent to Italy. The Churchills' baptism of fire on the Apennine Peninsula took place only in May 1944, when the 25th Tank Brigade, together with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, stormed the so-called “Hitler Line” - the defensive position of German troops near the Garigliano River on southern approaches to Rome. The terrain favored the defenders, but ditches, minefields, and long-term firing points, including the use of Panther turrets, made the advance of British tanks very difficult. After massive artillery and air preparation, at dawn on May 23, the Canadian infantry launched an attack. Intense fire from all types of weapons immediately pinned the Canadians to the ground. The Churchills, who were in infantry combat formations, began a fierce duel with German artillerymen at short distances. Due to the intense shooting, tank ammunition was used up very quickly, and all soldiers and officers of tank squadrons not directly involved in combat had to manually bring shells to their vehicles. Gradually, the German fire began to weaken, which allowed the Canadians to knock them out of their positions. By nightfall, at the cost of huge losses in manpower and tanks, the “Hitler Line” was broken. On June 4, 1944, Anglo-American troops entered Rome.

The next time in Italy, Churchills were used massively to break through the “Ready Line” - without exaggeration, the most senseless operation of the Allied forces in Italy. The “Goth Line” (a defensive position on the Pisa-Rimini line) had the same fortifications as the “Hitler Line”, but extended to greater depth. On August 26, the assault began. According to the commander of the 8th English Army, General Lisi, these were “the bloodiest battles in the history of the English army.” Both army tank brigades operated together with the 1st Canadian and 5th British corps. All hills and elevations had fortifications on the reverse slopes. Only tanks marching in infantry formations could defeat them with targeted fire. Here is what was said in the report of the commander of the 128th Infantry Brigade: “Churchill tanks, together with the infantry, overcame enemy defenses day after day, moving through rugged terrain that was considered inaccessible to them in peacetime. Squadron commanders often left their combat vehicles and, walking ahead, showed the tanks passages through obstacles.” By September 29, the entire defensive zone of the Ready Line, with the exception of a small part in the west, had been overcome. In the winter of the same year, the 142nd and 145th Tank Regiments were disbanded, the Northern Irish Cavalry Regiment was transferred to the 21st Tank Brigade, and on the basis of the 51st Royal Tank Regiment of the 25th Brigade a formation was formed armed with Churchill-Crocodile flamethrower tanks "

The offensive of the British troops resumed on April 10, 1945 in the area between the cities of Faenza and Lake Comacchio. The "Crocodiles" of the 21st Brigade, with fire and tracks, paved the way through the German positions for the infantry of the 8th Indian and 2nd New Zealand Infantry Divisions. Now the only obstacle separating the 8th Army from the Po Valley was the Argenta Pass between Lake Comacchio and the Reno River. The last German defensive line in Italy collapsed on April 18, 1945, under the attack of the Churchills of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment and the infantry of the 36th Brigade. The front in Italy fell apart, the slow Churchills did not have time to pursue the rapidly retreating Nazis. On April 21, the allied forces took Bologna, on April 26 they crossed the Po River and entered Verona. Two days later, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, who were trying to cross the Swiss border, were killed by Italian partisans in the town of Dongo. On April 29, the commander of the German forces in Italy, General Heinrich von Vietingoff-Scheel, signed an act of unconditional surrender in Caserta and surrendered to the English Field Marshal Alexander with his almost million-strong army.

The invasion of the European continent in the summer of 1944 involved two tank brigades: the 34th Army (107th, 147th and 153rd Regiments of the Royal Tank Corps) and the 6th Army Guards (4th Grenadiers, 4th Coldstream - and 3rd Scots Guards battalions*), armed with Churchill tanks. Both brigades had Churchills of various modifications: both armed with 6-pounder guns and 75-mm ones. It should be noted that in tank forces The British army no longer had any other infantry tanks at that time. The only exceptions were a few “Valentines”. used as forward artillery observer vehicles and command tanks in anti-tank units armed with Archer self-propelled guns.

Moreover, most of the Churchills were concentrated in the 31st Brigade.

From the family of various special equipment created on the basis of the Churchill, first of all comes the Churchill-Crocodile - without a doubt, the most famous flamethrower tank in the world. It was developed in 1942. The supply of nitrogen-based fire mixture was located in a single-axle armored trailer. towed by a tank. The mixture was supplied to the flamethrower through a flexible pipeline running under the bottom of the tank hull. The flamethrower was installed in the control compartment instead of the Besa machine gun. The firing range of the flamethrower was 120 m.

However, they were also very vulnerable: one well-aimed shot from an anti-tank gun at a trailer led to its explosion, and the flames often spread to the tank. Even if the crew managed to leave the car, this did not mean salvation. Captivity was not an option for the tankers - during the Second World War, soldiers of all armies shot flamethrowers on the spot. True, after using up the fire mixture, it was possible to detach the trailer, and the tank could fight as usual. The main disadvantage of the Crocodile was the rapid drop in gas pressure, which displaces the fire mixture from the trailer, so the crews had to pump in gas immediately before the battle.

The most widespread special-purpose vehicle created on the basis of the Churchill was the Churchill AVRE (Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers) combat engineer tank. The vehicle did not have standard weapons - a smooth-bore 290-mm mortar was mounted on the front armor plate of the turret, firing 20-pound bombs that turned any dugout or pillbox into a shapeless pile of rubble. The mortar was loaded from the muzzle; this function was performed by a shooter from a front-mounted machine gun. There were several variants of the Churchill AVRE assault tank - a fascine carrier, a bridge laying machine, a self-propelled crane, a temporary road surface laying machine and others. In total, over 700 linear vehicles of models III and IV were converted into various modifications of the Churchill AVRE tank. To overcome anti-tank ditches, scarps and ravines, 50 vehicles of variants II and IV were converted into Churchill ARK bridge tanks, and another 200 into Churchill Bridgelayer bridgelayers. The ARK was a linear tank without a turret, with folding ramps located at the front and rear. Another ramp was mounted on the body, rigidly fixed. The tank crawled to the bottom of a ravine or ditch, the ramps folded back, and a bridge was created. If it was necessary to overcome very wide ditches, several of these vehicles could stand one after another.

Based on the Churchill, several modifications of minesweeper tanks with roller, knife and striker type trawls were created. Some of these trawls could also be installed on ordinary linear tanks.

It was the various engineering assault "Churchills" of the 79th Tank Division that were among the first to land on the French coast on D-Day - June 6, 1944. Their task was to overcome numerous enemy fortifications in the coastal strip, which they, in general, did a good job of. However, more than once they had to use their standard cannon weapons. Here it would be useful to note that these “monsters”, hung with trawls, fascines and guides for launching extended mine clearance charges, operating on land like ordinary tanks, made a much greater contribution in this capacity to the successful course of hostilities than when using their special engineering equipment . The 31st Army Tank Brigade entered the battle on June 26, 1944. Two of its regiments, the 7th and 9th Royal Armored, supported the advance of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division southwest of Caen. The third regiment of the brigade, the 141st Tank Regiment (141 st RAC), armed with Churchill-Crocodile flamethrowers, was dispersed along the front and operated in the second echelon. After heavy fighting, tankers and Scottish infantry crossed the Odon River and began a battle on the outskirts of Hill 112.

Squadron C of the 7th Tank Regiment was the first to attack. The Churchills were supported by a battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Having crossed the crest of the height, the British came under targeted fire from German tanks. German snipers also caused considerable damage. The fact is that platoon and squadron commanders often went into battle standing in the turret hatch. This position is certainly

provided better visibility, but was too risky. In the battle for Hill 112, two regimental headquarters officers and three platoon commanders fell from sniper bullets. Despite serious losses, the British managed to knock the Germans out of the reverse slope of the height. Enemy counterattacks were unsuccessful. On July 15, the 34th Army Tank Brigade entered the battle. She had to fight hard battles against German tank units, repelling the attacks of the Tigers and Panthers. The 153rd Essex Tank Regiment was especially hard hit. In a matter of minutes, the Panthers knocked out 12 Churchills from the Essexians. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Wood, was wounded, the Essex troops were led by Major Norris King - the same one who commanded the “Royal Forces” at El Alamein. However, the British were already convinced that Normandy was not El Alamein. One English tank officer, who had just arrived in France, recorded a conversation with his regimental adjutant about tank affairs at the front.

What is the most important thing for Germans?
- “Panthers”. A Panther can run through a Churchill like butter a mile away.
- How does “Churchill” overtake “Panther”?
- Sneaks up on the Panther. When direct contact occurs, the gunner attempts to fire a shot into the enemy tank's embrasure shutter below the gun. If he succeeds, the projectile will pass through the thin armor above the driver's head.
- Has anyone succeeded?
- Yes. Davis from S Squadron. He is now in the rear at headquarters, trying to regain his nerves.
- How does Churchill overtake the Tiger?
“They say you need to come to a distance of two hundred yards and shoot through the periscope.”
- Has anyone succeeded?
- No.

Meanwhile, the 15th Scottish Division was transferred to another sector, in the area of the city of Caumont, where it replaced the exhausted 53rd Infantry Division. Now the Scots were supported by the "cher-chilli" of the 6th Guards Brigade. On July 18, they attacked Hill 309, trying to prevent German attempts to flank American troops - not far from Caumont there was a junction between the 2nd British and 1st American armies. Persistent attempts to gain control of the height continued until July 30. For almost two weeks, 174 Churchills, several Crocodiles and well-trained, battle-hardened Scottish infantry could not break through the German defenses. Frontal attacks were not successful, but the first attempt to bypass the height was crowned with success. On the right, the strong point was bypassed by tanks of the 4th Coldstream Guards battalion with infantry on the armor, on the left - by the 3rd Scottish; At this time, the guards grenadiers, pinning down the Germans, staged another frontal attack. By evening the British captured the heights.

The battles in the Comon area turned out to be the most intense tank battles on the Western Front in the summer of 1944. It was here, supporting the infantry, that the Churchills showed their best qualities. In some cases, no other Allied tank could cope with the tasks that the Churchills performed. To make up for the heavy losses in other units, the 153rd Tank Regiment of the 34th Brigade had to be disbanded in August and replaced by the 9th Royal of the 31st. On September 10, the Churchills of the 34th Army Tank Brigade entered Le Havre to enthusiastic greetings from the French.

At the beginning of 1945, squadrons of the 6th Guards and 34th Tank Brigades were concentrated near the Dutch city of Nijmegen. They were to participate in the assault on the Reichswald (“Imperial Forest”), a large forested area in northwestern Germany, which was a natural element of the Siegfried Line. The German command considered the forest impassable. The offensive began on February 8, 1945. On the right flank the tanks of the 34th Brigade were advancing, on the left, in the direction of Kleve - the 6th Guards. Tanks and infantry slowly, step by step, made their way through the thicket. Some Churchill trees were uprooted, others had to be cut down. Within six days, British troops completely suppressed German resistance in the forest. The assault on the Reichswald was perhaps the last operation in which tank brigades equipped with Churchills were used. The fighting on this section of the front ended when the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, in cooperation with the 17th American Airborne Division, crossed the Rhine and occupied the city of Munster. However, individual Churchill-Crocodile flamethrower tanks continued to be used in battles until May 8, 1945.

On the Leningrad Front in April 1943 there were 49 divisions. Guards TPP, which was armed with 21 Churchill tanks and three Universal armored personnel carriers. This regiment, together with the 36th division that arrived at the Leningrad Front. Guards TPP, fought until the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. The 50th Separate Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment fought as part of the Volkhov Front, operationally subordinate to the 8th Army, from March 17, 1943. A rare case - this unit, in cooperation with other units, had to act in accordance with its tactical purpose - to break through the enemy’s long-term defense line. While operating Churchill tanks in wooded and swampy areas, our tank crews noted their insufficient maneuverability and inability to cope with the conditions of the Russian winter. In particular, after a few days of operation, all standard catalytic heaters, at the request of the tankers, were replaced with domestically produced stoves.

The Churchills also took part in the Battle of Kursk. For example, the 5th Guards Tank Army in the battles near Prokhorovka included the 15th (10 MK.IV) and 36th (21 MK.IV) Guards breakthrough regiments. Subsequently, the 15th regiment received KV-1S tanks, and the 36th was again replenished with Churchills and was transferred to the Leningrad Front. The 10th division arrived in the 1st Guards Tank Army in mid-July. Guards TPP, and on July 21, in cooperation with the 39th Tank Brigade, 174th and 57th Infantry Division, he attacked enemy positions in the direction of Andreevka - Petropole - Kopanki. During the battle, the tanks were cut off from the infantry and almost all were knocked out - on the first day, 16 Churchills burned down. After this, the regiment was taken to the rear and rearmed with other equipment. On July 13, 1943, the 34th Guards Division arrived to the Bryansk Front. On August 5, 1943, his Churchills were the first to break into Oryol.

Post-war period

Machine evaluation

Assessing a combat vehicle several decades later is a difficult matter. As a rule, due to a shortage of factual material. And really - what can you operate with? Tactical and technical characteristics, far from complete descriptions of combat operations and reviews from contemporaries, sometimes not very objective. Therefore, when the author gets into the hands of a document from those years, which gives a comprehensive assessment of the combat vehicle, it is luck! Time has preserved an interesting document - “Report on short-term tests of the English heavy tank MK-IV “Churchill” at the NIBT Test Site of the GABTU of the Red Army,” dated September 16, 1942. Let us turn to the chapter “Conclusions”, having first noted that the tank of the Churchill III modification was tested.

I. Evaluation of the combat properties of the MK-IV tank.

Comparison of the main tactical and technical data of the MK-IV with domestic tanks KV-1 and KV-1S. Comparing the main tactical data of the MK-IV heavy tanks. KV-1 and KV-1 S, we can say the following. The MK-IV tank is inferior to the KV-1 and KB-1C tanks in terms of cannon power, but has advantages in armor protection. The MK-IV tank has three times more ammunition for machine guns compared to KV tanks.

Armor-piercing grenade from a 57 mm cannon mounted on a MK-IV tank. penetrates the armor of two sides of the German T-III medium tank. with a total thickness of 60 mm from a distance of 950 m.

The MK-IV tank has a significantly lower power density and, as a result, a lower maximum speed. Despite this, the MK-IV tank is inferior in average speed to the KV-1 and KV-1 S tanks. In terms of power reserve, the MK-IV and KB tanks are equivalent.

II. Assessing the reliability of the MK-IV tank and its operational data

1. The English heavy tank MK-IV has insufficient reliability in the operation of individual units and is an unfinished vehicle, both in design and production terms.

2. The MK-IV tank does not overcome slopes well when moving with a roll, due to the tracks being thrown off. The maximum roll of 20° is insufficient. In addition, even when moving with a roll of less than 20°, the possibility of dropping the tracks cannot be ruled out.

3. Fuel consumption is quite normal in all road conditions.

III. Tank design assessment

1. The armored body is somewhat unusually elongated and, accordingly, reduced in width and height. The bow of the hull turned out to be low-lying between high-rising tracks, which were covered with large mud flaps. This creates poor visibility for the driver and shooter. Periscope viewing devices installed near the driver and gunner do not increase visibility much. When the gun is positioned along the tank, the edge of the barrel does not extend beyond the dimensions of the mudguards and is located between them. This leads to the fact that when firing from a cannon in this position, the gas wave tears off and breaks the front mudguards of the tank.

2. Viewing devices installed in the tank turret provide satisfactory visibility. Similar devices were installed in the Polish Vickers tank produced in 1939.

3. The tank engine is a completely modern auto-tractor type design. The engine design is made with minimal use of highly scarce non-ferrous metals and is designed for mass production. Along with these advantages, the engine of the MK-IV tank is an unfinished design, and therefore its reliability in operation should be questioned.

4. In the tank transmission, the rotation mechanism, made in one unit with a manual gearbox, deserves serious attention. The turning mechanism ensures that the tank rotates in place, ease of control of the tank when moving and high maneuverability for a heavy tank. 5. Hydraulic control drive with servomechanisms makes it easier to control the tank.

6. The chassis was not strong enough for a 40-ton tank. As short-term tests have shown, the internal support rollers fly off from the axles of the bogies due to welding, after this the outer support rollers along with the axles are lost, the balancers of the bogies begin to rub against the caterpillar and quickly fail. The support rollers of the bogies, with their flanges, are adjacent to the track tracks, which is why the rollers and tracks have increased wear. The rollers become very hot during movement, which is associated with increased friction of the rollers on the caterpillar. The caterpillar fingers have insufficient mechanical strength and break.

Conclusion

1. The English heavy tank MK-IV "Churchill" in its armament, armor protection and maneuverability can lead effective fight with tanks of the German army.

2. In this form, the MK-IV tank is an unfinished vehicle, both in design and production terms. During operation in military units the MK-IV tank will require frequent repairs with the replacement of individual parts and entire units.

3. Separate units of the tank (the turning mechanism in one unit with the gearbox, etc.) are an original design and can be recommended for implementation in the domestic tank building.”

The assessment is quite detailed and comprehensive, however, given even before the appearance of the Tiger and Panther, with which Churchill, as well as our KB, could no longer fight. But this, in principle, was not part of Churchill’s function. Well, he successfully coped with the task of supporting the infantry until the end of the war. Assessing the design and operational characteristics of the Churchill, it is necessary to note an interesting fact. Trying to create the most invulnerable infantry tank, which was also capable of overcoming fortifications with relative ease, the British programmed a number of parameters that were beneficial in one case and harmful in another. So, long length The hull made it easy to overcome ditches and trenches, but the vehicle had a L/B ratio of 1.72 (Tifus -1.12), which sharply limited its maneuverability even with a very successful transmission. The caterpillar coverage of the hull, on the one hand, allowed the vehicle to overcome obstacles that were inaccessible to other tanks, and on the other, led to a sharp increase in the damage to the frontal branches of the tracks. Almost all damaged tanks were hit in the frontal branches. In addition, in winter, the slides of the upper branch of the caterpillars became clogged with snow (this was especially evident in Russia), due to which the caterpillar rose above the turret ring and jammed it.

Sometimes you have to come across the opinion that the Churchill’s weapons were sacrificed for armor protection. This is not so - the British simply had nothing to sacrifice. During World War II, they never created a powerful tank gun, eventually adapting the 17-pounder anti-tank gun for this purpose. But it was too big for Churchill.

Nevertheless, the crews loved their combat vehicles. There was, perhaps, only one reason for this - powerful armor protection. Here it is appropriate to cite an episode from the combat operations of the 50th Separate Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment. On March 22, 1943, five Churchill tanks from this regiment under the command of Guard Captain Belogub attacked the enemy. Combat vehicles burst into German positions, where four of them were shot down and one retreated. The crews did not leave the tanks, and from March 22 to 25 they were in them and fired from the spot. Every night, machine gunners of the 50th regiment delivered ammunition and food to the tankers. In three days, the Churchills destroyed an artillery battery, four bunkers, an ammunition depot and up to two infantry platoons. The Germans repeatedly offered the crews of destroyed tanks to surrender, to which ours responded with fire. On March 25, tankers of the 50th division. Guards TPP managed to hook Belogub's tank with a tractor and tow it to the rear. The crews of three other tanks withdrew with the infantry. Without judging the organization of the battle that led to such a result, it should be emphasized that the crews who sat in the tanks for three days did not lose a single person killed. The tankers' lives were saved by the Churchill's armor, which German artillery was unable to penetrate during this time.

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