Churchill Tank

Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22)
Churchill Mark IV with a 75mm gun
Type	Infantry tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1941–52 (British Empire)
Used by	United Kingdom Soviet Union Canada Ireland Poland
Production history
Designer	Harland and Wolff (A20) Vauxhall Motors (A22)
Manufacturer	Vauxhall Motors
Produced	1941 to 1945
Number built	7,368 (all types together)
Variants	See below
Specifications
Weight	39.1 t (38.5 long tons) (Mark I) 40.7 t (40.1 long tons) (Mark VII)
Length	24 ft 5 in (7.44 m)
Width	10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height	8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver, co-driver/hull gunner)
Armour	For Churchill I-VI: 102 mm hull front, 89 mm hull side, 51 mm hull rear, 89 mm turret front, 76 mm turret side and rear Mark VII-VIII - 152 mm hull and turret front, 95 mm hull sides and turret sides and rear, 51 mm hull rear
Main armament	QF 2 pounder (Mark I and II) QF 6 pounder (Mark III and IV) QF 75mm (Mark VI and VII) QF 95mm (Mark V and VIII)
Secondary armament	Two 7.92mm Besa machine guns 3 inch howitzer (Mark I)
Engine	Bedford horizontally opposed twin-six petrol engine 350 hp (261 kW) at 2,200 rpm
Power/weight	9.1 hp (6.7 kW) / tonne
Transmission	Merritt-Brown 4-speed constant-mesh epicyclic gearbox
Suspension	Coiled spring
Operational range	56 miles (90 km)
Speed	15 mph (24 km/h)
Steering system	Triple differential steering in gearbox

The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British heavy infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war.

The origins of the design lay in the expectation that war in Europe might be fought under similar conditions to those of the First World War, and emphasized the ability to cross difficult ground. The Churchill was rushed into production to build up British defences against a possible German invasion. The first vehicles had flaws that had to be overcome before the Churchill was accepted for wide use. After several Marks had been built, a better armoured version, the Mark VII, entered service.

The Churchill was used by British and Commonwealth forces in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe. In addition, a few hundred were supplied to the USSR and used on the Eastern Front.

There is some ambiguity regarding whom the tank is named after. It may have been named after Winston Churchill, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Minister of Defence at the time, and had been involved with the development of the tank as a weapon during the First World War. Alternatively, and fitting in with other British tank names, it may have been named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill and the leader of the British Army in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Initially specified before the outbreak of the Second World War the (General Staff designation) A20 was to be the replacement for the Matilda II and Valentine infantry tanks. In accordance with British infantry tank doctrine and based on the expected needs of World War I-style trench warfare, the tank was required to be capable of navigating shell-cratered ground, demolishing infantry obstacles such as barbed wire, and attacking fixed enemy defences; for these purposes, great speed and heavy armament were not required.