Tankopedia
WW2HeavyHeavy TankUnited Kingdom

Churchill (Infantry Tank Mk IV)

In service 1941 - 1950s

A slow, immensely strong infantry tank with unmatched climbing ability and the most versatile chassis of the war.

Built byVauxhall Motors

Churchill (Infantry Tank Mk IV)
Tanks and AFVs of the British Army 1939-45, KID1265 — War Office official photographer, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

Rushed into production in 1940 with serious mechanical defects, the Churchill matured into a tank prized for crossing ground nobody thought passable, as at Longstop Hill in Tunisia. Its long track run and multiple bogies gave superb obstacle performance, and the Mk VII carried armour as thick as a Tiger's. The hull became the basis for Hobart's Funnies: the AVRE, Crocodile flamethrower and bridging and carpet-laying variants used on D-Day.

Photo gallery

Period photographs with source and licence details.

3 images

Variants

One canonical record, 5 recorded variants.

  1. Mk I-II

    1941

    2-pdr turret with a hull howitzer; mechanically troubled.

  2. Mk III-IV

    1942

    6-pdr gun, welded or cast turret; used at Dieppe and in Tunisia.

  3. Mk VII

    1944

    Heavier 152 mm frontal armour and the 75 mm gun.

  4. AVRE

    1944

    290 mm Petard spigot mortar for demolishing obstacles.

  5. Crocodile

    1944

    Flamethrower with a towed 400-gallon fuel trailer.

Notable actions

  • Dieppe Raid (1942)
  • Tunisia (1943)
  • Normandy (1944)
  • Operation Veritable (1945)