Churchill AVRE
In service 1944 - 1960s
Also known asAssault Vehicle Royal Engineers, Churchill AVRE Petard
Hobart's engineering tank: a Churchill with a dustbin-throwing mortar for blowing up bunkers and obstacles.
Built byVauxhall Motors
Photograph pending. No clearly licensed photograph of this vehicle was found.
Development history
Converted for the Royal Engineers, the AVRE traded its gun for a Petard spigot mortar firing a 40 lb demolition charge at close range, and carried fascines, bridges, mats and mine ploughs on detachable frames. It went ashore on D-Day with 79th Armoured Division and remained the British army's standard engineer tank concept for decades.
Notable actions
- Normandy landings (1944)
- Walcheren
- Rhine crossing