History, technical details and pictures

Mark IV Churchill Avre history

When the British declared war in 1939 to Germany, they decided to strengthen their armored fleet, considered too old. But in 1940, while the English engineers were studying a new model, the French and British troops had left Dunkirk: most British tanks were in the hands of the Germans.

To deal with this problem, studies of a new weapon project have began rapidly and soon the first model was available. But in the rush, all the early models of the new tank, called Cromwell, suffered from many defects.

The particular shape of the Mark IV tank (A22 and originally known as "Churchill"), was designed by engineers of the Vauxhall Motors company. This char has the same structure as the initial model, Mark I, designed for the First World War.

The version of Churchill Avre model is the mortar tank. Indeed, the tank does not have a 75mm gun like the basic Churchill tank. It is armed with a mortar able of destroying any obstacle and served as self-propelled artillery delivering close support to the infantry.

The Sherman "Crab" tank is one of the "Funnies", a nickname given to the armored vehicles invented by the British engineer Percy Hobbart.

Mark IV Churchill Avre sheet

Country creator/user: Great-Britain
Name: Mark IV Churchill Avre

Rate of fire: 7,65 m
Width: 3,25 m
Height: 2,45 m
Weigth: 39 600 kg
Maximum speed: 27 km/h
Range: 144 km

Engine: Bedford Twin-Six, 350 hp
Consumption: 334 L for 100 km

Front shield : 152 mm
Back shield: 35 mm

Speciality: self-propelled artillery