History, technical details and pictures

Mark IV Churchill Fascine 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.

In order to improve the speed of their units during the assault of an objective, the Allied military engineers were asked to create a vehicle capable of removing obstacles. Thus the Fascine Churchill tank was born. The use principle dated from the First World War, when the infantry and tanks had to cross the no man's land.

Once the gap filled with woods transported by the Fascine tank, other vehicles and the infantry could cross immediately.

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 Fascine sheet

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

Length: 7,65 m
Width: 3,25 m
Height: 2,45 m
Weight: 39 600 kg
Maximum speed: 27 km/h
Range: 144 km

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

Main gun: 75 mm (6 pounds) Mk III ROQF gun
Secondary armament: two 7,92 mm Besa machine gun and one flame-thrower

Front shield: 152 mm
Back shield: 35 mm

Speciality: bridging obstacles like anti-tank ditches