About the hero of today's story, the man in whose honor the tank is named said: "The tank that bears my name has more flaws than myself." At least many authors attribute this phrase to Sir Winston Leonard Churchill. Colonel of the British Army, Prime Minister of Great Britain, writer and military journalist, 1953 Nobel Prize laureate.
There is still no consensus about this machine among specialists and amateurs of military equipment. On the one hand, we see a lot of clearly outdated, even archaic design solutions, and on the other hand, the love of Soviet tankers for this particular heavy infantry tank.
Many publications about military operations with the participation of "Churchill" mention the battle fought by Captain Belogub's group on March 22, 1943. We had to find a description of this battle in order to find out how exactly the tank showed itself.
For a start - information that will be unexpected for some readers. All Soviet tanks "Churchill" MK-IV (MK. IV - the designation of tanks in various documents is spelled differently) were guards! An unexpected fact, isn't it? However, this is indeed the case.
The fact is that heavy tanks of Soviet and foreign production entered service in separate guards tank regiments of the breakthrough. These regiments received the title of Guards immediately from the moment of formation. The regiment included 21 heavy tanks and 214 personnel.
Those vehicles that, after being repaired, ended up in separate army or front-line regiments still remained guards.
For the first time "Churchill" MK-IV took the battle at Stalingrad. Two guards tank breakthrough regiments, the 47th and 48th, participated in the defeat of the encircled army of Paulus.
But back to the battle of Captain Belogub. On March 22, 1943, 5 tanks of the 50th separate guards tank regiment of the Churchill MK-IV breakthrough attacked the German positions. Tanks broke into the position, but the infantry was cut off by the Germans by artillery fire.
Four cars, including the commander's car, were hit. The remaining tank retreated to its original position, covering the retreating infantry.
The crews of the wrecked tanks decide to continue the battle in wrecked vehicles. Fortunately, the ammunition load of the tanks allows you to do this. Fight under German artillery fire. At night, the infantrymen brought ammunition and food to the tankers.
On March 25, a tractor managed to reach the tanks. The commander's tank was tugged. The crews of other tanks left the vehicles and retreated with the infantry. The result - not a single dead tanker! Churchill's armor withstood everything!
Very often even experts underestimate this car. There are many flaws that stick out in every possible way and advantages that they prefer not to notice. For some reason, the opinion is implanted that the British sacrificed everything for the sake of enhanced booking.
But in the Red Army of that time, few believed in their word. Trust but verify. Especially when it came to military equipment. Churchill passed the same test. Moreover, the British tank was evaluated in comparison with the Soviet KV-1 and KV-1S. The material is taken from the article "Churchill infantry tank" by Mikhail Baryatinsky.
So, "Report on short-term tests of the British heavy tank MK-IV" Churchill "at the NIIBT proving grounds of the GABTU of the Red Army, dated September 16, 1942.
According to this report, our specialists have identified the shortcomings and positive qualities of this machine. Specifically, for each point, we will analyze the conclusions below. But the general conclusion about the suitability of the machine for putting into service with the army of the USSR is given in full:
"The British heavy tank MK-IV" Churchill "in its armament, armor protection and maneuverability can effectively fight the tanks of the German army.
In this form, the MK-IV tank is an incomplete machine, both constructively and in terms of production. During operation in military units, the MK-IV tank will require frequent repairs with the replacement of individual parts and whole units.
The individual units of the tank (the turning mechanism in one unit with the gearbox, etc.) are of an original design and can be recommended for implementation in the domestic tank building industry."
Here it is necessary to make a small digression from the story. The conclusion of the commission is given for a specific MK-IV tank. Churchill had 11 modifications! These machines were not supplied to the USSR, therefore, in order to save time, we will postpone the discussion of materials on this topic for the future.
Let's take a closer look at the car. And let's start with the case. Moreover, the case is really interesting both in design and execution.
The frame of the "Churchill" hull was assembled from corners in the form of a rectangular box! Further, sheets of ordinary steel were attached to the frame with rivets. And the body already received was weighed with armor steel. Who is there claiming to invent Lego?
The conclusion of Soviet engineers: "The MK-IV tank is inferior to the KB-1 and KB-1C tanks in terms of the power of cannon armament, but it has advantages in armor protection." It would be really strange not to recognize the advantage in armor in terms of the armor thickness ratio of 152-77 mm for the MK-IV, 95-75 mm for the KV-1 and 82-60 mm for the KV-1S.
To facilitate the location of components and assemblies inside the vehicle, as well as weapons and crew, the hull was made as wide as possible. To do this, we had to go back to the layout that was used on the first tanks.
The design solution was to hide the undercarriage under the body of the car. Vauxhall Motors engineers have successfully completed this task. The tank got just a gorgeous power compartment. And the weapons could be positioned as desired.
Another task was solved, which is always set by tankers to designers, but is rarely performed. Tanks "Churchill" got a side door at the level of the control compartment for the evacuation of the crew!
We consider it necessary to clarify some of the controversial details. Namely, the length and width of the Churchill's hull. The dimensions were determined not by the whim of the designers, but by the technical tasks and operating conditions of the tank.
Let's start with the length of the car. To explain this phenomenon, it is enough to remember the purpose of the machine. Heavy infantry tank. That is, a tank designed to penetrate the enemy's fortifications and support the infantry offensive.
What are the main types of such structures used? Trenches and anti-tank ditches. The elongated corps made it possible to overcome wide ditches, which, according to the combat regulations of their armies, would equip enemy positions.
The narrowness of the case is also easy to explain. The tank is designed for combat. And he doesn't have to make marches of 500-600 kilometers. For this, there is rail transport. So everything is also simple, the width of the Churchill corresponded to the width of the railway platforms in the UK.
The assessment of our engineers on the tank hull:
“The armored hull is somewhat unusually elongated and, accordingly, reduced in width and height. The bow of the hull was low-lying between high-rising tracks, which were covered with large mud collectors.
This creates poor visibility for the driver and shooter. Periscopic viewing devices installed near the driver and the shooter increase visibility a little.
When the gun is positioned in the direction of the tank, the edge of the barrel bore does not go beyond the dimensions of the mud collectors and is located between them. This leads to the fact that when firing from a cannon in this position, a gas wave tears off and breaks the front mud collectors of the tank."
Looking ahead, we note that this also explains the low maximum speed of the car - 28.1 km / h (KV-1 - 35, KV-1S - 43 km / h) at approximately the same speed on the highway (MK-IV - 25, 4, KV-1 - 24, KV-1S - 22 km / h) and on a country road (17, 5, 18 and 16 km / h, respectively).
The Churchill towers are no less interesting. The towers were of three types. Cast, welded and combined. MK-III had a welded turret, and MK-IV - cast.
In addition, the towers, while retaining their internal identity in the location of units, observation devices, weapons, and even hatches and hatches, had some differences in appearance and size.
The power plant is the same on all Churchills. 12-cylinder, horizontally opposed liquid-cooled Bedford "Twin-Six" carburetor engine with 350 hp. at 2200 rpm. Displacement 21 237 cm cc.
Each three cylinder of the engine had its own carburetor. In total - four Solex 46FWHE carburetors.
The assessment of our engineers is as follows:
"The engine of the tank is a completely modern design of an autotractor type. The design of the engine is made with a minimum use of highly scarce non-ferrous metals and is designed for mass production. Along with these advantages, the engine of the MK-IV tank is an incomplete design, and therefore its reliability in operation should be questioned ".
The fuel was stored in seven tanks. Six main, three tanks located on both sides of the engine. The spare tank was located on the outside of the body, but had a connection to the fuel system of the machine. The capacity of all tanks is 828 liters.
The cooling system has two radiators located on either side of the engine. System capacity 118 liters.
Circulating lubrication system with dry sump. With two pumps - supply and suction. The total capacity of the lubrication system is 50 liters.
British engineers also made sure to save the crew when the tank was hit by the engine. The engine compartment was separated from the fighting compartment by an armored steel partition. In the case when the fighting compartment was hit, the engine and transmission remained intact.
The chassis of the tank is also quite interesting. The caterpillars were of two types. Either 356 mm wide and 211 mm pitch (70 tracks), or with the same width but 202 mm pitch (72 tracks).
On each side there were 11 twin small diameter road wheels. Individual spring suspension.
Interestingly, there were no support rollers on the machine. The tracks slid along special guides, as was the case on the first tanks.
In general, the chassis was extremely unsuccessful. Especially in combination with the body length. The tank could not overcome even small climbs. Even the Russian ingenuity, when the specialists of one of the regiments increased the lugs, did not help much.
But driving on slopes was even more dangerous. Even when moving with a roll of less than 20 degrees, the tank often dropped its tracks. At 20 degrees or more, track loss was the norm. That was a big problem in Russia.
Undercarriage Engineers' Assessment:
The undercarriage was not strong enough for a 40-ton tank. As shown by short-term tests, internal road wheels fly off the axles of the bogies, after which the outer road wheels are lost along with the axles, the balancers of the bogies begin to rub against the caterpillar and quickly fail.
The support rollers of the bogies with their flanges adjoin the tracks of the tracks, which is why the rollers and tracks have increased wear. The rollers get very hot while driving, which is due to the increased friction of the rollers on the caterpillar. Track pins lack mechanical strength and break."
The presence of two antennas raises a lot of questions. The explanation for this phenomenon is simple. Churchillies were equipped with a simplex telephone and telegraph radio station No. 19, which was capable of operating in two bands - HF and VHF. She also provided intercom for five crew members.
Each band requires its own antenna to operate. Thus, the HF antenna provided communication over a distance of up to 15 km. When working by telegraph - up to 32 km. And the VHF antenna provided telephone communication at a distance of up to a kilometer.
Naturally, the connection required an additional charger. He was in MK-IV. It is a single cylinder carburetor engine with a generator. This unit made it possible to charge the battery during any stop.
We deliberately left the story about the weapons at the end of the part about the design of the tank. The fact is that the armament of these machines, even of one modification, can be completely different. It all depends on the specific purpose of the tank.
First of all, it is necessary to explain one inaccuracy that many admit when talking about the first modifications of the Churchill. These machines never had two guns like the American M3 Lee or Grant.
What then is in the photo? How to understand the presence of two barrels?
Above we wrote about the original purpose of this tank. Heavy infantry tank. Fighting enemy tanks using modern war tactics was the task of artillery.
And the 40-mm (two-pound according to the English classification) Mk IX cannon in the turret provided the necessary power of the vehicle's anti-tank defense. Its armor penetration was sufficient at that time.
The gun that was installed in the Churchill's hull was a howitzer! More precisely, a tank howitzer 3 Howitzer OQF Mk I or Mk IA of 76 mm caliber. And the howitzer is intended for exactly the same purpose for which all guns of this type are intended.
We are interested in the cars that came to the USSR under Lend-Lease. These are tanks of two modifications MK-III and MK-IV. The tanks are almost the same except for the turret. MK-III had a welded turret, while MK-IV had a cast one.
The armament of the tanks was also different. Tanks of these series were usually equipped with 57 mm (6-pounder according to the English classification) Mk-III cannons. By the way, it was such a machine that was tested at the NIIBT proving grounds of the GABTU of the Red Army, which we wrote about above.
However, in the USSR, tanks were already supplied with Mk-V (75-mm) cannons, with a barrel length of 36.5 caliber. The gun has a semi-automatic wedge breechblock. Rate of fire - up to 20 rounds per minute.
Vertical guidance from - 12, 5 ° to + 20 ° using a screw-type lifting mechanism. Electric release - foot. The ammunition load of tanks of models VII and X consisted of 84 rounds.
The tank was armed with two 7, 92 mm Besa machine guns. Let not be surprised by such a strange caliber for Britain, instead of 7, 69 mm, at the heart of this is a Czech machine gun with such a German caliber. One machine gun was a course one, with an elevation angle of +17 degrees and a declination of -8 degrees. The second machine gun was paired with the gun. Ammunition was 4950 rounds.
And again, the conclusion of Soviet engineers on MK-IV:
"The MK-IV tank has three times more ammunition for the machine-gun armament than the KV tanks. The armor-piercing grenade of the 57-mm cannon mounted on the MK-IV tank penetrates the armor of two sides of the German T-III medium tank with a total thickness of 60 mm. distance 950 m ".
On some machines, it was possible to install anti-aircraft machine guns. More precisely, a Lakeman anti-aircraft gun was installed on special mounts for a 7, 7-mm infantry machine gun Bgep. Ammunition of this machine gun was 594 rounds.
The Churchills had one more feature. There is a 50.8 mm (2 in) mortar on the turret of the tank! Initially, it is designed for the installation of smoke screens. Mortar weight 7, 6 kg. Regular ammo - 30 smoke mines. The firing range of smoke mines is 137 meters.
Soviet tankers quickly realized that smoke mines were not very relevant for breakthrough tanks. But the "idle" mortar in the war is a great luxury. The soldier's ingenuity worked quickly (we could not find the author of the invention).
Our army used a 50-mm company mortar. The mines of this particular mortar became additional weapons of the Churchills. Moreover, fragmentation mines flew farther than smoke mines - 415 meters. Vertical angle of fire - from + 5 ° to + 37 °; horizontal - 360 °!
Sights for the British were also their own. Sight No. 50x3L Mk I was used for the cannon and coaxial machine gun. Telescopic sight No. 30 Mk I was used for the machine gun.
The car you see in the photographs is one of the Churchill modifications. To be precise, what you see is Churchill Crocodile. "Crocodile" in the name has nothing to do with water. Making a 40-ton car float is difficult.
"Crocodile" - a flamethrower tank based on MK-IV. In museums of other countries you can see "Crocodiles" of a later modification - MK-VII.
So, the design of the flamethrower tank. This is the second version of this design. The first option was using Churchill II. The car was named "Churchill Oak". He used a Ronson flamethrower.
A tank with a fire mixture was installed at the stern of the tank. A hose was laid along the left side and attached to a hose, which was installed between the front protrusions of the caterpillar bypass. The mixture was fed by means of a pneumatic system using nitrogen pressure.
Alas, these flamethrower tanks did not even reach the battlefield during the landing at Dieppe. They were destroyed. And the very idea of such a flamethrower tank became unpopular. Getting into the tank with the fire mixture made a huge torch out of the tank.
But soon a second version of the flamethrower appeared. Now the fire mixture was not located on the tank, but was transported in a special armored tank. The principle of operation is the same as before. The vehicle entered service in 1943.
The cart was connected to the tank through a special fitting, and then the fire mixture went through a pipe laid under the armor. A much more practical option, the armor still needs to be pierced.
"Crocodile" could spit fire at 120-140 meters.
Here, by the way, a mortar pipe is clearly visible on the tower.
In total, 5,460 Churchill units of all modifications were produced during the war. Of these, 301 units got to the USSR. And despite the rather modest number of these tanks on the fields of the Great Patriotic War, the car was lit up in many iconic battles.
We will recall some episodes. The 48th Separate Guards Tank Regiment, already mentioned by us, took part in the liberation of Kiev on November 6, 1943.
In the Battle of Kursk, two breakthrough guards regiments in the 5th Tank Army - 15th and 36th - distinguished themselves. At the end of the battle, the regiments were reorganized. The 15th was already equipped with Soviet KV-1S. Both were transferred to Leningrad.
There they fought with the fascists of the 49th and 36th breakthrough regiments. They fought until the liberation of the city. The 50th Breakthrough Regiment was part of the Volkhov Front.
The 82nd separate regiment took part in the liberation of not only Leningrad, but also Tallinn and even the Moonsund Islands. The 21st Separate Guards Breakthrough Regiment was the first to break into Vyborg.
Today it is possible for a long time and dreary to compare how bad or good the Churchill was in comparison with the KV.
If you look very thoughtfully, then in terms of armor, weapons, functionality, Churchill was in no way inferior, and in many respects even surpassed domestic heavy vehicles. If he was taught how to drive, the British would not have had a price.
Unfortunately, thick armor and a good cannon (and the Churchill's cannon “took” all Germans, including the Tiger, from a distance of 800-1000 meters without any problems at all) - this is not the main thing in battle. Speed and maneuverability are important components for a tank, in addition to the above.
So in aggregate "Churchill" still loses to our KV, whatever one may say.
Well, the traditional tactical and technical characteristics of the machine:
Performance characteristics of the MK-IV "Churchill Crocodile" tank from the collection of the UMMC Museum of Military Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.
Combat weight, t: 40
Dimensions, mm:
- length: 7440
- width: 3250
- height: 2490
- ground clearance: 530
Armament:
- 75 mm cannon, 48 rounds of ammunition;
- machine gun 7, 92 mm;
- flamethrower "Ronson", firing range up to 140 m, b / c 1818 hp.
Reservation, mm:
- body forehead: 152
- hull side: 76
- tower: 95
Engine: horizontally opposed 12-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor "Bedford" "Twin Six".
Power, HP: 350.
Maximum speed, km / h: 28/20 (with a trailer).
Cruising in store, km: 245.
Crew, people: 5.
