Fletcher, David/Morshead, Henry (Illustr.) Churchill Infantry Tank

David Fletcher's history of the most important British-made tank of World War II. The NVG covers all seven Marks of Churchill gun tank with variations and the curious self-propelled gun of 1941/42, but not the so-called "Funnies" or the armored recovery vehicle variants. It will begin with the prototype tank A20, which has not been covered in any detail before, then go on to look at all seven Marks of Churchill, in particular their different guns. The book will also look at the tank's service in Russia and later with the Irish, Jordanian and Australian Armies. It will also feature the disastrous Dieppe raid of August 1942, ending with a brief look at the Black Prince or super Churchill which was only developed up to the prototype stage at the end of World War II. The Churchill is an interesting tank, quite different from any other British tank of World War II, built outside the normal process of British tanks and the Department of Tank Design. It was built under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister, after whom it was named, by a firm with no previous experience of tank production. Despite being condemned as unsuitable and more than once being scheduled to be replaced by a better design this never actually happened. It remained in production and ultimately vindicated itself since, although it was slow and noisy it was found to have superior climbing ability and thicker frontal armor than the vaunted German Tiger. Its classification as an Infantry Tank has been extensively criticised although recently one or two authors, notably Americans, seem to have revised their views on this and even Field Marshal Montgomery, who advocated a Universal Tank to fulfil all roles, found the Churchill a useful tank on many occasions, particularly considering its ability to absorb punishment.

The book also deals with the use of the "Churchill" by the Red Army on the Eastern Front and its post-war use by the Irish, Jordanian and Australian armies. The disastrous Allied landing at Dieppe in August 1942 is also discussed, as is the "Churchill" variant "Black Prince", also known as the "Super Churchill", which was developed at the end of the Second World War but never got beyond the prototype stage. The "Churchill" is an interesting tank that differs from all other British tanks of World War 2. It was conceived and built outside the normal process for developing new tanks. The 'Churchill' was developed under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister, after whom it was named, by a company with no previous experience in tank production. Although the "Churchill" was condemned as unsuitable and plans were made more than once to replace it with a better design, this never happened. It remained in production and eventually proved its worth. Although the "Churchill" was slow and noisy, it was found to have excellent climbing capabilities and thicker frontal armour than the vaunted German Panzerkampfwagen VI "Tiger I". Its classification as an infantry tank was criticised by many, although in recent times various writers, particularly Americans, seem to have changed their minds, and even Field Marshal Montgomery, who had actually argued for a universal tank to perform all battlefield tasks, found that the 'Churchill' did useful work in many cases, particularly given its ability to withstand fire.