The "Churchill" began life as a 1939 requirement that envisaged a return to trench-warfare, and was therefore slow and heavily armored like the Russian KV-1 series. That said, the final Churchill prototype was much lighter than had first been thought acceptable, although it still resembled a World War I tank in appearance. Rushed into production at a time when a cross-channel invasion seemed imminent, it suffered early reliability problems and was not fully introduced until 1943. Early combat experience during the ill-fated Dieppe raid in 1942 was disappointing, but the vehicle proved more mobile in the rough terrain of North Africa. The tank excelled in its specialized variants, which include the AVRE, Crocodile flamethrower tank, bridgelayer and more. In fact, it wasn't until the 1960s that the last Churchill was finally retired.

This particular 1:50 scale replica of a Churchill Mk. III medium tank was used by the British Army's 34th Tank Brigade, 107th RAC (5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment Lancaster) during the D-Day invasion. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 5-inches
Width: 2-inches

Release Date: June 2004

Historical Account: "King's Own" - The 34th Tank Brigade was formed in 1941 and trained in the Southeast of England, first as an independent brigade, then as part of 1st Division and the 43rd (Wessex) Division until nine months before D-Day, when it became an independent tank brigade once more. D-Day found the Brigade waiting for orders to move and they eventually made the crossing on D+10 (June 16th). Due to severe weather conditions off the beaches of Normandy, they were unable to transfer to shore until June 23rd. The bivouacked in a hay field close to 12 Corps HQ and waited for the Brigade.