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.

The Mk. III was the first major armament overhaul of the series, eliminating the hull howitzer and equipping the tank with a more powerful Ordnance QF 6-pounder gun with 84 rounds. It had a new welded, "cleaner", squarish turret (from Babcock & Wilcox Ltd) unlike earlier versions. The availability of rolled armor plate limited the number that could be built - leading to the Mark IV. The first Mark to have "catwalks" over the upper track runs to protect the tracks; examples later upgunned with the QF 75 mm gun are known as the Churchill III.

Pictured here is a British Churchill Mk. III medium tank. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/4-inches
Width: 1-inch

Release Date: April 2021