Britain Inf Tank Mk IV (Churchill 3 - III) Ordnance classification - A22

Tweet The Inf Tank Mk IV was designed in 1941, manufactured by Vauxhall Motors based on the existing fully tracked Churchill and was in use from 1942 to 1945. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1942 - 1945 Ordnance classification A22 Quantity Produced 675 Weight 38.5 tonne Crew 5 M.G's small 2 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 7.51 mtr Width 3.28 mtr Height 2.49 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 16 mph Max Cross Country Speed 8 mph Range Road 90 miles Range Cross Country 36 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity 190 gal Horse Power 350 hp Power/Weight 9 hp/tonne General Information The Inf Tank Mk IV was designed in 1941, manufactured by Vauxhall Motors based on the existing fully tracked Churchill and was in use from 1942 to 1945. The vehicle was powered by Bedford '350HP' petrol powerplant producing 350 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 16 mph with a range of about 90 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was adequate providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 36 miles. It was armed with 2 light machine guns. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III which could penetrate 105 mm of flat plate at 100 metres The Churchill Infantry tank was designed as a tank that could cope with movement through heavily shelled areas, and provide adequate protection for the crew this version was armed with the 6pdr gun. The vehicle was layed out in a similar way to the tanks from the First World War with the rear Bedford 350hp engine driving the tracks, to the front via small idlers to the fron main idler, then via 11small sprung road wheels. The first vehicles had many mechanical faults and hence many subsequent modifications . The Mk II had a hull mounted machine gun to the right of the driver to replace the 3inch howitzer in the Mk I. Armour Details Turret Front 152mm @ 0° (152mm) Side 95mm @ 0° (95mm) Rear 95mm @ 0° (95mm) Top 20mm @ 90° (20mm) Superstructure Front 152mm @ 20° (162mm) Side 95mm @ 0° (95mm) Rear 50mm @ 0° (50mm) Top 19mm @ 90° (19mm) Hull Front 50mm @ 70° (146mm) Side 95mm @ 0° (95mm) Rear 50mm @ 0° (50mm) Top 19mm @ 90° (19mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 162 mm - Minimum 19 mm Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 6pdr 7cwt MKI-III (Anti Tank Gun) History The 6pdr Mk II—differed from the pre-production Mk I in having a shorter L/43 barrel, because of shortage of suitable lathes. The subsequent Mk IV was fitted with an L/50 barrel, with muzzle brake. Manufactured 1942 - 1945 Calibre 57mm Length L/43   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content Shot, AP, Mks 1 to 7 (AP Armor Piercing) 57mm 2.86Kg 853M/Sec Quoted Penetration 68mm@915m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.12 0.24 0.5 1.09 1.78 2.61 3.61 4.86 Penetration(mm@30°) 90 83 74 63 53 44 35 28 Penetration(mm@0°) 105 96 86 73 62 51 41 33 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 77 41 22 8

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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