Churchill: How the Red Army Soldiers Fought on the Most Invulnerable Lend-Lease Tank
Winston Churchill did not speak very flatteringly of the tank that bears his name, saying that it had more flaws than the Prime Minister himself. Nevertheless, despite a lot of design flaws, the Churchill became the only heavy tank that was supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program. Soviet tankers, on the other hand, rated the vehicle quite highly and fought on it skillfully and willingly.
Design Features
The Churchill was the perfect embodiment of the idea of a specialized infantry tank, which prevailed in the 1930s. It was planned that these heavily armored vehicles would advance along with the infantry, supporting it and destroying machine guns, anti-personnel artillery and bunkers. It was the armor that became one of the main advantages of this British tank. The 152 mm steel made the Churchill virtually invulnerable to German vehicles, at least until the mass appearance of the Tigers and Panthers.
But the tank could not boast of lethal power. The Churchill’s 57 mm cannon was already considered obsolete at the time of the outbreak of hostilities – it could not fire high-explosive shells, which significantly limited the combat use of the vehicle. In the USSR, the production of fragmentation and high-explosive shells of its own design was established, which were used on the Churchill. Later modifications of the tank finally received a 75 mm gun, which had this capability from the start. According to M.B. Baryatinsky’s book “Churchill Infantry Tank”, this modification easily hit the Tigers in the side from a distance of 800-1000 meters.
As for the tank’s performance, it was ambiguous. The low speed was partly compensated by good maneuverability and handling. The length of the hull was supposed to help overcome ditches, trenches, and trenches, but in fact, the tank’s cross-country ability was greatly hampered by the fact that with a lateral slope of more than 20 degrees, the tracks flew off it.
Combat Use
In the USSR, there were several combat formations equipped with British tanks. They massively participated in the Battle of Kursk and the liberation of Kiev, and some fought until the Victory. Since the Churchill was inferior to the domestic KV heavy tank in terms of its qualities and capabilities, the British was usually not spared. Therefore, in percentage terms, its losses are higher, but this does not at all indicate the ability or unwillingness of our tankers to fight on the Churchill. In many battles, the vehicle performed magnificently.
For example, M. B. Baryatinsky in his book “Lend-Lease Tanks in Battle” tells the story of March 1943, when four Soviet Churchills were immobilized on the battlefield. But the crews decided not to leave the vehicles and for three days fought with the enemy’s artillery and infantry. During the battle, Soviet soldiers destroyed a German artillery battery, four bunkers and several infantry platoons. There were no casualties among the Soviet tankers – their lives were saved by the powerful armor of the tanks.