Churchill MKVII - Memorial Of Operation Astonia - Walkaround.

The Infantry Mk VII Churchill was a British heavy infantry tank was the heaviest Allied tanks of WWII known for its heavy armour,
large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies and
its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles, like the AVRE and the Crocodile.

Development of the Churchill tank started as the A20 heavy tank just before the outbreak of wwii, with the idea of attacking a fixed defensive line, crossing wide trenches, possibly shell-cratered ground similar to wwi trench warfare.

Because the war in France was lost the development of the vehicle
changed and with a German invasion of Britain being imminent and the need of the A22 to enter production within a year was imminent.
By July 1940, the design was complete and by December of that year the first prototypes were completed. In June 1941, the first Churchill tanks began rolling off the production line.

Because of its hasty development, the Churchill was plagued with mechanical faults.
Most apparent was that the Churchill's engine was under-powered and unreliable. the 2 pounder was also inadequate and the production of a turret to carry the QF 6 pounder gun began in 1941.
The Churchill was used for the first time in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942 and did not preform great.
Production would almost cease in favor of the Cromwell tank, but the Mk III preformed great in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

The improved Mk VII, had even more armour and the British 75 mm gun, it would be used in the Battle of Normandy.

In Normandy it could cross terrain obstacles that most other tanks could not where the tank's ability to surmount obstacles was found to be of value was the capture of Hill 309.

The Churchill also was a versatile tank and was used in numerous specialist roles during D-Day and the remainder of the war.

Production would stop in 1945 after 5,640 were produced.
They would see action in the Korean War and remained in service in the British Army until 1952.

The Churchill tank at the Memorial of Operation Astonia, in the small town of Fontaine-la-Mallet in France has no historical information
it was placed here to honor the Allied attack on the German-held Channel port of Le Havre in France.

Fought from 10 to 12 September 1944, the Allied objective was to secure the harbour facilities intact, to deliver supplies to the Allied armies in Continental Europe.

The Allies would refuse civilians to be evacuated and during the bombardment of the city 2,000 civilians were killed. the port was badly damaged and the damaged to the infrastructure was severe and it would take a month to re-open the port.

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■ Information obtained from several sites.
■ Wikipedia
■ tanks-encyclopedia
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers
■ preservedtanks
■ pantser.net
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Tanks_in_France

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