Churchill Mk.II
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Churchill Mk.II

Shown here is Churchill Mk.II 'Shaver' of 2 RTR on exercise in the UK in 1942.
In the summer of 1940 there were two contenders for the role of a heavy tank for the army; Stern's TOG and the Belfast built A20.

As the only two factories with tank experience were heavily involved with other projects (Vickers were building the Valentine, and Woolwich Arsenal were building the Matilda II),the contract was given to the Vauxhall Motor company.

Vauxhall to their credit, although they initially had reservations about accepting the contract, set about developing the A20 and the result the A22 (Churchill) rolled off the production line early in 1941.

The A22, due to its rushed production, however suffered from a number of faults including insufficient space for the 3-inch Howitzer (later replaced by a BESA Machine Gun, an electrical system which would allow the turret to be only slowly hand cranked when switched off, and a 350hp engine that was prone to overheating.

Despite its faults, the A22 Churchill served throughout the Second World War and beyond. Production running to eight marks and was the basis for many "funnies" during the later war years.
 

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