Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)
Contents
Description
The Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany) is a Rank III premium German heavy tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB) and 4.3 (SB). This vehicle was introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour".
The Pz.Kpfw. Churchill is a German captured Churchill Mk III in the German tech tree, it has virtually no differences to its British tech-tree counterpart, other than being painted grey (with the same tone as the Panzer IV and Panzer III).
The Pz.Kpfw. Churchill is one of the best heavy tanks in rank III, sporting heavy frontal armour, a 6 pounder gun that is suitable for its rank, and 30 smoke grenades that are fired separately from the roof, Great for covering great areas with smoke. The Churchill also has great gun depression and turret traverse, meaning it can fire at different targets very efficiently.
There are very few enemies which can successfully penetrate the Churchill, the M10 and the Achilles can quickly take care of this vehicle even at long ranges! Other tanks like the Jagdpanzer IV, the Jagdpanzer 38(t), and the Dicker Max can also make quick work of the Churchill, but only in arcade battle, as in realistic battle, they all belong in the same tree.
This vehicle has a few weaknesses which are important to be aware of before charging into battle. First is low acceleration with a maximum speed of only 24.9 km/h, so it’s merely jogging speed as opposed to charging. The tank is also very bulky, difficult to manoeuvre, and is also a large target. Combine those weaknesses with thin roof armour and this tank becomes the perfect prey for fighter-bombers and rocket attacks. The side armour is not as strong as it’s frontal armour, meaning it is vulnerable to flanking.
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?
If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability as well as the maximum speed forward and backwards.
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
Additional armament
Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
Usage in the battles
Like it’s British counterpart, the Churchill can be used as a very efficient brawler with its excellent turret traverse and gun depression, combined with its heavy frontal armour. Though in urban environments, you should be careful in case someone tries to flank your weak side and rear armour.
If you aren’t uptiered, you can effectively enter a battle, absorb all the shells that could’ve been fired at your weaker, lesser teammates, and either engage them with your 75mm gun, which is adequate against light and medium tanks, or let your teammates return fire, as the Panzer IV F2, Flakbus, and other german vehicles, as the majority posses superior firepower compared to the other regions in rank III (Except for other TD’s, such as the American M10 and British Achilles)
Pros and cons
Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".
Pros:
Cons:
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
ETC.
Sources
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- topic on the official game forum;
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