Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)

▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill

▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill

Germany

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	4.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Heavy tank

Purchase:1 750

Show in game

This page is about the captured British heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany). For other Churchill tanks, see Churchill (Family).

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.

This vehicle has a few weaknesses which are important to be aware of before charging into battle. First is its 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 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

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 battles, as in realistic battles, they all belong in the same tree.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	30	3	39	452	668	11.59	17.13
Realistic	28	3		310	350	7.95	8.97

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 about 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 battles

Like its British counterpart, the Churchill can be used as a very efficient brawler with its excellent turret traverse and gun depression, and 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 are not in an up-tiered situation, you can effectively enter a battle and absorb all the enemy rounds which could’ve been fired at your weaker teammates and either engage the enemy with your 57 mm cannon or let your teammates return fire. Companion vehicles such as the Panzer IV F2, "Flakbus" and other German vehicles possess superior firepower compared to the other country vehicles in rank III (Except for other special TD’s, such as the American M10 and British Achilles) and can in most cases hold their own.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Long, tough hull is easily angled
• 90 mm turret armour is effective at medium & long range
• Large tracks can absorb shells fired at the side
• Fast turret traverse; easy to engage people without turning
• 57 mm gun reloads quickly with good penetration
• Premium tank earns more rewards after a match
• Fewer enemies that can kill you in RB and SB, as you are in the German tree
• Slow speed makes it easy to hit enemies after a shortstop
• 30 individually fired smoke grenades, great for covering points and areas with smoke

Cons:

• Large target; easily spotted by bombers/fighter-bombers
• Very poor speed, both forward and backward
• Unangled armour fares poorly at close ranges
• Lack of camouflage; only Urban grey and Winter
• Machine gun port is only 50 mm
• Roof armour is very thin
• Engine mostly affected when hit from the side or turret
• Large tracks are vulnerable to damage

History

The German military first encountered the Churchill tank in August of 1942, following the disastrous Dieppe raid made by British and Canadian military elements. On August 8th, the Churchill Mk IV made its debut, as almost 60 of them had been allocated to assist the 6,000 British and Canadian troops raiding the beach. Of those, only the first 30 were deployed, and of those 30, one became trapped in its damaged landing craft, another two sank, and 11 were disabled by indirect fire and rough terrain. Despite the losses, this was the first successful use of heavy tanks in amphibious landings. In the chaotic evacuation that followed, the tanks that had deployed and survived the raid were unable to be recovered by the British and were abandoned. They, along with many other examples of British equipment, were captured by the Germans.

These tanks were later evaluated by the Germans. Though none were damaged by direct anti-tank fire, the Germans had come to the conclusion that the tanks were virtually obsolete, too underpowered and lacking proper firepower. Two of the twenty-nine tanks captured at Dieppe were used as Beutepanzers and saw service with the German military, repainted into the German standard gray coloration and marked with prominent Iron Crosses on the sides of the turret. The rest of the captured Churchills were repurpoused for secondary combat roles, destroyed, or taken apart, with their turrets being used as improvised beach defenses at Dieppe after the raid.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.

Germany heavy tanks
Tiger 1 (Henschel)	Tiger H1 · Tiger E · ␠Tiger
Tiger 1 (Porsche)	VK 45.01 (P) · Pz.Bef.Wg.VI P
Tiger 2	Tiger II (P) · Tiger II (H) · Tiger II (H) Sla.16 · Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K)
Super heavy tanks	Maus · E-100
Trophies
Great Britain	▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill
USSR	▀KV-IB · ▀KW I C 756 (r) · ▀KW II 754 (r)