The A43 Black Prince was an experimental development of the Churchill VII fitted with the ubiquitous Ordnance QF 17-pounder tank cannon. It was designed as an interim for the specification of a "universal tank" (eventually resulting in the Centurion) that could replace both well-armoured infantry tanks such as the Churchill as well as powerfully armed cruiser tanks such as the Crusader and Cromwell. The large gun required a larger turret, resulting in a widening of the hull. The increase in weight had to be compensated by modification of the suspension system and wider tracks. Plans for other modifications such as a more powerful engine or installation of the Centurion's turret never came into fruition. The first of the six prototypes was completed in May 1945; by this time, similarly armed and significantly more mobile tanks such as the Sherman Firefly, Comet I, and Centurion were beginning to be or had already been introduced into service, and so the project was cancelled soon after. Only one example still exists, the fourth prototype, which is displayed in the Bovington Tank Museum.
The Black Prince was introduced in Update 1.53 "Firestorm" and was one of the first British tanks to be introduced into the game. The Black Prince offers a powerful gun, able to be equipped with APDS, capable of destroying Ferdinands, IS-2s, and other tanks from over 1 km away. The reload time is great for its rank, at a mere 7.6 s and when coupled with the tank's heavy armour, can stand as quite a lethal opponent. However, the armour, while still effective, is not as reliable as the Churchill's was at lower battle ratings when facing increasingly powerful armaments. Additionally, the extra 8.5 tons of weight compared to the already sluggish Churchill makes it extremely slow with a top speed of 17 km/h (10 mph) and only -2 km/h (-1 mph) reverse speed.
The Black Prince was initially available as a pre-order pack from the Gaijin store, but was discontinued after the 2017 Winter sales. It has since been made available in the store periodically for "Black Friday" sales in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
AP | 171 | 168 | 155 | 139 | 126 | 113 | |
HE | 20 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 13 | |
APC | 171 | 168 | 155 | 139 | 126 | 113 | |
APCBC | 190 | 187 | 172 | 155 | 140 | 126 | |
APDS | 269 | 264 | 246 | 226 | 207 | 189 | |
Smoke | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
AP-I/AP-I/AP-T | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Mobility | |
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Protection |
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Firepower | |
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