Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany)

This page is about the premium heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany). For other versions, see Churchill (Family).

▀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

Description

The Churchill tank was an infantry tank produced by Great Britain intended for supporting an infantry assault with its armour and firepower. The Churchill tank's first action was during the disastrous Dieppe Raid in August 1942, which saw a number of them committed then lost when the Allies were unable to recover the tank during their retreat. The Germans captured these tanks and subjected them through evaluations. Their initial impressions were poor, thinking the Churchill tank as obsolete. The captured Churchills were repurposed within the Wehrmacht in roles such as Beutepanzers or shore fortifications.

Introduced in Update 1.55 "Royal Armour", the Pz.Kpfw. Churchill is a German captured Churchill Mk III that is distinguished by being painted grey (with the same tone as the Panzer IV and Panzer III) and possess white Wehrmacht markings. 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. However, the low acceleration and speed makes it a slug on the battlefield, making it difficult to manoeuvre and a large target against enemy guns. The thin roof armour also means that the tank is perfect prey to fighter-bombers and rocket attacks.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull89 / 76 / 51

Turret89 / 89 / 76

Crew5 people

Visibility87 %

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

Speedforward / back

AB30 / 3 km/h

RB and SB28 / 3 km/h

Number of gears4 forward

1 back

Weight39.0 t

Engine power

AB668 hp

RB and SB350 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB17.1 hp/t

RB and SB9.0 hp/t

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

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB1 303

RB1 330

SB1 894

Crew training10 000

Experts210 000

Aces550

Research Aces790 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 100 / 140 / 150 %

2 × 154 / 154 / 154 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive 57mm_britain_6pdr_APC_ammo_pack Adjustment of Fire 57mm_britain_6pdr_APCBC_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism Smoke grenade

Armaments

Main armament

57 mm 6pdr OQF Mk.V cannon

Shoulder stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in one plane while moving

Ammunition85 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

5.2 → 4.0 s

Vertical guidance-12° / 20°

57 mm 6pdr OQF Mk.V					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	85	-12°/+20°	±180°	Shoulder	19.4	26.9	32.6	36.1	38.4	5.20	4.60	4.24	4.00
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot Mk.8	APC	116	111	94	76	62	50
Shot Mk.5 HV	AP	115	111	93	75	60	49
Shot Mk.9	APCBC	132	127	110	91	75	63
Shell Mk.10	HE	9	9	9	9	9	9

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot Mk.8	APC	883	2.87	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.5 HV	AP	891	2.8	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
Shot Mk.9	APCBC	847	3.23	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°
Shell Mk.10	HE	655	2.72	0	0.1	590	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Churchill III (identical)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
85	82 (+3)	43 (+42)	22 (+63)	5 (+80)	1 (+84)	No

Notes:

• Racks disappear after all shells in the rack have been shot or loaded.
• Turret empty: 82 (+3) shells.

Optics

Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany) Optics
Which ones	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x1.85	x3.5
Comparable optics	Pz.IV G

Machine guns

7.92 mm BESA machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition9 450 rounds

Belt capacity225 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.92 mm BESA
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	9,350 (225)	600	N/A	N/A

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.

This tank can be effectively be played in a brawling style, going into the front lines. This tank, due to its excellent armour and gun, can even hold off an entire enemy flank with minimal backup. In city maps, be careful not to expose your side armour as it is quite weak and your engine might get damaged. With its good gun, it can be as a support tank as well, in the second line destroying tanks. Angle your armour to maximize its effectiveness. When frontally angled, even the sides will be tough to penetrate. Many tanks will struggle penetrating you. There are some tanks that you don't even need to worry at all penetrating you from the front, such as the Panzer III. Angling your armour will make you even tough against the high penetration Panzer IV F2. However, be aware of higher penetration tanks. The M10 is a worthy mention as most of the time it might be able to penetrate your armour. The far deadlier Achilles can penetrate your front with little effort. Thus, it is advised to take cover, angle, or destroy them first. Shermans are not much threat since they won't really penetrate your armour, but sometimes they do. They are easy to deal with as your 57 mm gun can punch straight through. Your 57 oddly does a lot of damage for a 57 mm gun. It can one shot Panzer III's, and sometimes Shermans if you aim correctly. Overall, the Churchill III is a very powerful Rank III vehicle that is capable of holding off an entire flank, while destroying tanks easily in quick succession.

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, 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. and other German vehicles possess superior firepower compared to the other country vehicles in rank III (Except for other special TDs, such as the American M10 GMC 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
• Good penetration
• Slow speed makes it easy to hit enemies after a shortstop
• 30 individually fired smoke grenades, great for covering points and areas with smoke
• Good gun depression
• Has access to a low-speed stabilizer for firing on the move, pairs well with the vehicle's slow speed

Cons:

• No HE filler for any rounds, unless hitting an ammo rack, it will require multiple shots to take the target down
• 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 livery
• Machine gun port is only 50 mm
• Roof armour is very thin, can be penetrated by .50 cal rounds
• 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 grey colouration and marked with prominent Iron Crosses on the sides of the turret. The rest of the captured Churchills were repurposed for secondary combat roles, destroyed, or taken apart, with their turrets being used as improvised beach defences at Dieppe after the raid.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Pz.Kpfw. Churchill (Germany) from live.warthunder.com.

See 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.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Vauxhall Motors Limited
Infantry Tanks
Tank, Infantry, Mk IV, Churchill (A22)	Churchill I · Churchill III · Churchill VII · Churchill Crocodile
Tank, Infantry, Black Prince (A43)	Black Prince
Tank Destroyers	Gun Carrier (3-in)
Captured	▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill

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)