My good friend Bracken Anderson, ex North Irish Horse, has sent me a photograph of a Churchill Mark VII model, which I hope members will enjoy seeing. As was the practice of the NIH she was named after a town in Ireland, being in C Squadron her name was Castlerobin - in County Antrim. It was also the practice to give names a suffix indicating the number of tanks that had carried the name. Bracken's model is of the fifth and last in line replacing Castlerobin IV, an Na75.
Here's a phtograph of the last Churchill I crewed - that's me in the centre on top. It was a Churchill Mark V, her name Ballyrashane, B Squadron's Leader's tank. Although the 95 mm guns of some Mark Vs engaged targets at a range of 5,000 yards, our longest "stonk" was about half that distance.
Originally posted by Kiwiwriter@Aug 27 2004, 12:22 AM Great work on that model. Thanks for sharing. [post=27696]Quoted post[/post] i agree. keep up the good work
The North Irish Horse, leaving their Valentines inn Northern Ireland, arrived in England to be re-equipped Churchill Mark Is. Prior to leaving for North Africa, other than for six Mark Is, the Regiment received a total of fifty-four Mark IIIs. Each squadron had two as part of HQF (HQ Fighting) Troop being commanded by the Squadron's 2/IC and the Troop Sergeant. My first tank was a Mark I, her name was Bangor, and was one of the six that were shipped from the UK. The convoy ran into a heavy storm during which freighter H.127, carrying my Squadron's tanks, was damaged sufficiently forcing it to return home. After disembarking from HMT Duchess of York (she was sunk on her next voyage) at Algiers, while the remainder of the Regiment sailed further east, B Squadron remained in Algiers awaiting the arrival of the freighter carrying the Forward Delivery Squadron's Churchills. Fortunately, despite also suffering damage in the storm, she arrived safely, but with only one Mark I on board. As all the officers had sailed eastwards, SSM "Tubby" Docksey was in charge - he made an "executive decision" (probably egged on by Roy Burns who commanded Bangor) that the non-present 2/IC should have the Mark I, consequently I fought the war in Tunisia aboard a Mark III. At the conclusion of hostilities in North Africa, the Mark Is were replaced by the two Close Support Versions and modifications thereto - but that is another story. Here is a picture of one of our Mark Is heading toward Longstop Hill in Tunisia:
Thats a great photo Gerry - when & where was this taken? Hi Ryan, It was taken shortly after the war ended, near Rimini on the Adriatic coast - where the regiment had pulled back from north of the Po when hostilities ceased. Gerry
Churchil Close Support Marks. The difficulties first encountered on firing ranges, and confirmed when in action in Tunisia, saw the introduction of two Close Support versions. The Mark Ics had 3 inch howitzers bow and turret mounted, The Mark IIcs saw the switching of the positions of the howitzer and 2-pdr. Six were dellivered to each unit in the 25th Army Tank Brigade and 21st Tank Brigade after war's end in Algeria. Churchill Mark Ics Churchill Mark IIcs Copyright photographs reproduced courtesy Imperial War Museum. North Irish Horse Close Support Churchills were modified prior to shipping to Italy. Details to follow.
Churchills Mark I - the last version. With the mounting of the 3 inch howitzer in turrets the gun could be more effectively employed. Following test firing (both HE and smoke) on the large dried out lake Gara'et Fzära , south of Ain Mokra in Algeria, commanders were asked to report to the CO. While the general opinion that mounting a howitzer in the turret was an improvement, the problem for commanders that had manifested itself during firing exercises in the UK still existed - the difficulty of properly positioning tanks when battened down. A few weeks later, the Regiment's LAD OC Captain Garner was transferred to the REME Workshops located near to Bône, his place being taken by recently promoted Captain R.T.Whatley. A month or two later, Captain Whatley had occasion to visit his former boss with a requisition for spare parts. While they chatted, Captain Garner mentioned that he had recently returned from the main REME Workshop located near Le Khroub, a hilltop town north of Constantine, Algeria. While there, noticing the many damaged German PkW IIIs in the park, he took a closer look and came to the conclusion that their cupolas could be salvaged and fitted to the CS Churchills thereby solving the visibility problem. B Squadron's CS Churchills had the cupolas installed, including Bangor the first Churchill I crewed: Although a poor photograph of A Squadron's Ashbourne, the cupola is more clearly seen:
Churchill Mark II Essentially a Mark I with the 3 inch howitzer replaced by a BESA, as can be seen. Relatively few were built and, as with Mark I versions, had the turret mounted BESA to the right of the 2-pdr - giving responsibility to the operator for loading two guns. None of this Mark was delivered to the NIH. Here is one of the few colour photographs of Churchills. It shows Mark IIs of 43rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment on manoevres led by 'Shaver'. Note the original down-facing louvres.
