rexford Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Did the British mix Churchill types within large and small units, so that one might come across a small unit of 4 Churchills with a mixture of Churchill VI (88mm front armor) and Churchill VII (152mm front armor). Would larger Churchill units mix the VI and VII types? Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipanderson Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Rexford, hi, “Did the British mix Churchill types within large and small units, so that one might come across a small unit of 4 Churchills with a mixture of Churchill VI (88mm front armour) and Churchill VII (152mm front armour).” Yes… in all theatres where Churchills were used. And in Italy, there is more, in Italy not only did they mix different types of Churchill, but they mixed Shermans and Churchills in the same squadrons. I would have to rummage around to find the exact source, but I have a book with photos and text showing/explaining the mix in tank units in Italy, and can see the photos in the minds eye of the four or so Shermans and Churchills lined up in Italy and the explanation of how they mixed them. In summary. In both NWE and the Med, all types of current Churchills were mixed in any given unit. But 6prd Churchills were very rapidly replaced by 75mm models with both the heavy and light armour. Remember a very large number of Churchills were converted to 75mm in both the Med and NWE. In the Med using the Sherman mantlet. Plus, in the Med often 1/3-1/2 of tanks in “Churchill” units were in fact often Shermans. All the best, Kip. PS. best book on Churshills is "Mr.Churchill's Tanks", by David Fletcher. If you do not already have it, you would love it. David Fletcher is the chap who runs the archive at the Bovington Tank Museum. He is the curator as well. Good chap, very helpful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexford Posted January 4, 2004 Author Share Posted January 4, 2004 Pushing the envelope a bit further, did the British ever attach Firefly tanks to Churchill units? I bought a ton of 1/87 scale Churchill tanks for miniatures wargaming and am looking to see if an occasional Firefly in support would be historical. The question also came up during our CMBO scenario designs. Given the weak armor on the lighter Churchills in France and their woeful 75mm gun during tank battles, it would seem prudent and logical to attach a Firefly for important help should a Panther or Tiger show up. Thanks for help. Lorrin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletRat Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 A bit OT but I gotta say those are FUGLY lookin tanks! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 I do not believe there was any mixing of Churchills and Shermans in Normandy or elsewhere in NWE. Therefore no Fireflies and Churchills there. Can't comment on Italy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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