Churchill VII (with Crocodile)

Churchill VII (with Crocodile option) (BR080) Churchill Mk VII and Churchill Crocodile The Churchill Mk VII was the final production model of the Churchill Infantry tank. It saw service in Normandy and France, Holland, Italy and Germany as well as the Korean War. It included many improvements over the Churchill Mk VI.

It was substantially up armoured and incorporated an improved turret of a composite cast/welded construction, including a lip running around its bottom to reduce shot traps. The turret also had improved layout for easier crew access. The new turret was also fitted with a raised cupola to improve the commander’s vision during combat.

Many Churchill VIIs became Crocodile flame-thrower tanks, though numbers still made it into other Churchill units as replacements, where many company and platoon commanders snatched them up as their personal chariot. Because they were relatively new tanks when they first went into combat in Normandy they usually have the full track guards.

Another major difference is the layout of the hull front plate; both the machine-gun port and the driver’s vision cover are round. The hull side escape hatches are also round (earlier model Churchills had square hatches). The Churchill Crocodile differs from the Churchill VII by the addition of a trailer to carry the flame fuel. It’s also fitted with a hull mounted flame projector instead of a hull machine-gun. Other major differences are internal and aren’t visible from the exterior.

The Pack Inside you will get the parts to make either a Churchill VII or a Churchill Crocodile. The parts to assemble the Crocodile are an additional flame projector nozzle to fit in the hull front machine-gun port and the fuel trailer. The trailer comes with a body and two wheels. The tow shaft fits to the centre upper rear of the tank hull.

In Flames Of War The Churchill VII can be brought as an upgrade to the command tank of a Churchill armed Tank Platoon for an additional 55 points. The Churchill VII is a formidable tank with armour of F13, S8 and T2. It’s Fully-tracked and has Wide tracks. It is however a heavy tank so only moves 8”/20cm cross-country. It’s armed with co-ax and hull MGs and its main gun is the British OQF 75mm gun with Range 32”/80cm, ROF 2, AT 10, FP 3+, with Semi-indirect fire and Smoke.

Its heavy turret does mean it has Slow Traverse however. The Churchill Crocodile comes in platoons of three as an alternative armament for the Tank Platoon. It’s armoured and armed the same as the Churchill VII, but replaces the hull MG with a flame-gun. Like all flame-throwers in Flames Of War the Crocodile flame-gun can only be used for one turn.

It has a Range of 4”/10cm, ROF 5, ignores armour, and has a FP 5+. It’s hull-mounted and suffers all the normal Flame-Thrower rules and has a Fuel trailer so does not suffer from the normal Fuel tank rules. Designed by Evan Painted by Jeremy