Some Books on the Churchill

Here, we have the book about the Churchill, and the important and rather helpful one, the modelling book, dedicated to the Churchill. The Churchill may not be one of the main players in the armor scene in WW2, but it sure had produced some interesting approaches and significant support contributions in its role as the "specials", particularly during the later part of the war. And don't forget, from the Churchill comes the Centurion. That one, was good design.

First up, is a book totally dedicated to the Churchill. This British behemoth of a tank deserved first a good look on its history, adventures throughout WW2, and great amount of technicalities in the David Fletcher book. David Fletcher was the curator at the British Armor museum, an expert on the history of British armor. This book is well presented with highly detailed technical diagrams and some interesting wartime and production photos. The information in this book is mostly for those who are highly interested in, well, this British tank.



And here is the modelling book by Mark Bannerman to give that Churchill a huge blessing. Should be a looker. It is best, however, to put up a totally creative approach to modelling the Churchill, but this book should be helpful in identifying interesting points and parts to consider. At least, here's what Armorama's Mark Smith said of this book, "Not just for Churchill fans, as the techniques on these pages could be out to use on many other modeling projects. A definite must have from this modeler’s point of view, very highly recommended for any and all treadheads alike!"

Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.IV Churchill Mk.VII

There are some interesting looking Churchill models out there. Any Normandy beach landing involving Canadians and the British, one may want to have a Churchill down there. If possible, The AVRE with an assault bridge on.

The Mk VII  is the second major redesign from previous models, were along with the Mk VIII, over 1,600 were produced, compared to 1622 Mk IVs. The VII used the 75 mm gun. It was wider and had much more armor, sort of a Heavy Churchill. This particular Churchill first saw action in the Battle of Normandy, right after the landing on June 1944, and was re-designated A42 in 1945.

First, here's a Tamiya 1:35 British Infantry Tank Mk.IV Churchill Mk.VII. I admit, this is an Amazon product but the review for this product given here is, well, helpful, especially the video that you can find at the review section. No assault bridge though, might want to put on the bridge and probably some dentures or burns to the model. Note the Mk IV is designated to the infantry tank role, and the Mk VII is specifically the tank model itself.


Well, here's the picture:

Does it come with the Tommies? Yes. And here is the box:

One nice Churchill on a plain white background. Okay, now to the inside, and some basic notes on assembly.

Inside there are five set of sprues, the upper hull, and the lower tub. And then there are the Tamiya vinyl tracks. Four of the sprues are dark green, along with the hull itself. Okay colors, though, nice finishing but may want to give it a better shade of green and rust before putting up the decals, at least for the more detailed modelers. Then there is the grey sprue, and this is the three Tommies and the farmer cart. Click here for the sprues.

The Churchills

Well, THESE British armors of WW2 are interesting. The British were known to have had created the idea of an "Infantry Tank", primarily used, for its namesake, as to support the infantry.

These infantry tanks are generally well armored, better in comparison to other British tanks such as the cruiser tanks and due to being so, they are slower. As a direct support to the infantry by maneuvering in adjacent to the men, the infantry tanks did not need high speed capability, serving its purpose advance in tandem with the infantry.

The first two infantry tanks were the Matilda I and the Matilda II, both respectively designated as Mk I and Mk II. They are well known for their roles in North Africa and as land lease to the Soviets during the early phase of the war.

The other tanks are the Mk III Valentine and the well-known Mk IV Churchill. The Churchill was first used significantly in the Dieppe Raid and later in Italy and North Africa, but did not gain as much widespread use

The Churchill used in Dieppe

as in the Normandy Campaign.

The Churchill was often used in multiple support roles, as Churchill Crocodile , in which the machine gun was replaced with flame thrower, mine clearers, and the crucial assault bridge layers on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, despite the British shores (Juno and Sword) faced less resistance than the Omaha one. However, the tanks are to play important roles leading up to holding the point at north to west Normandy over Caen and its vicinity, while the American are to sweep through Brittany.

They are designated as heavy tanks. While the basic doctrine of the Germans during this period is to break through your enemy, the British rely more or so on keeping their distance, which was to ourange the enemy. The role of the infantry and the artillery were important to serve this doctrine, and a heavy tank support, well, were well used in the Churchill.

1/35 Sd.Kfz. 184 Elefant '44 DML61005

This is the 1/35 Sd.Kfz. 184 Elefant '44 DML61005. The elefant is a tank destroyer designated "heavy", or in German, schwerer Panzerjäger. It was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1943 and was named the Ferdinand. The following picture is the product.

The Elefant was built on the chassis and body of a Tiger but was equipped with an 88mm Pak 43/2 L/71 anti-tank gun, the one used as the flak antitank gun in most of the Western Front. The Ferdinands were poor in the Battle of Kursk, and modifications were made for the Elefant. The Elefants were additionally equiped with MG-34s for better firing vision and zimmerits were added.

Dragon T-34/76

This is the Dragon Models 1/72 T-34/76 Mod. 1941. The T-34/76 was used by the Soviets in Leningrad in 1942-1943 against the invading Germans. The Germans did not made it in Leningrad, and the T-34s they encountered led them to design what would be the Panther, to counter the T-34s.

Note the smaller turret compared to the T-34/85, arguably the most well designed tanks of the war taking into account of costs, production and usability. The 76 indicates the 76mm gun used on the tank while the  T-34/85, uses the more powerful 85mm guns to match the firepower of the Germans. The picture below shows the T-34/76 tank with what could be Polish badge.

Tamiya 1/35 German Panther Med Tank Kit

The Panther medium tank was one of the more intimidating tanks of the Wehrmacht during the second half of WW2. Designed to be the main medium tank to counter the Russian T-34s and replace the Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs in the Eastern Front, the tank saw action in both fronts.

Regarded as the best tank design of the war, it later serve as the basis for later post-war tank designs of what would no longer be designated as light, medium or heavy but rather as "Main Battle Tanks".

The ppicture shows the Tamiya 1/35 German Panther Med Tank Kit and is one of the many different Panther Tanks. This Tamiya Kit is similar in scale to the previous King Tiger and is customizable in terms of colours and various decorations.

Tamiya 1/35 King Tiger "Porsche Turret"

And now, it's the King Tiger with the Porsche turret. The Porsche turret was mainly equipped to the King Tigers in its early stages and was not widely employed later on the war.

Here is the image link

Tamiya 1/35 King Tiger "Production Turret"

This is the Tamiya 1/35 King Tiger "Production Turret" as posted last week. At 1/35 scale, this is fairly well done and well priced at US$30.86 for now, subject to change. Previously was at US$47.00.

Here is the image:

The turret, as stated, is the production turret, or the henschel turret, as it was done by henschel after the previous turret, porsche were no longer in for the turret of this particular model.

Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV) Ausf. H

Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), or commonly known as the Panzer IV is the most common medium tank used by the Nazi Germany in World War II. Primarily designed as an infantry support tank and not to be used against other armors, the Panzer IV quickly developed into more versatile roles upon encounters with the Soviet T-34s in the Eastern Front. The habit of the Germans to deploy vehicles with highly specific roles is well shown as the Panzer III is used for engagements with other armors. Throughout the war, the Panzer IV served as the main base for many other types of fighting vehicles. The notable ones are the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun. Below is a picture of the Panzer IV Ausf. H with side skirts.

Panzer Kpfw IV Ausf. H began production in April 1943 and was designatied Sd. Kfz. 161/2. This variant saw the integrity of the glacis armor improved by manufacturing it as a single 80-millimetre (3.15 in) plate. Zimmerit paste was added to all the vertical surfaces of the tank's armor to prevent adhesion of magnetic anti-tank mines. The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5-millimetre (0.20 in) side-skirts and 8-millimetre (0.31 in) turret skirts.

During the Ausf. H's production run its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel; the hull was fitted with triangular supports for the easily-damaged side-skirts. A hole in the roof, designed for the Nahverteidigungswaffe, was plugged by a circular armored plate due to shortages of this weapon. These modifications meant that the tank's weight jumped to 25 tonnes (27.56 short tons), reducing its speed.

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II "Königstiger"

The Tiger 1 is definitely the iconic tank of the European Theatre of World War II. The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. B is the improvement on the Tiger 1, and is dubbed the "Königstiger", which literally means  "Bengal Tiger" in German, but to the allies, the words are transliterated into "King Tiger". It was reported to be the most powerful combat tank of the period.  The name King Tiger did conjure an image of a highly superior heavy tank, much feared by the allies.

The tank may only became significant during the later stages of the war, but planning had already began in 1941 and the first 13 productions were out in 1943. Throughout 1944, 377 were produced and further 100 within the first three months of 1945, as by that time there were insufficient fuel and crew members left to operate such a heavy tank.

The first turrets were desugned and built by Krupp for Porsche (Porsche Turret) , and later  Krupp for Henschel, the Production Turret. The Tiger II was powered by 12 cylinder Maybach HL 230 P30 engine producing 700hp with an 8-speed Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 B gearbox (8 forward and 4 reverse). The gun used was the huge (at the time) 88mm KwK 43 L71 tank gun. The picture shows the King Tiger with the Porsche turret.

The tank is notable for its sheer size and curved turret and mantlet. While only a few was produced, the Tiger II was a force to be reckoned with.

Hello

Hello.

This is my first post. This blog centers on various military model kits. While primarily World War Two tanks and vehicles, model kits from other eras are not ruled out as they are as interesting. The next post is on the King Tiger, or the Tiger II used by the Wehrmacht during the late stages of World War Two.