Dragon Models 1/72 Churchill Mk.III, 48th Royal Tank Regiment "Sprinter IV", England 1942
The Churchill infantry tank is a most distinctive design with its extremely long chassis and wraparound tracks. Named after the British minister of defense of the time, the Churchill tank was very well armored. It was produced in a series of versions that offered thicker armor and more powerful armament as the war progressed. The Mk.III, weighing in at 39,626kg, arrived on the scene in March 1942. It featured a 6-pounder gun in the all-welded turret, and the hull-mounted howitzer fitted in previous variants was deleted. Its baptism of fire was in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, plus the Mk.III was also famously involved in the failed landing at Dieppe in northern France. As part of its prodigious output of brand new 1/72 scale toolings, Dragon Armor has issued a model of the Churchill Mk.III. This is Dragon Armor’s very first Churchill, and indeed it’s also the very first British-designed tank of WWII to feature in the series. To create this mark, the correct turret and auxiliary fuel tank are present. It’s finished in an unusual, but typical of the 1942 period, coat of khaki brown paint. This color was known officially as Standard Camouflage Colour 2 (S.C.C. No.2). This tank belonging to the 48th Royal Tank Regiment (48 RTR) carries the name “Sprinter IV” on both sides of the turret. For modelers wishing to strengthen their tank regiments and to get their hands on something British, this “outstandingly brown” Churchill is a must-have item.