Churchill Mk.III (USSR)

The **Churchill Mk.III (USSR)** is a Soviet Heavy Tank. The tank was leased to the Soviet Union in May 1942 but its usage by Soviet forces was delayed until the latter half of the year due to many of the tanks lost on route via the Arctic Convoys.

The origins of the Churchill's design lay in the expectation that war in Europe might be fought in conditions similar to those of the First World War, and thus emphasised the ability to cross difficult ground. The Churchill was hurried into production in order to build up British defences against a possible German invasion. The first vehicles had flaws that had to be overcome before the Churchill was accepted for wide use.

## History

### Lend Lease & Trials

The Churchill was leased to the Soviet Union with 301 vehicles total with the 1st 25 vehicles being delivered in May 1942. Of the 301 vehicles these included 45 Mk. IIs, 151 Mk. IIIs and 105 Mk. IVs with 43 of them being lost at sea; 20 of these 43 were lost in June 1942 alone, this delayed their adoption into the Soviet Army by a few months.

After much reviewing of the tank at inspection yards upon reaching the Soviet Union, they had deemed the Mk. IIs inadequate because of their QF 2 Pounders. And the inspectors also warned the tank would require constant maintenance in the field. Nevertheless much like the Soviet counter-parts the tank was deployed with separate breakthrough tank regiments with the task of infantry support. However not all 258 Churchills were built to standard, it was discovered that 55 Churchill Mk. III tanks delivered in September 1942 had brake defects and had to be corrected and wouldn't see service until 1943. By January 1943 the Mk. IV had started to be delivered with fewer and fewer Mk. IIs and IIIs with the final delivery in November 1943. A long break had occurred between March and November 1943, which was the final nail in the coffin for the Soviet Churchills, as the Soviets stopped placing orders.

Due to the heavy losses of Churchill tanks in the arctic convoys, the ones that did arrive were assigned to the 194th Tank Training Brigade along with Matilda and Valentine tanks where crews would train on the British equipment until September 1942. Independent Guards Tank Regiments were formed in October 1942 and were to be equipped with these new British vehicles. The regiments that received the Churchills were the 47th, 48th, 49th, and 50th Independent Guards Tank Regiments with the 50th only having Mk. IIs but later received 2 Mk. IIIs.

Despite being formed in October 1942, the regiments would have a poor introduction to the Churchills after more and more defects were found. Some had defects with the QF 6 Pounder; Springs were replaced and recuperator cylinders bored out. Cast tracks broke, as well as drive sprocket and idler axles. Another issue discovered in November 1942 was the poor traction on ice and snow. These issues were solved in the field by the 47th regiment, which welded grousers onto the tracks of tank. Overall, the number of tanks with defects was not encouraging. In the 47th Guards Tank Regiment, 12 tanks had one issue or another, 16 tanks in the 48th regiment, 15 in the 49th, and 8 tanks in the 50th. The 50th would not retain their Churchills for long as they would be eventually replaced with KV-1s in December 1943 and later again by the infamous IS-2

### Combat Usage

##### Stalingrad

The 48th Guards Tank Regiment was the first to be battle-ready. It was assigned to the Don Front on December 31st, 1942. On January 21st 1943, the regiment supported an attack by the 216th and 218th Rifle Regiments on the Gumrak station on the outskirts of Stalingrad. The regiment's losses were 4 damaged tanks, 1 man dead, and 3 wounded. The regiment attacked German positions at the outskirts of Gumrak on the next day. After a loss of two tanks burned up and 5 knocked out, the regiment returned to its original positions. Another attack would take place on January 24th and managed to complete their objective and take Gumrak. The Churchills capitalized on their success and chased the Germans for another 9 kilometres. On January 29th the regiment was assigned to the 93rd Guards Rifle Regiment. The new objective was to clear Stalingrad of German forces. Street fighting broke out, where the regiment destroyed 4 German tanks, 20 guns, 45 machineguns, and about 100 cars on January 30th alone. The losses in materiel were small: only 2 tanks were irreparably lost, the ones that burned up during that attack on Gumrak. 6 more required major repairs, and 13 needed light repairs. Considering that these tanks were mastered with great difficulty, it is not surprising that so many of them were in need of repairs.

The 48th was not the only regiment with Churchill tanks to fight at Stalingrad. The 47th Guards Tank Regiment, a part of the 65th Army since January 9th, was fighting nearby. Towards the end of January, the regiment was fighting at the Barricade factory, with only 3 vehicles remaining in service. As with the 48th regiment, most of the vehicles were not lost completely, and just needed to be fixed up.

##### Prokhorovka

A new wave of Churchill regiments began forming in the spring of 1943. This was connected with receiving over 150 tanks through the Arctic convoys. Tanks of this type were sent to the 10th, 15th, 34th, and 36th Guards Heavy Tank Regiments. In addition, the tanks of the 47th and 48th Heavy Tank Regiments were refreshed and sent to the Kursk salient. The 48th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment entered battle on July 6th, 1943, losing 8 tanks on the first day (one was knocked out by German aircraft), claiming 23 tanks and 13 SPGs knocked out. The regiment retreated to Prokhorovka on the next day, acting alongside the 21st Tank Brigade. 7 more tanks were lost during the retreat, but the regiment claimed 5 enemy tanks and 7 SPGs. Over the next several days, the 6 remaining Churchills were transferred to the 21st Tank Brigade. The regiment received Churchill tanks once more on September 9th, 1943, which they used to liberate Kiev.

The 36th Guards Tank Regiment had a different experience. The regiment moved out to its positions on July 9th. 5 tanks broke down on the way. The regiment took up defensive positions to the north of Prokhorovka. The regiment took an active part in the battle on July 12th. The commander was wounded by enemy aircraft on the morning of the battle. The regiment began the fight with 15 functional tanks. 7 burned up and 4 were knocked out on July 12th. The regiment claimed 6 German tanks, two of which were Tigers. The regiment had 10 Churchills left after the battles of July-August. On August 23rd, they were sent off for repairs, and 13 SU-152 and KV-1S were accepted in exchange. The regiment received Churchills once again in late December. Some of them were the same tanks they used earlier. The regiment received 14 Churchills in total, which it used to fight at Pskov until early April of 1944. In June, the regiment was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks.

##### Leningrad

Churchills held out the longest in the 49th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment. This regiment arrived at Obukhovo station on March 14th, but entered battle much later. It remained in reserve throughout 1943, and only saw battle on January 15th, 1944. The 49th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment took part in the final lifting of the blockade on Leningrad. To make up for its losses, the regiment received 23 BT-5 and 3 BT-7 tanks. This strange situation continued until mid-February, when the regiment had 13 Churchills and 16 BT tanks left. After that, the regiment was sent to Tula to receive IS-2 tanks.

##### Vyborg & Tallinn

Intensive use of Churchill tanks left its mark. By January 1st, 1944, 160 tanks were lost irreparably. 27 more were lost by June 1st. Of 66 remaining tanks, 31 were issued. They were mostly concentrated on the Leningrad Front, where they were actively used. For example, the 260th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment received 6 Churchill tanks, which were used during the fighting for Vyborg. During the battle the Finnish had reported they destroyed "3 Unknown Heavy Tanks" which were later discovered to be Churchill Mk IIIs. The 82nd Tank Regiment, which had 10 Churchill tanks and 11 KV-1S tanks, participated in the liberation of Tallinn in September of 1944. 63 tanks of this type remained by January 1st, 1945. 9 of them were lost before the end of the war. By June 1st, the Red Army had 54 leftover Churchills, only 3 of which were in any active unit.