Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "German Thoughts on the Churchill Tank" video.

  1. Nice find from the German archives. As David Fletcher said about the Churchill, "it came back to haunt the Germans". Its design was flawed in many aspects, however its assets were outstanding. It was a vastly underrated tank, as its overall performance showed. The Churchill was a rushed together infantry tank design. They never had a proper tank engine for it, using two joined together bus engines creating a flat boxer engine (giving an advantage of a lowered centre of gravity). The tracks ran all around the tank's body, like a WW1 tank. The Germans saw it thinking it was just that, as it looked outdated in many ways, and outdated to other British tanks. It was viewed as an old expendable tank design, probably only used for one raid. The Churchill was introduced one month before the Tiger 1. The Churchill was similarly armoured to the Tiger 1, but weighed far less at 39 to the Tiger's 50 tons. It is clear the German assessment was poor, in getting some matters wrong and also missing some unique aspects of the tank. They never tested it fully for sure, as if they did they would have discovered its amazing climbing ability. It could even turn on its own axis. Mark Felton did a good vid on its climbing ability, with a few of them wiping out a whole German column in Tunisia by climbing big hills the Germans never expected a tank could climb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-izpDBZv4 The German assessment failed to full appreciate the Merrit-Brown gearbox, which was also used in the Centurion, which also climbed mountains in Korea to the amazement of the Americans. The throw away Churchill tank was also used in Korea. No tank in WW2 had its climbing ability and none were better in beach shingle. Well over half the tanks at Dieppe got over the high beach wall, something the Germans seemed to miss. none got into the town as roads were blocked with large concrete blocks. As this vid points out, only a few were bogged down on the beach due to the shingle. The Germans tested their own tanks in beach shingle and all got bogged down. The tracks running all all around the tanks body gave the Churchill superior beach handling properties. Only a few months after Dieppe, the Churchill was to be phased out, however it performed excellently at El Alemein, so kept on. Its unique properties came to the fore in the mountains of Tunisia. It was kept on with 400 of them being up-gunned in Tunisia. The last version of the Churchill was a match for a Tiger 1, as the 6-pouder gun using APDS shells could knock out any Tiger 1 - and not with a lucky shot. Its armour was similar. The Tiger 1 was faster but the manoeuvrability and go anywhere nature of the Churchill gave it the edge. The Churchill could run over bridges the heavier Tiger could not. The Churchill did not need a tank transporter to get it around. The Churchill was not used for tank v tank engagements, as its versatility and manoeuvrability were better used in other roles. The tank's ability to be adapted for various roles was seen by Hobart who developed it into many of the Funnies. If you were a general of an army with adequate anti-tank guns to destroy enemy tanks, given the option of having 400 Tiger 1s (the tank many have a strange fascination about) or 400 Churchills, you would go for the Churchill as it was far, far, more versatile filling many roles an army needs. Bare in mind that most tanks were not knocked out by other tanks.
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  2.  @abellseaman4114  You are very confused. Try facts first, they will help you.
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  3. It was a throw away tank. It was a rushed design to fill a gap, and requirement, that was not a priority. It was considered outdated by the British Army when introduced. Months after introduction it was to be discontinued. The Germans clearly failed to fully evaluate its properties. Its unique assets were not even fully known to the British, until they started to fully use it in training and combat. Then suggestions of up-gunning, more armour, more power to the engine, etc, came in.
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  4.  @Paciat  The Merritt Brown gearbox was a new technology application, which appears went over the heads of the German assessors.
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  5.  @abellseaman4114  The rambling thoughts of a factless mind.
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  6.  @abellseaman4114  The rambling disjointed thoughts continue...
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  7.  @abellseaman4114  The Churchill was not inferior to all German tanks. This vid proved that. Sharpen up Sunshine.
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  8.  @abellseaman4114  The rambling thoughts continue...
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  9.  @shadow9774  The only virtue of the Sherman was that a lot of them were made.
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  10.  @ushikiii  You have been playing too many tank games.
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  11.  @pexxajohannes1506  So the Sherman was a highly reliable hearse then.
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  12.  @Slayinator96  None of those were deliberate atrocities.
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  13.  @pexxajohannes1506  T34 greatly superior to Sherman.
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  14.  @Slayinator96  Name these so-called atrocities.
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  15. ♦ The Churchill had amazing hill climbing ability. The Churchill could climb mountains as in Tunisia. Many times in Italy and Tunisia the Churchill’s would climb hills the Germans thought were tank proof. On one occasion a Colonel Koch of the Herman Goering regiment, transmitted this radio message: “… been attacked by a mad tank battalion which had scaled impossible heights and forced me to withdraw!” ♦ It could cross muddy ground and force through the forests of the Reichswald in 1944. No other tank could have managed the same conditions. ♦ There is a story of a large line of tanks waiting to cross a bridge over an anti-tank ditch. The Churchill's drove into and out of the ditch. ♦ The Churchill could keep going even if it had three wheels on the same side blown off. ♦ The Churchill was also used in Korea, with many American Units extremely glad of its amazing hill climbing ability getting to places Sherman and Pershing tanks could not. ♦ It had a flat engine, giving a lower centre of gravity. ♦ It was to be discontinued a few months after introduction, however performed well at El Alemein so was kept on. ♦ The Churchill was the basis of the Hobart 'Funnies'. ♦ It could turn on its own length because of the innovative Merrit-Brown transmission, which the Germans missed in their assessment. ♦ During trials the Australians found it a better tank for jungle warfare than even the Matilda II. ♦ In the fighting in late 1944 the Germans flooded areas so heavily that resupply could only be carried out by using DUKW’s. The roads were even impassable to trucks. The 6th Guards tank brigade's Churchill's, fought and continued the advance. Churchill’s even crossed an underwater bridge on the Dneiper river, operating without problems alongside T-34′s in swamps. ♦ It was well armoured, which was only penetrable except by the most powerful of German guns. It had initially 102mm in the front, which was then upgraded to 152mm for the later models - thicker than the Tiger I. ♦ It had a large chassis allowing it to be use larger turrets and guns. Churchill’s were adequately armed for the job they were meant to do. ♦ The Churchill was roomy by WW2 standards being popular with crews. ♦ The 4th Grenadier Guards in Churchill’s were the unit that set the record for fastest advance of any armoured unit in Europe. ♦ After WWII a study on all armoured units in 21st army group found that the 4th Grenadiers had the lowest casualty rate of all. ♦ In Italy a single Churchill was hit over 100 times by enemy AT weapons. ♦ The best all round tank of the war. As an army moves forward, tanks have to do a multitude of tasks. Tank v tank engagements were rare. No other tank accomplished the various tasks better and more comprehensively than the Churchill. ♦ It was heavily armoured could match most tanks in the 6pdr gun version and with APDS ammunition could penetrate a Tiger. ♦ At Dieppe it was the only tank in the world that could get off the pebble beaches. Half got over the high sea wall. Attributes that went un-noticed by the Germans. ♦ After Dieppe the Germans tested a Panzer IV on a beach, and got the following results. To quote David Fletcher: “This showed that on beaches with a slope between 15 and 20 degrees the German tank could manage quite well but where the slope increased to between 30 and 40 degrees the tank started to slip then dug itself in until the tracks ceased to function.” ♦ Towed 6-pdrs in Tunisia took out two Tigers plus their supporting Pz III’s using standard AP (no APDS was around then) with penetrations starting at 800 yards to the turrets. Churchill tanks also took out four more Tigers in Tunisia, with no loss, 48 Royal Tank Regiment and Northern Irish Horse- two each, still only armed with 6-pdrs firing standard AP. ♦ Churchills got the first Panther kills by the western allies, 48 Royal Tank Regiment, with 6-pdr armed Churchills. ♦ The Churchill had the highest survivability in any tank of WW2. A much ignored and underrated tank.
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  16. All German tanks tested in the beach shingle, failed.
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  17.  @DanA-fk6tl  The hill climbing ability was unique. The transmission went over their heads.
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  18. They never.
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  19. That may have been a side issue.
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  20.  @scarwing2492  Read Death Traps by Belton Cooper about the Sherman.
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  21.  @Zheviche  Read Death Traps by Belton Cooper.
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  22.  @isbee56  The Churchill was much superior.
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  23.  @Prometheus19853  6 pdrs could fire APDS shells.
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  24.  @Prometheus19853  Again.. 6-pdrs could fire APDS shells. These shells could knock out Tigers.
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  25.  @Prometheus19853  The 6-pdr fitted on a Churchill could fire APDS shells. Get it?
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  26.  @michaeldebellis4202  The point was that a Churchill was a match for a Tiger. It could knock one out from any angle having armour of similar thickness. It was more agile climbing big hills. Its gun could use APDS. The fact it never used, or rarely used the shells, as the tank was given a role were it would not face Tigers, is irrelevant.
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  27.  @jamesjack6769  Stop being silly!
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  28.  @jamesjack6769  Read what I wrote.
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  29.  @carlpolen7437  What I write is factual. Steel was not growing on trees. Decisions had to be made what equipment to make. The US said we have a so, so tank, with a gun that is not much called the Sherman that we are pouring out on production lines, take some. The British did. The British reserved the steel for a lot of naval matters like ships and landing craft. The Churchill was a slow tank to others, with the Cromwell and Comets made for speed. Cromwell could do 50mph. Centurion was a Universal tank, the first of the modern MBTs. Now you know about the remarkable Churchill.
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  30.  @carlpolen7437  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvsmcOdeRzI
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  31.  @carlpolen7437  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-izpDBZv4
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  32.  @carlpolen7437  It is best you go by facts.
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  33.  @carlpolen7437  The Churchill Crocodile was the most feared tank and the most effective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIoqyjWvzI You need to do some reading.
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