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The Wehrmacht thought so as well ....

Compared to a Sherman, the churchill was a fortress that could take a lot of punishment.

The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British heavy infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war.

Due to the number of wheels, the tank could survive losing several without much in the way of adverse effects as well as traversing steeper terrain obstacles.

The Brits also learned lessons quickly and up gunned the tank mid-production. At 6" of amor on many variants, it was actually better armoured than a Tiger I.

on the Mk III, the 2 pounder was replaced with the 6 pounder, significantly increasing the tank's anti-tank capabilities. The tank underwent field modification in North Africa with several Churchills being fitted with the 75 mm gun of destroyed M4 Shermans. These "NA75" variants were used in Italy. The use of the 75 mm increased the effectiveness of the tank, as it was a generally superior weapon to the 6 pounder, possessing similar anti-tank capabilities, while also being considerably more effective when used in infantry support roles.

Later in the war, as tanks like the Firefly came online, the Churchill was starting to be more outclassed.

The thick armour of all Churchill models could usually withstand several hits from any German anti-tank gun, in the later years of the war the German Panther tank had a 75 mm high-velocity cannon as its main armament along with increased protection, against which the Churchills' own guns often lacked sufficient armour penetration to fight back effectively.

All in all, the Churchill was actually pretty decent when first introduced and was well upgraded through the war. I'd have preferred being in one over a Sherman any day.

A cool anecdote form North Africa:

Six Mk III Churchills (with the 6 pounder) saw action in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. This detachment, called "Kingforce", supported the attack of 7th Motor Brigade. The Churchills were fired on many times by German anti-tank guns, but only one received more than light damage. One tank was said to have been hit up to 80 times.

A significant number of Churchills were also used by the Russians (as war aid) in the battle of Kursk and were notably more effective than most other allied tanks on the field.
 
Compared to a Sherman, the churchill was a fortress that could take a lot of punishment.





The Brits also learned lessons quickly and up gunned the tank mid-production. At 6" of amor on many variants, it was actually better armoured than a Tiger I.



Later in the war, as tanks like the Firefly came online, the Churchill was starting to be more outclassed.



All in all, the Churchill was actually pretty decent when first introduced and was well upgraded through the war. I'd have preferred being in one over a Sherman any day.

A cool anecdote form North Africa:



A significant number of Churchills were also used by the Russians (as war aid) in the battle of Kursk and were notably more effective than most other allied tanks on the field.

It's important to remember that the main purpose of an infantry tank is to bust bunkers and strong points. Tank fighting was not something the Churchill was intended for, that was tge job of the AT artillery.
 
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The first house I bought was right around the corner from the Studebaker plant. What a massive and imposing building! The building itself was the size of several city blocks. I always loved driving by it. It sat empty for a lot of years. I was told that during WWII, they built AA guns there, and there were barrage balloons all over the place. Can anyone confirm or deny?
 
nice cars and pretty good performance from their 'R' series supercharged engines. They could build beautiful cars too...not just the 'Lark'
 
My father owned Studebakers until they could no longer get certain parts for them. Even had a light Studebaker pick up version. All of them ran very well and were very comfortable and trouble free, considering the road conditions of the time. They suffered from being underpowered in a time when high compression and high displacement engines were gaining popularity. Many of their essential parts were proprietary and expensive as well as having to be installed with special tools and by a human. They were always more expensive than their counterparts but they offered more in the way of posh and bling. Towards the end of their demise they changed their direction and tried to make an economy version that was to big, underpowered and at best a half hearted attempt to maintain market share. Management was stodgy and unimaginative in a time when innovation was needed. Very similar to the old GM management that almost lost everything due to a similar protective attitude while Ford kept taking up more market share and many North American consumers became more impressed with the off shore offerings. Sort of the Nero's fiddling while Detroit burned analogy.

Way more involved than that but what it boiled down to in the end.
 
Respectfully, gentlemen - this is a WW2 picture thread. I love Studes as much as the next guy - always thought they were an underrated car - but perhaps another thread would work better for that topic?

In the interests of segue-ing back onto topic, here's a WW2 Studebaker:

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Just the thing for picking up girls.

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