DESCRIPTION

Churchill Tank MKIII Kingforce - Major King

A great addition to the Oxford Military series is this World War II Churchill tank Mk III, which entered service in late 1942. Named after the great statesman himself who had encouraged the development of the tank after World War I, the Churchill tank was an infantry tank designed by Harland and Wolff and manufactured in the early stages by Vauxhall Motors. Between 1941 when the first Churchill tank Mk I emerged and 1944 with the Mk VIII, around 7368 had been produced across all types, 675 of which were Churchill Mk III.

The crew comprised five members, commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver and co-driver/hull gunner. The operational range was 56 miles and the tank had a speed of 15 mph. Armaments for the 1-VI variants comprised a 102mm hull front, 89mm hull side, 51mm hull rear, 89mm turret front and 76 mm turret side and rear. In addition, the Mk III was fitted with a QF (quick firing) 6 pounder gun, particular for its detachment to North Africa in October 1942.

Under the detachment named Kingforce, six Mk III Churchills armed with the 6 pounder saw action in the Second Battle of El Alamein where they supported the attack of 7th Motor Brigade. Despite being under continual bombardment by the enemy, only one was knocked out when it partially caught fire.

This model is based on Major King, one of the tanks deployed at El Alamein and appears in brown/beige desert camouflage with grey tracks, cables, suspension, tools and machine guns. The military lettering appears in white.