Product Features and Details
Artitec 87.037 Highlights:
Model: Artitec's 87.037 1/87 scale Churchill Mk VII is a resin kit and is unpainted.
Prototype: The Infantry Tank Mark IV, or Churchill, was originally designed beginning in 1939 as a replacement for the Matilda II infantry support tank. Its designers adhered to earlier infantry tank doctrine (long wheelbase, multiple bogies, and heavy armor) but due to the fear of German invasion its design was order to be rushed forward in June 1940. The design was completed Vauxhall Motors a month later and went into production within a year. The Churchill was very heavily armored with 102 mm of frontal hull armor, 89 mm side, 51 mm rear, 89 mm turret front, and 76 mm turret sides and rear – roughly equal to the protection of a Tiger I tank. This protection scheme would be increased in the Mk VII and later models of the Churchill. For ease of production the Churchill was powered by two horizontally opposed Bedford six-cylinder engines, the same engine used in various models of Bedford trucks. Maximum speed was 15 mph. Armament in early models of Churchills included 2 pounder guns, 3 inch howitzers, and 6 pounder guns, but the Mk VII model was equipped with an Ordnance QF 75 mm gun which was made from bored-out 6 pounder guns in order to accommodate American 75 mm shells. With its thick armor and 75 mm gun, the Churchill Mk VII excelled as an infantry support tank in Western Europe from D-Day forwards.
