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.
The origins of the Churchill's design lay in the expectation that war in Europe might well 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. After several versions had been built, a better-armoured specification, the Mark VII, entered service with the British Army. The improved versions performed well in the later stages of the war.
The Churchill was used by British and other Commonwealth forces during the North African, Italian and North-West Europe campaigns. In addition, 344 Churchills were sent as military aid to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and more than 250 saw active service on the Eastern Front.
The Oke was a Churchill II tank armed with a flamethrower. The Oke was named after its designer, Major J.M. Oke. The basic design was a standard Churchill tank fitted with "Ronson" flame-throwing equipment, including a rear mounted flame fuel tank, which was piped to the hull machine gun position, where a flame gun nozzle replaced the Besa machine gun. The flame equipment was originally un-armoured, but the vehicles at Dieppe had the flame equipment encased in an armoured box. Three such vehicles were built and all were transferred to the 14th Canadian Tank Regiment for use at Dieppe. The maximum range of the flame gun was 40 to 60 yards.
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