Churchill's Kingforce
(BRAB11)
includes three plastic Churchill tanks, three plastic Sherman tanks, two plastic Tank Commander sprue,Universal Carriers, two plastic Gun Crew sprues, one mini 4th Flames Of War rulebook, three Decal sheets and nine Unit cards.
The Churchill tank first went into action as part of the raid on Dieppe on the French coast in August 1942. Their performance there was less than spectacular. Two months later, the Churchill was given an opportunity to redeem itself in the form of Kingforce. By the end of the Battle of El Alamein, the Kingforce had destroyed five panzers and three anti-tank guns for the loss of one tank. The Churchill tank had shown that it was ready for battle. It was capable of taking punishment and handing it out in spades.
The Churchill
The Churchill had been rushed into production in the dark days after the evacuation from Dunkirk. The early versions were so mechanically unreliable that they were barely usable. The Tunisian campaign was supposed to be the Churchill's swan song, both its first and last battle. Instead, by doing everything asked of it and more, the Churchill proved that it had overcome its initial teething troubles and had matured into an outstanding tank.
Designed for a refight of the First World War, the tracks of the Churchill I ran along the top of the hull, and it had a 3-inch howitzer in the hull for tackling bunkers as well as a 2 pdr (40mm) anti-tank gun in the turret. The Churchill III that made up the bulk of the tanks in Tunisia was armed more conventionally with a 6 pdr (57mm) gun in the turret and a hull machinegun. Only a few of the original Churchill I tanks were retained as CS (Close Support) tanks in the company HQ for artillery support.
The Sherman
When the first convoy of new Sherman tanks was sunk en route to Egypt, the American President, Roosevelt, stripped new tanks from divisions in training to load a new convoy. When these powerful tanks arrived just before the Second Battle of El Alamein, they gave British tankers a decided advantage over the Germans for the rest of the desert war.
The new Sherman tank was the next evolutionary step from the powerful Grant tank. Its large turret allowed it to mount an even more powerful 75mm gun in the turret rather than the hull front, and with thicker armour. Although the British initially managed to equip whole regiments with the new Sherman tank, battle casualties and long supply lines soon meant that older Grant tanks were mixed in to make up numbers.
The Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies.
The vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built by 1960 in the United Kingdom and abroad, it is the most produced armoured fighting vehicle in history.
Contents
Flames Of War 4th Edition Mini Rulebook (x1)
Plastic Churchill Sprue (x3)
Plastic Sherman Sprue (x3)
Plastic Universal Carrier Sprue (x6)
Plastic Tank Crew (x2)
Sherman Decal Sheet (x1)
Carrier Plastic Crew Sprue (x2)
Carrier Decal Sheet (x1)
Churchill Decal Sheet (x1)
Unit Cards
Armoured Divison + Movement Orders (x1)
Churchill III Squadron HQ (x1)
Churchill CS (x1)
Churchill III Armoured Troop (x1)
Sherman Squardron HQ (x1)
Sherman Armoured Troop (x1)
Universal Carrier (x2)
15mm, plastic
Battlefront Miniatures
