Churchill Crocodile Tank Mk VII - Wheatcroft Collection - Donington Grand Prix Museum, Leicestershire - Military Ground Equipment Displays on Waymarking.com

"The Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank of late Second World War. It was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk VI (A22) Churchill Mark VII, although the Churchill Mark IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle.

The Crocodile was introduced as one of the specialised armoured vehicles developed under Major-General Percy Hobart, informally known as "Hobart's Funnies". It was produced from October 1943, in time for the Normandy invasion."

SOURCE - (visit link)

"Design and development -
The flamethrower equipment was produced as a kit that REME workshops could fit in the field, converting any available Churchill Mk VII. The conversion kit consisted of the trailer, an armoured pipe fitted along the underside of the tank, and the projector, which replaced the hull mounted Besa machine gun. The Crocodile was therefore still able to function as a gun tank with its turret mounted Ordnance QF 75 mm gun. 400 imperial gallons (1,800 I) of fuel and the compressed nitrogen propellant, enough for eighty one-second bursts, were stored in a 61/2 ton detachable armoured trailer towed by the Crocodile. The trailer, connected to the tank by a three way armoured coupling could be jettisoned from within the tank if necessary.

Flame projector -
The thrower had a range of up to 120 yards (some sources quote 150 yards). The pressure required had to be primed on the trailer by the crew as close to use as feasible, because pressure could not be maintained for very long. The fuel was used at 4 gallons per second; refuelling took at least 90 minutes and pressurization around 15 minutes. The fuel burned on water and could be used to set fire to woods and houses. The flamethrower could project a "wet" burst of unlit fuel which would splash around corners in trenches or strong points and then ignite this with a second burst.

Service -
Used by units of the 79th Armoured Division in concert with the Churchill AVRE, and other Funnies, the Crocodile was an effective assault weapon whose threat could induce enemy troops to retreat or surrender. The Crocodile was a specialised weapon, best used against suitable targets and it was limited by the short range of its flamethrower. On the other hand, it was used so successfully against bunkers that many bunkers surrendered after the first ranging shots Aspects of the mechanism were considered by the British to be so secret that disabled units, if they could not be recovered, were rapidly destroyed by any means, even air strike if necessary. British Crocodiles supported the U S. Army in the Normandy bocage (visit link) , at the Battle for Brest, and during Operation Clipper, the Anglo-American assault on Geilenkirchen. C Squadron also supported the 53rd Welch Division assault on s' Hertogenbosch in October 1944."

SOURCE - info board

Further reading - (visit link)

Location restrictions: Open 7 days a week, 10am to 5pm Last admissions 4pm Closed: Christmas (Fri 22nd December to Mon 1st January reopen Tue 2nd January) Closed: Download Festival (tba) Cost of Admission: £12.00

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