The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) 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, 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 design lay in the expectation that war in Europe might be fought under similar conditions to that of the First World War and emphasized ability to cross difficult ground. The Churchill was rushed into production in order to build up British defences against a possible German invasion. The first vehicles built had flaws that had to be overcome before the Churchill was accepted for wide use. After several Marks had been built a better armoured version, the Mark VII, entered service.


The Churchill was used by British and Commonwealth forces in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe. In addition, a few hundred were supplied to the USSR and used on the Eastern Front.

There is some ambiguity regarding whom the tank is named after. It may have been named after Winston Churchill,^[1] who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Minister of Defence at the time, and had been involved with the development of the tank as a weapon during the First World War. Alternatively, and fitting in with other British tank names, it may have been named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill and the leader of the British Army in the War of the Spanish Succession.