Wheels & Tracks #1

A Churchill tank of the North Irish Horse crossing the Senio in Italy on two stacked Churchill ARKs, Italy. April 1945.

Churchill Crocodile training in England.

Churchill infantry tank and crew.

Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) close-support vehicle.

Churchill Crocodile with its flamethrower fuel trailer that carried 400 gallons.

The 290mm Petard spigot mortar on a Churchill AVRE of 79th Squadron, 5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers, under command of 3rd Infantry Division, 29 April 1944. A 40lb bomb can be seen on the right.

Churchill Ark Mk II. A turretless Churchill with ramps at either end and along the body to form a mobile bridge. The Mark 1 had trackways over the tracks for vehicles to drive along. The Mark 2 was an improvised version and crossing vehicles drove directly on the Churchill’s tracks.

Churchill tanks of 'B' squadron, 51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment, 25th Tank Brigade, in Italy in July 1944. 25th Brigade first saw action in Italy in May 1944 when its three regiments supported the Canadian 1st Division's attack on the 'Hitler Line'.

Churchill tank in Italy.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tanks move forward near Imola, Italy, 12 April 1945.

The Crocodile’s flamethrower system.

A Churchill Crocodile sends some 'love' down range.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank, 79th Armoured Division, 13 February 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower on trials, Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, 26 April 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower in action during trials at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, 26 April 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrowers in action during trials at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, 26 Apr 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower in action during trials at Eastwell Park, Ashford, Kent, 26 April 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tank during a demonstration, 25 August 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flame-throwing tank during a demonstration, 25 August 1944.

A Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tank during a demonstration, 25 August 1944. Close-up of the fuel trailer.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tanks in action during a demonstration, 25 August 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank, 25 August 1944.

Crocodiles of B Squadron, 141st Royal Armored Corps, which took part in the American attack on Brest.

Allied assault force with British Churchill Crocodiles moving on Fort Montbarey. September 1944.

Churchill Crocodile in action near Fort Montbarey. Brest, France, September 1944.

Churchill Crocodile in action near Fort Montbarey. Brest, France, September 1944.

Churchill Crocodile tanks move into position during the attack towards Hertogenbosch, 23 October 1944.

Churchill Mk VII Crocodiles and Mk V CS tanks of the 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. Germany, November 1944.

A Churchill Crocodile flamethrower in action during a demonstration near Faenza, Italy, 30 December 1944.

Churchill Crocodile flamethrowers in action against the village of St Joost, north of Schilberg, during an attack by 1st Rifle Brigade, 20 January 1945.

A Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank of 31st Armoured Brigade, 79th Armoured Division, moves past a church at Oberhausen in the Ruhr, Germany, April 1945. Smoke from the burning Ruhrchemie AG synthetic oil plant (Sterkrade/Holten) fills the sky behind.

A Churchill VII tank of the North Irish Horse carrying troops of the 21st Infantry Division, north of Castel Borsetti, March 2, 1945. Note the white tape indicating the edge of a cleared enemy minefield.

A Churchill Crocodile flame tank supports the crossing of the Senio River in northern Italy by two New Zealand infantry divisions  on April 9, 1945.

Churchill NA 75 infantry tank. The NA 75 was created by British Captain Percy H. Morrell in 1944. Morrell took a standard Churchill Mk IV infantry tank and equipped it with an American 75 mm M3 cannon in a slightly modified turret. The goal behind this conversion was to enable the Churchill tank to fire capable HE rounds (which its original QF 2-pounder and QF 6-pounder armaments could not do), as well as equip the tank with more turret armor. When converted, the NA 75 could effectively take out fortified targets in support of friendly infantry, which the Churchill was mostly designed to do (hence the designation of "infantry tank"). A total of 200 Churchill NA 75s were converted, equipped with the 75 mm gun, a new armored gun mantlet, and a gun counterweight in the rear of the turret. The tanks were first deployed in Italy with great success, working hand in hand with M4 Sherman medium tanks. They would remain in that particular campaign until the end of the war.

8th King's Royal Irish Hussars training with their new Stuart tanks, 28 August 1941.

Armored car and Stuart command tank at 4th Armoured Brigade HQ, 15 December 1941.

Stuart light tank, North Africa.

A Stuart tank is silhouetted against the setting sun as its commander scans the horizon, 6 September 1942.

A Matilda tank supporting Indian troops, 24 December 1940.

Achilles self-propelled gun on the east bank of the Rhine River moves up to link with airborne forces whose abandoned gliders can be seen in the background. 24-31 March 1945.

An Achilles 17pdr tank destroyer crossing the River Savio on a Churchill ARK which was driven into the river, 24 October 1944.

An Achilles of 245 Battery, 62nd Regiment, Royal Artillery, knocked out in Normandy, 1944. Three penetrating hits are visible on the turret.

Men of the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, supported by Achilles 17pdr tank destroyers, wait to go forward near Ferrara, 22 April 1945.

Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying paratroopers from the American 17th Airborne Division pass through Dorsten, 29 March 1945. On the right is an Achilles 17-pdr tank destroyer.

An Achilles tank destroyer entering a wood during the Allied advance south of Caumont, 43rd Division, 30th Corps, 31 July 1944.

Achilles tank destroyer of 'A' Troop, 117 Battery, 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, 11th Armoured Division in Holland, 4 October 1944.

An Achilles 17-pdr tank destroyer uses a building as cover in Hassum, near Goch, 20 February 1945.

An Achilles tank destroyer of 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, 11th Armoured Division, Royal Artillery, Holland, 12 October 1944.

An Achilles tank destroyer of 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 11th Armoured Division, fires its 17-pdr gun at pillboxes on the German frontier, 12 October 1944.

Achilles turret interior right hand side and front.

Achilles turret interior rear and left hand side.

Achilles self-propelled gun in at La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium. 22 February 2010.

This Achilles self-propelled gun of the Yeomanry Regiment was the first of its type to enter the town of La Roche-en-Ardenne in December 1944.

Grant Mk I, North Africa, summer 1942.

Scorpion III.

Afrikakorps soldiers inspect the wreckage of a Grant tank, which has been shattered by a violent internal explosion.

Supply column, North Africa.

Radio truck, North Africa.

25-pdr. gun with limber and prime mover, North Africa.

6-pdr anti-tank gun portee, North Africa.

Destroyed 2-pdr. Anti-tank gun portee, North Africa.

A mobile tea canteen in the forward area, North Africa, 31 July 1942.

Contemporary illustration of British armored vehicles.

The crew of a British Light Tank Mk. VIB having a “brew up” and cooking their dinner beside their vehicle, in Libya, North Africa, 31 December 1940.

Many British Army trucks, cars and motorcycles for sale in Buckinghamshire, England, after World War II, 1946.

Early mechanization of the Royal Artillery; an 18-pounder gun towed by a Morris Commercial-Roadless Mk.II, Half-Track, Field Artillery Tractor  in 1930.

British Army vehicles, North Africa.

British Army trucks at an intersection in a city, North Africa.

A closer view of the British Army trucks at the intersection in a city, North Africa.

Royal Enfield "Flying Flea", the motorcycle that was parachuted together with airborne troops. The Royal Enfield WD/RE known as the "Flying Flea" was a lightweight British motorcycle developed by Royal Enfield for the British War Office (the WD came from War Department) as a means of transport that could be dropped by parachute or carried in gliders, to quickly carry messages and signals between airborne and assault troops where radio communications were not in place. The Flying Flea only weighed 56 kg and had a fuel tank of about two liters which gave a range of around 240 km at speeds of up to 60 km/h. The engine was paired with a three-speed gearbox and had a very low compression piston which meant it could run impure fuel. When the war started in 1939, Britain had no airborne forces but impressed by German paratroopers, Winston Churchill ordered 5,000 parachute and glider-borne troopers in June 1940. DKW's Dutch distributor Stovkis & Sonen was given the option by the Germans of firing its Jewish directors or lose the rights to selling the German-built bike. The firm chose to give up the German bike and instead took the RT100 to Royal Enfield in Britain who produced a similar bike – the Model RE with a 125cc engine.

The first prototype ended up Royal Enfield getting an order from the War Department for 4,000 bikes. It was compact, lightweight and could be dropped safely from an aircraft in a cradle frame which earned it its name – 'Flying Flea'. To protect the bike from damage during the impact of a parachute landing, it was placed in tubular steel cradles. Several modifications were made to the motorcycle. The handlebars were rotated to fit in the cradle, kickstarter and footrests were replaced with foldable ones, seat height was raised and an expansion chamber was added to reduce exhaust sound for stealth behind enemy lines.

Royal Enfield "Flying Flea" in its protective cradle.

Royal Enfield "Flying Fleas" in their protective cradles.

Still from Imperial War Museum film "Sixth Airborne Division Prepares for D-Day." Military Police attend to their Matchless and Enfield motorcycles. Police need a full-service motorcycle, with lights, horn and comfy seat. 1 June 1944.

Still from wartime footage of a Flying Flea being loaded into a Horsa glider. Used in many documentaries, this shot probably dates to Operation  Varsity in 1945.

Two paratroopers on Royal Enfield "Flying Fleas". The man standing appears to have a bicycle, which is laying on the ground.

Bishop 25-pounder self-propelled gun in the Western Desert, 25 September 1942.

A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun in the Western Desert, 25 September 1942.

Rear view, with the turret doors open, of a Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun, Taken on 25 September 1942.

"Bishop" self-propelled gun, Sicily, 27 July 1943.

"Bishop" self-propelled gun, Sicily, 27 July 1943.

"Bishop" self-propelled gun, Sicily, 27 July 1943.

Rear view of a Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun near Cava, showing the crew inside the fighting compartment 28 September 1943.

Rear view of the Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun showing Gunners platform with the gun detachment commander outside the fixed turret, as there was room for only two gunners inside, F Troop, 473 Battery R.A., 102 Regiment, 23 March 1943.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled guns in action near Grenadier Hill, Tunisia, 23 March 1943.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun, North Africa.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun, Tunisia, 6 March 1943.

The driver of a Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment in Sicily, 27 July 1943.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 506th Battery, 142nd Field Regiment, Italy, 14 September 1943.

A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment firing, Sicily, 27 July 1943.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun near Cava, Italy, 28 September 1943.

Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, on a Diamond T tank transporter of 610 Heavy Recovery Section, REME, Italy, 23 December 1943.

A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery firing at night from a captured airfield near Grazzanise, Italy, 12 October 1943.

A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment, Sicily, 27 July 1943.