Named Churchill, the A22 was built in large quantities by a consortium of companies comprising Broom&Wade, Birmingham Carriage & Wagon, Metropolitan Cammell, Charles Roberts, Newton Chambers, Gloucester Railway Carriage, Leyland, Dennis and Harland&Wolff – all chaired by Vauxhall. There were numerous improvements in the details of mechanical components. This necessitated substantial revision programs 1942-1943 carried out by Vauxhall technicians on the units equipped with the new tank.
The first 14 production models were delivered in June 1941, from an order of 500 tanks directly from the drawing board.īecause of the rushed development program there were numerous construction defects, which led to frequent breakdowns with the first Marks. The A20 prototype and plans were passed on to Vauxhall, additional draftsmen were provided by the British Mechanisation Board and a new pilot model – called the A22 Infantry Tank Mark IV – was completed in November 1940. Vauxhall was chosen mainly because its Vauxhall-Bedford twin 6-cylinder engine was intended for the A20. The company Vauxhall (the British branch of the US company GMC) was therefore asked to revise the design of the A20, reduce it slightly and put it into production as quickly as possible – if possible within a year. The whole thing coincided with the evacuation of Dunkirk, after which the UK had less than 100 tanks left to defend its island. The results of the tests showed, however, that in order to maintain the required performance, the armament had to be reduced to a single 2-pounder cannon.
The first prototype began testing in June 1940 and was plagued by gearbox problems. Four prototypes were ordered in February 1940. In addition, machine guns at the hull sides and the front. Finally, the 2-pounders were selected for the turret and another one was to be installed at the front. Various weapon combinations were considered, including the 2- and 6-pounder, French 75-mm cannon and 3-inch howitzer. Essentially the A20 was a refinement of the ‘lozenge’ shape tanks ( Mk I to V) built by the British in 1916-1918.