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Bishop

1942 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY WORLD WAR 2

History of Bishops

In the decades following the First World War, the British Army rewrote its armoured warfare doctrine to include two distinct groups of main battle tanks - "cruiser tanks" and "infantry tanks". Cruiser tanks are designed with speed in mind to break through enemy defenses and attack the more vulnerable flanks and sterns. Heavier infantry tanks work in tandem with infantry units to break through enemy defense centers with slower moves.

Taken together, the theory will generate two different forces to achieve one goal.

On September 3, 1939, the United Kingdom officially declared war on Germany, marking the official start of World War II in Europe. In 1940, the British Army introduced the "Valentine Infantry Tank", a small three-person tracked vehicle armed with a QF 2-pounder (40mm).

The tank was built by Vickers-Armstrong and developed into other brands, each with mounting larger and larger guns. The initial production brand became "Valentine Mk I", closely followed by "Valentine Mk II" to finally "Valentine Mk XI" with a 75mm main gun.

The difference between the Mk I and Mk II is the use of an AEC A190 6-cylinder 131hp diesel engine with the addition of an external fuel tank (the original brand used an AEC A189 135hp petrol engine).

On the surface, the Bishop has a unique look, although not unlike the Soviet KV-2 series that played the same role. Valentine's pedigree is evident thanks to the complete retention of the undercarriage. The vehicle is suspended on a coil spring system with a three-wheeled bogie.

There are four small wheels on each side of the track, supported by a larger wheel. The drive sprocket remains at the rear and the chain idler remains at the front. The Glacis boards slope well for some ballistic protection, while the sides are straight. Equipment can be carried on the fenders. The tower has flat sides and double doors on the back.

The front turret fairing is only slightly sloped, and the 25-pounder barrel protrudes above the fuselage. The engine is stored in the rear compartment. Crew accommodation for a total of four people, including the driver, commander, gunner and loader.

The driver remained in the front left hull, and the rest of the crew remained in the turret. The secondary weapon is a .303 Bren LMG, although the Bishop never intended to attack the enemy at close range. Armor protection above the main fairing is 8mm to 60mm.

The British and Commonwealth campaigns at this time of the war are now concentrated in North Africa, especially against the famous German general Erwin Rommel. For the British, North Africa became a testing ground for their own General Bernard Montgomery. Hundreds of thousands of people, along with thousands of armored vehicles, would be at work in the early battles of the war. On October 23, 1942, the British-led Allied forces fought the Second Battle of El Alamein against German and Italian forces.

The battle would continue until November 4 of that year, and it would be the first combat operation of the 25-pdr Valentine gunboat. By this time, the British army referred to them simply as "bishops".

In practice, few doubt the capabilities of the QF 25 gun. However, the Bishop suffered a lot in the overall design of the vehicle. The use of fixed structures provides a number of inherent limitations to combat vehicles. First, the vehicle must (completely) turn in the direction of the enemy. Second, the limited space within the superstructure directly limited the main gun elevation to between +15 and -5 degrees, and the lateral to within 8 degrees.

Therefore, the Rifle Crew built mounds in front of the Bishop's hull to move the vehicle further forward, thereby increasing the ballistics of their 25-pounder guns. The turret design also ensures high visibility on a clean desert horizon - a tempting target for both enemy tankers and anti-tank forces (the Soviet KV-2 was of the same quality). To make matters worse, the addition of heavy artillery and superstructures to the existing Valentine chassis directly limits top road speed and range.

Equipped with a 131-horsepower AEC A190-series diesel engine, the Bishop can travel at 15 mph on ideal road surfaces with a range of up to 90 miles.

In any case, there was great demand during the war, and the bishop was in place. Its 25-pound gun didn't disappoint, but the crew generally considered the Bishop a creation to remember. It wasn't until the arrival of the M7 "Priest" self-propelled artillery system based on the American M3 Lee/Grant that the Bishop was denounced for limited service and then a secondary role. The Canadians took the M7 Priest design a step further and developed the "Sexton" - equipped with a 25-pound main gun - which was increasingly used by the British army over time. As such, Bishop existed in only 149 forms, with a production time span of 1942-43.

Once the M7 and Sexton numbers were reached, Bishop fell into the pages of WWII history.