The Churchill infantry tank is a distinctive design with its extremely long chassis and wraparound tracks. Named after the British Minister of Defence, the Churchill tank was very well armored. The Mk.IV was the most numerous variant. As a field expedient, the Mk.IV was improved with an armament better than the original 6 pdr gun, and this was done by fitting the mantlet and 75mm gun (from Sherman tanks that could not be repaired) onto the Churchill’s cast turret. The first NA 75 conversions were done in North Africa, where many Shermans had been disabled by mines. (Incidentally, the name ‘NA 75’ refers to ‘North Africa’ and the caliber of the gun.) The field conversion required cutting away the front of the original turret to fit the new mantlet. Approximately 200 NA 75 tanks were converted from March-June 1944, and they saw action in North Africa and Italy.
A while ago, Dragon Armor Pro issued a 1/72 scale kit of the Churchill Mk.IV, but like the original, that model has now been converted into an NA 75! Dragon’s kit features many new components such as the appropriate Sherman mantlet and gun barrel. The Churchill Mk.IV NA 75 is beautifully detailed, and it assembles quickly and easily into an accurate model thanks to time-saving elements like one-piece DS tracks and single-piece bogies. For modelers wishing to build up their British tank brigades, this item is invaluable as it represents a special variant that was widely used in combat.
