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Old 17-07-13, 16:29
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Mark W. Tonner Mark W. Tonner is offline
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Location: London, Ontario, Canada.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
Does anyone know what the "R" signifies (if anything) at the end of this tanks WD Number?
David/Derek;

Regarding the suffix letter "R," the following is from my research notes for the Weapons of War Series title, The Churchill in Canadian Service, and is a brief description of the Churchill rework programme, carried out by the British:

"Almost as soon as production of the Churchill had begun, the idea of organizing a major rework program to correct the faults of the tank had been discussed, but no firm decision on the matter could be agreed upon, since the authorities could not decide whether it would be easier to cancel production of the Churchill and create another new infantry tank, or if it would be better to try and salvage the existing design. Finally on 3 November 1941, at a meeting held by the Controller-General of Research and Development, at the Ministry of Supply, it was decided that a rework programme for the Churchill would be carried out to correct some of the tank’s more glaring faults.

At this meeting, Vauxhall Motors stated that they wished to introduce three major changes, specifically, fitting mudguards over the top run of the tracks, altering the shape and flow of the air inlets (louvres), and changing the air outlet at the rear of the hull. The meeting authorized Vauxhall Motors in Luton and Broom & Wade in High Wycombe to turn their production lines over to the rework program, starting on 1 March and 1 April 1942 respectively. Many other British firms and British Army ordnance workshops were also involved with the Churchill rework scheme to varying degrees. Once this program was underway, there were a total of 71 identified changes or improvements, in addition to the three major changes that Vauxhall had brought up at the meeting of 3 November 1941. These included improving the air flow through the engine compartment using new air inlets, incorporating full-length mudguards with blast shields fitted to both ends of each mudguard, installing continuous track return skid rails, and adding a baffle plate below the rear air outlet to prevent dust from being blown forward. The pannier doors were provided with catches that enabled them to be secured when open, and some suspension bogie frames were strengthened and the rebound pads redesigned to give a smoother ride. The front idler axles were strengthened, and the steering brakes and other parts of the suspension were improved. There was better stowage for ammunition, all hull seams were waterproofed, and a detachable windscreen was provided for the driver that fitted into the visor aperture when the armoured door was open. In the engine compartment, the starter motor, petrol pumps, radiator caps, exhaust system, and the actual engine mountings were improved, and new carburetors were installed. The gearbox was improved, with the gearboxes marked accordingly.

All Churchill tanks that went through this rework program, had their War Department (WD) number suffixed by the letter "R," an example of which, for a Churchill Mk II was WD Number before rework - T31066 and the WD Number after rework - T31066R. Reworked gearboxes were marked in the same fashion, the gearbox number suffixed by the letter "R", which was followed by a single digit number depending on the number of modifications carried out. For gearboxes, the suffix R4 would indicate that the gearbox was fully modified. This system of the suffix of the letter “R,” and a single digit number depending on the number of modifications carried out also applied to the engine, with a suffix of R3 indicating that the engine was fully modified.”

Cheers
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