Churchill Mk. VIII

The Churchill VIII is just the old Churchill VII with its removed derp gun. It has solid armour, increased mobility, and high damage per shot with great DPM, penetration, and aim time.
This tank mounts the 3.7 inch CS howitzer, so it has very low velocity.

1. Armour
2. Gun
3. Mobility
4. Equipment, provisions, & consumables
5. Gameplay advice
6. Overall
7. Is it worth getting?
8. Most recently sold for:
9. Camo cost:
10. Historical note:

Armour

(The Churchill VIII in the images is using Enhanced Armour)
Image slider may take a few seconds to load

Drag slider Right –> to view 147mm AP
Drag slider <– Left to view 210mm APCR
Flat ground:
Upper plate 140-152mm
Mid angled plate 315-330mm
Lower plate 144-180mm
Turret face 152-162mm

The left image shows facing head-on, the right image shows the tank slightly over-angled.

Note that the tracks on the right side of the hull are NOT spaced armour (unlike the tracks on the turret), instead they are just a visual element, hiding a weaker 82mm plate behind them. The rest of the side armour is 95mm.

VS tier 5:
Tier 5 tanks will find it impossible to penetrate the front of the Churchill VIII. Other than TDs, there is no tank in tier 5 with enough standard penetration to even go through the lower plate of this tank.

Even most tanks’ premium ammunition will struggle against the Churchill VIII. If the tank is angled, then even these premium rounds will bounce off.

VS tier 6:
Tier 6 tanks will find it easier to penetrate the lower plate of the Churchill VIII when its not angled. Tanks with over 140mm penetration will be able to penetrate it, however tanks with less penetration will not. If the Churchill VIII is using enhanced armour, then you will need about 8-10mm more penetration to go through the lower plate.

The upper plate and turret are safe from most tank’s standard ammunition. There are a few exceptions such as the ARL 44, but these are few.

Against premium ammunition the Churchill is easy to penetrate, as it just has large and flat armour plates. However this can somewhat be mitigated by using the side armour, and the track links on the side of the turret to angle the tank.

VS tier 7:
Most tier 7 tanks will see the same as tier 6s when using premium ammunition. They can fairly easily penetrate the flat armour plates of the Churchill VIII without needing premium ammunition. There are some tanks with very low penetration in tier 7 that will still struggle, especially of the Churchill VIII is enhancing its armour.

Just as with all enemies, the Churchill should use angling to bounce tier 7 enemies, as otherwise its armour just won’t work very well due to tier 7s having more penetration.

Playing against a Churchill VIII:
A well known weakpoint of the Churchill tanks is that they have armour behind the tracks.

There is no point trying to exploit this though, as the lower plate is the same thickness as the armour behind the tracks.
The lower plate is 144mm effective armour, if you shoot the tracks, you have to deal with 140-205mm of armour.

If you can’t penetrate the lower plate of the Churchill VIII, there is no other weakpoint that can be penetrated. Just switch to premium ammo, if you’re a tier 6-7 tank you should have plenty enough penetration to go through the tank’s flat armour plates with premium ammo.

Gun

The Churchill VIII mounts a 3.7 inch (94mm) howitzer

-Damage per shot is 270 on AP, 220 on HEAT, and 350 on HE
-Reload time is 8.4s, giving it 1924 DPM
-Penetration is 155mm on AP, 220mm on HEAT, and 50mm on HE
–Estimated aim time is 3.1s/3.3s
–Base aim time is 2.1s, but it can get down to 1.71s.
-Dispersion is 0.380/0.342
–Gun handling is 0.18/0.18/0.18, or 0.15/0.15/0.15 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -5 degrees
–Shell Velocity is 331m/s on AP, 370m/s on HEAT, and 243m/s on HE

Overall the gun has very good stats in all areas. High DPM with high damage-per-shot, high penetration, good aim time, decent dispersion, and great gun handling. It would be one of the best guns in its tier if not for the ultra-low shell velocity. Gun depression is decent, considering the tech tree Churchills both have -4 degrees.

Mobility

-Top speed is 22km/h, reverse is -11km/h
-Traverse speed is 31.1 deg/s on hard terrain, and 26.3 deg/s on medium terrain.
-In game acceleration rate is shown as 11.5 hp/t, it has a fairly weak 468 horsepower engine for its 41 ton weight.
-Actual acceleration rate is 10.5 hp/t on hard terrain, and 8.9 hp/t on medium terrain.
–Ground resistances are 1.1/1.3/1.8

For a Churchill tank this is above average mobility, with good traverse speed, a good top speed, and a decent rate of acceleration. However, compared to non-Churchill tanks, the mobility isn’t great, being limited in top speed.
Keep in mind that Churchills are some of the best armoured tanks in tier 6, which most tier 6 heavies can’t compare to. In battle the tank’s mobility feels adequate.

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

Churchill Mk.VIII has no special provisions/consumables.

Gun rammer:
The Churchill VIII has already got great penetration on both standard and premium ammunition, there is no need to use calibrated shells, and using it would not actually give much benefit to the tank, as it already has better penetration than most tier 7 tanks.

Its better instead to use the gun rammer, as it gives this tank quite a special level of DPM, with comfortable high alpha, but not a very long reload.
With rammer, the tank has an 8.4s reload with 270 alpha, giving it 1924 DPM.

Supercharger:
Due to having a great base aim time of 2.1s, and a great estimated aim time of 3.1/3.3s, the Churchill VIII actually doesn’t benefit from the gun laying drive as much as it does from the supercharger.

The supercharger will help to mitigate the terrible shell velocities that this tank has on all of its shells. It will increase:
AP velocity from 331 to 430m/s
HEAT velocity from 270 to 351m/s
HE from 243 to 316m/s

This is far more helpful to use on the tank than the alternative gun laying drive. Use supercharger.

Enhanced Armour:
As the Churchill has thick and flat armour plates, it makes a big difference on the armour when using enhanced armour. The tank does not need to use improved assembly, as its HP is already a very good 1200.

Enhanced armour will increase the armour of the tank:
Upper plate from 152mm to 158mm (weakpoints from 140 to 146mm)
Mid angled plate from 315mm to 328mm
Lower plate from 144mm to 150mm
Turret face from 152mm 158mm (edges from 162mm to 168mm)

This increase in armour overall just helps the tank to bounce more enemies, as the majority of tier 6 tank don’t have more than 155mm standard penetration. Enhanced armour also increases the hull side armour from 95mm to 99mm, making it better for over-angling.

Improved Control:
As the Churchill has such a limited top speed of 22km/h, it really doesn’t need the extra acceleration rate that the engine accelerator provides.

This tank will benefit more by having better traverse speed, which helps it to maintain speed around corners, and angle its armour to enemies quicker.

Using improved control will increase traverse speed by roughly 1 deg/s, its not very noticeable, but neither is the loss of engine power.

Vertical Stabilizer:
As the Churchill is a heavy tank, it should always be played on the frontline. Its also completely ineffective at long range sniping due to its shell velocity, so there is absolutely no benefit to using refined gun.

Vertical stabilizer is far more useful, as the Churchill is constantly turning and moving in battle. Due to its low speed cap, the tank is almost never stationary until it has to stop and aim, which is why the vertical stabilizer is so useful, it stops the aim circle from blooming out so much during and after the tank has moved.

Gameplay advice

The Churchill VIII plays just like the other Churchill tanks in the game (it could also be compared to a Turtle Mk.I or Tortoise’s gameplay, but with a turret).

Its slow and lumbering, but when it does find an enemy, it deals damage quickly and effectively. It blocks hits from enemies well, and can use armour angling to its advantage.
However, unlike the other Churchill tanks, the Mk. VIII has very comfortable alpha damage, meaning the tank doesn’t need to be worried about exposing itself to the enemy for long, as it can employ peek-a-boom tactics.

Watch your teammates:
As the Churchill is so limited in speed, you need to may attention to the minimap. This is important as sometimes your teammates just randomly change flanks, and you have to be aware of when it happens.
You can’t retreat fast, but if enemies are passive then you may have a chance to fall back to a better position.
The tank’s armour and gun are good, but not good enough to hold a whole flank alone.

Don’t stop moving:
Due to the limited 22km/h top speed of the Churchill VIII, you should not stop moving until you reach the frontline or find an enemy to shoot at. Don’t waste your time aiming at moving targets (at longer ranges), its quite pointless due to the shell velocity. You should instead be moving up and helping your allies to progress the battle on your flank, so keep moving until you are in a head-on engagement with the enemies.

Your tank is too slow allow you to constantly stop, or allow for passive gameplay. Continue pushing forward.

Fight in close quarters:
Try to get as close to enemies as you can, if you are at range, the slow shell velocity is likely to make you miss. Of course, you cannot create every engagement to be perfect for you, but its best to prioritise enemies closest to you due to the shells’ velocity. 

Don’t think that you have to be at point blank range, the gun still works against stationary tanks, and even moving tanks if they are within about 180 meters. However for really long range shots (200-500m+) its nearly impossible to hit a moving target.

Lead shots carefully:
As all shells on this tank have very low velocity (taking all 3 spots for the lowest velocity above tier 3), you have to actually aim ahead of moving enemies. If you don’t lead shots, you will miss most long range shots on moving enemies.

Sometimes an enemy is not moving, you shoot, and then they move. This is just a common occurrence in this tank, and you can’t expect to have perfect shot effectiveness due to this.

Don’t let your slow velocity deter you from taking shots. Of course, if you have nothing else to shoot at, you may as well take the chance. If you don’t hit, you haven’t lost anything.

Sidescrape/Angle:
Use sidescraping whenever you can. All Churchill tanks are great sidescrapers due to having generally strong side armour, and tracks that extend so far forward they cover the upper plate. The Churchilll VIII is no exception, having an amazing 95mm of hull side armour, making it a very good tank to sidescrape in. Look at the above image in the armour analysis, the tracks completely hide the upper plate.

You should also angle the tank when you don’t have cover. Angling is very effective, not only due to strong side armour, but as the tracks catch many shots, and the lower plate is fairly thick. Angling the tank will generate a lot more bounces on your armour, and there is no penalty in you doing so.

Over-angle:
You should also not be afraid to over-angle against same tier and lower tier tanks (over-angling is when you turn the tank past the 70 degree auto-ricochet mark).
This can often surprise enemy tanks, as they see the angle of your armour and think that they can penetrate, yet its all red. It also further increases the thickness of the lower plate.

Overall

Overall the Churchill VIII is a very comfortable feeling tank with great statistics.

Other than its shell velocity, the gun of this tank is just perfect in every way, having amazing DPM for its great 270 alpha, high penetration on both AP and HEAT, fast aim time, and decent enough accuracy.
The armour is also near-perfect, with very strong sides, a strong turret, upper plate, and lower plate, all while being perfectly suited to sidescraping.
The mobility is decent, considering that its a Churchill, with better top speed than both other tier 6 Churchill heavies, and good traverse speed and acceleration rate. Compared to all heavies in general though, the top speed is very limited.

Is it worth getting?

Heavy tank players should appreciate what the Churchill VIII has to offer, so to those players this tank is worth getting. Its got solid armour, a consistent and very comfortable gun, and good mobility (by Churchill tank standards).
However if you are a player that can’t stand slow tanks, poor gun depression, or bad shell velocity, then you most likely won’t enjoy this tank.

The Churchill VIII is worth 6,000 gold. This tank is one of the best tier 6 tanks when its in a close-quarters environment, the great alpha and DPM combination, along with great aim time and penetration, and strong armour just make the Churchill VIII so powerful. 
The only reason its not the best in the tier overall, is its shell velocity, it really does mean you have to aim shots more carefully when at range, and have a low chance of hitting at long ranges. The limited top speed also holds the tank back, though its overall mobility isn’t bad.
However when in mid and close range, the Churchill VIII is one of the most dangerous tanks you can face due to its great gun and armour.

Most recently sold for:

One of the rewards in the “Blitz turns 9!” event (bonus for purchases) – June 2023

Camo cost:

Historical note:

The name of this tank is incorrect. This tank’s name should be “Churchill CS”. This is the only name that could possibly be considered as correct for the tank, as this tank actually never existed.

The “Churchill VIII” in game is actually the hull of a Churchill Mk. VII, with the turret of a Churchill Mk. V. This is a fake configuration.

The real Churchill Mk. VIII was a Churchill Mk. VII but with a slightly modified turret to fit the CS 95mm Infantry Howitzer.
The Churchill Mk. V (the turret from the in-game tank) was just a Churchill Mk. IV, but with the CS 95mm Infantry Howitzer.

---

The reason that “Churchill CS” is the only correct name of this tank, is that CS means “Close Support”. This was the designation given to all British tanks with a particular howitzer gun (either the 3 inch CS gun, or the 3.7 inch CS gun), they were meant to provide close-range support for infantry, and were not actually intended for tank-on-tank combat.

As the tank is neither a Churchill Mk. V, nor a Churchill Mk. VIII, the only correct designation would be to leave out the mark of the tank and keep the tank make “Churchill”, and the related gun designation “CS”.

95mm Infantry Howitzer:
This gun is actually named incorrectly, as its gun calibre is actually 94mm (not WG’s fault, it was called the “95mm Infantry Howitzer” even in WW2).

This gun is a version of the 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer, adapted to be mounted into tanks. The acutal calibre of the gun is 94mm, and the naming of it as a 95mm gun is quite misleading, and it seems to have caught WG out.

WG has made its calibre 95mm in game, which is incorrect. 95mm is only the gun’s name, its calibre is 94mm.

Back to homepage