'A Churchill flame-thrower ditched in the soft mud by the Wessem Canal', 1944

Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, North West Europe (1944-1945), 1944.

Ditched Churchill Crocodile tank. Like the standard Churchill tank, the Crocodile was armed with a 75 mm gun in the turret, but the hull mounted machine gun was replaced by a flame-thrower. The tank's trailer contained 400 gallons of fuel and nitrogen propellant, enough for 80 one-second bursts. The thrower had a range of up to 100 yards and was a devastating weapon when used against enemy bunkers and defences. /p>

Tanks of the 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) supported an assault on the Wessem-Nederweert Canal by 160th Brigade which began on 14 November 1944. The attack was assisted by Churchill Crocodiles and 'artificial moonlight' provided by searchlights. With the Germans withdrawing, there was little opposition but the British and Commonwealth troops had to contend with mines, booby traps and thick mud, as weather conditions deteriorated. Once the infantry were across the canal, engineers constructed a bridge and the tanks of the Sharpshooters crossed on 16 November 1944.

From an album containing 222 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).