Bishop (artillery)

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Bishop

General characteristics
Crew	4 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Length	5.53 m
Width	2.63 m
Height	2.83 m
Weight	17.5 t
Armour and armament
Armour	hull: 8-60 mm superstructure: 13-51 mm
Main armament	QF 25 pounder gun-howitzer 32 rounds
Secondary armament	0.303 inch Bren machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	AEC A190 diesel 131 hp (98 kW)
Suspension	coil sprung three-wheel bogies
Road speed	24 km/h
Power/weight	7.4 hp/tonne
Range	145 km

The Bishop was a British self-propelled artillery vehicle based on the Valentine tank. A result of a rushed attempt to create a self-propelled gun armed with the 25 Pounder gun-howitzer, the vehicle had numerous problems, was produced in limited numbers and was soon replaced by better designs.

[edit] History and description

The rapid maneuver warfare practiced in the North African Campaign led to a requirement for a self-propelled artillery vehicle armed with the 25 pounder gun-howitzer. In June 1941 the development was entrusted to the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. The result was a vehicle designated Ordnance QF 25-pdr on Carrier Valentine 25-pdr Mk 1 and universally known as Bishop.

The Bishop was based on the Valentine II hull, with turret replaced by a fixed boxy superstructure with large rear doors. Into this superstructure the 25 pounder gun-howitzer was fitted. As a limitation of the gun mounting the resulting vehicle had very high silhouette. The maximum elevation for the gun was limited to 15 degrees, lowering the range considerably to about 6,400 yards (about half that of the gun on its wheeled carriage), the maximum depression was 5 degrees and traverse 8 degrees. In addition to the main armament the vehicle could carry a Bren light machine gun.

Initial order was for 100 units which were delivered in 1942. A further 50 were ordered but it's not clear if those were delivered.

[edit] Combat history

The Bishop first saw action during the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa and remained in service during the early part of the Italian Campaign. Due to the aforementioned limitations, compounding the Valentine's characteristic slow speed, the Bishop was poorly received almost universally. In order to compensate for insufficient elevation, crews would often build large ramps out of the earth - running the Bishop onto these tilted the whole vehicle back effectively gaining extra elevation.

It was replaced in service by the M7 Priest and Sexton when those became available in sufficient numbers.

Bishop in North Africa, 25 September 1942. Rear view with the turret doors open.

[edit] References and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bishop self-propelled gun

Chris Henry, Mike Fuller - The 25-pounder Field Gun 1939-72, Osprey Publishing 2002, ISBN 1-84176-350-0.
Battlefront
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