Bishop

The British were greatly impressed by the use of self-propelled guns by the Germans in Africa. Marder’s and various SP infantry guns played an important part in the German success’s and the British saw the potential in this development.

In 1941 the 8th Army HQ requested similar equipment and the boffins went into overdrive.It was decided to use an existing tank chassis to mount a 25pdr and the job went to the Birmingham Carriage & Wagon Company. They used the Valentine II tank as the basis for the new vehicle.

The new vehicle was simply an armoured superstructure sat on top of the Valentine chassis with the 25pdr mounted inside. It entered trials in August 1941.

Trials proved successful and a few minor changes were made to the crew protection before it was put into production. 100 were ordered with a plan for a further 200.

Meanwhile the British commission in charge of sourcing lend-lease equipment in the US discovered the M7 Priest and it was decided to take the US built SP 105mm Howitzer. The second order for 200 Bishops was cancelled.

In July 1942 a further 50 Bishops were ordered, to join the 80 already in service and the 20 still under construction. The Bishop served in the desert until 1943.

Most Bishops were initially assigned to 121st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. They were usually found supporting the all-Valentine 23rd Armoured Brigade from Alamein and onwards. Batteries 275 (3rd West Riding) and 276 (11th West Riding) were equipped with the Bishop in October 1942.

In Flames of War

The Bishop gave the British their first self-propelled artillery, it offers you mobile support for your force, whether they are foot, motorised riflemen or tanks. The 25pdr is a good gun with both smoke and HE. With a FP of 3+ it’s not always as destructive as other guns versus dug-in positions, but it’s still more than capable of keeping their heads down (and pinned).

It also has a handy AT 9 direct fire when they get into a tight spot and it has sufficient armour to see off enemy machine-gun and rifle fire (Armour F1, S1, T0).

It had a couple of draw backs though, like the Valentine it is a Slow Tank and only moves 8”/20cm. It also has limited elevation on its gun due to the limitations of the mantlet design, the gun not being able to elevate high enough to achieve longer ranges. This means it can’t fire the 25pdr full range and fires as Close Support artillery (range 48”/120cm).

But it is much cheaper than the Priest (75pts versus 135pts) and is a viable option to field on a regular basis.

As mentioned above most Bishops to see combat service served with the 121st Field Artillery Regiment supporting the 23rd Armoured Brigade. Phil has written and interesting article about the 23rd and has given a sample force including Bishops.