The Bishop, formal designation Ordnance QF 25-pdr on Carrier Valentine 25-pdr Mk 1, was a British

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

vehicle based on the

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 Valentines were produced in eleven marks, plus specialised variants, accounting for about a quarter of wartime Britis ...

and armed with the QF 25-pounder

gun-howitzer Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill the roles of both an ordinary cannon or field gun, and of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct fire, direct and indirect fire. Mo ...

, which could fire an HE shell or an armour-piercing shell. A result of a rushed attempt to create a self-propelled gun, the vehicle had numerous problems, was produced in limited numbers and was soon replaced by better designs.

Design and development

The rapid manoeuvre warfare practiced in the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

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 Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham, England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the factory divided by the boundary betw ...

. A prototype was ready for trials by August and ordered by November 1941. The vehicle was based on the Valentine II hull, with the turret replaced by a fixed boxy superstructure with large rear doors. It was nicknamed the Bishop for its high

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

-like superstructure. The 25-pounder gun-howitzer was fitted in this superstructure. As a consequence of the gun mounting, the resulting vehicle had a very high silhouette, which is a disadvantage in desert warfare. The maximum elevation for the gun was limited to reducing the range to , about half that of the same gun on a wheeled carriage. To increase range, crews would build large earthen ramps and run the Bishop onto them, tilting the vehicle back to increase the elevation. The maximum depression was , traverse was , and the vehicle could also carry a

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun (Brno-Enfield) was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by the United Kingdom in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in Worl ...

. By July 1942, had been built; as the last being built, an order for a further placed, with an option for a further the tender was abandoned in favour of the American 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7.

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

received 48 Bishops in 1943. The British Army in Italy 1943 NA7710

Combat history

The Bishop first saw action during the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

in North Africa and remained in service during the early part of the Italian Campaign. Due to its limitations and the Valentine's characteristic slow speed, the Bishop was poorly received. The Bishop was replaced by the M7 Priest and Sexton when those became available in sufficient numbers and surviving Bishops were diverted for training in self-propelled gun tactics.Trewhitt 1999, p. 114.

British self-propelled guns with ecclesiastical names

The US 105 Millimeter Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 which replaced the Bishop, was given the service name "Priest" by the British, as part of its superstructure was said to resemble a priest's pulpit. Following this line of names, a 1942 self-propelled gun armed with the 57 mm QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun was the

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

, and a 1943 vehicle with the QF 25-pounder on a chassis derived from the M3 Medium tank was the Sexton. This practice was continued after the war with FV433 Abbot and ended in 1993 when they were replaced with the

AS-90 The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery formerly used by the British Army and subsequently donated for use by Ukrainian Army. It can fire standa ...

Notes

Sources

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External links

Flames of War: Bishop, 8th Army

{{WWIIBritishAFVs World War II self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery of the United Kingdom World War II armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Tracked self-propelled artillery