Black Prince
Black Prince
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[Client Values; Actual values in
1,400,000 Cost |
1450290 HP Hit Points |
50.65/5121.91/53 t Weight Limit |
- Commander
- Driver
- Radio Operator
- Gunner
- Loader
350600 hp Engine Power |
20/12 km/h Speed Limit |
1820 deg/s Traverse |
6.9127.38 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
NoNo Pivot |
// mm Hull Armor |
240/95.2/101.6240/95.2/101.6 mm Turret Armor |
AP/APCR/HE
AP/APCR/HE Shells |
150/2800/75
175/3200/75 Shell Cost |
140/140/190150/150/190 HP Damage |
148/208/38171/239/38 mm Penetration |
r/m ▲
14.29 r/m Standard Gun ▲
12 Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
2000.6 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
1800 Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
m ▲
0.34 m With 50% Crew: 0.421 m ▲
0.34 Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.421 m |
s 2.3 s 2.3 Aim time |
3030 deg/s Turret Traverse |
360° Gun Arc |
-8°/+20°-8°/+20° Elevation Arc |
14084 rounds Ammo Capacity |
2020 % Chance of Fire |
m 370 m 370 View Range |
m 450 m 700 Signal Range |
VII
1400000
The Black Prince is a British tier 7 heavy tank.
Developed from 1943 through 1945 on the basis of the Churchill tank. It featured a wider and elongated hull to carry the upgraded turret with a 17-pounder gun. A total of six Black Prince prototypes were produced from 1944 through 1945. A few vehicles underwent trials but never saw action.
The last of the "Infantry tanks", the Black Prince is an overhauled Churchill equipped with a better gun. Unfortunately, while the powerful engine makes it respectably agile during maneuvering, the tank retains the terrible cruising speed of its predecessors. Being the slowest of all tier 7 tanks, its a fairly weak opponent despite its quick rate of fire, excellent accuracy, and above average armor.
When first acquired, the lumbering mobility will be absolutely inadequate for its tier, and only after researching the great Meteor engine does it gain its ability to perform a first line tank role in battle. Like the Mark VII, it boasts an thick but flat front and side armor, but under no circumstance should it be driven into the open as it is an easy artillery and tank destroyer target.
The transformation into HD saw the once strong frontal turret armor significanty reduced. Which used to be the only strongpoint of the entire tank. As such it is now a very poor tank and even more of a burden to its team than before.
The Black Prince leads to the Caernarvon.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ()
| |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
V | Rolls-Royce Meteor | 600 | 20 | 744 | 14000 | |
IV | Bedford Twin-Six | 350 | 20 | 1531 | 11000 |
Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ()
| |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VI | Black Prince | 51 | 18 | B/2 | 10000 | 13000 | |
VII | Black Prince Mk. II | 53 | 20 | B/2 | 10000 | 18000 |
Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ()
| |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VII | WS No. 19 Mk. II | 450 | 40 | 21000 | |
VIII | WS No. 22 | 700 | 40 | 25000 | |
VIII | WS No. 19 Mk. III | 550 | 40 | 22000 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Some lowtiers may struggle with the armor, assuming they dont load gold.
- Tracks absorb a lot of damage; sidescraping is effective enough
- Thick but flat hull armour, you must angle it, wont help against gold.
- Good rate of fire, accuracy and acceptable gun depression (-8°), better in hulldown tactics
- Great Hit Point pool
Cons:
- Very low alpha damage, DPM and lowest penetration of any tier 7 heavy tank
- Very low top speed (20km/h)
- Doesn't improve much from stock config
- Almost useless in higher tiers matches due to combination of low speed, low penetration, low alpha, and flat armor.
- Extremely painful grind to research this tank from the Churchill VII
Performance
The Black Prince has a similar playstyle to the preceding Churchill series of tanks. It used to be the only tank of the Churchill series that had working armor, but sadly the HD transformation did change that. Not to mention that credible threats will simple load gold, ruining your average armor completly.
Unlike the first two UK heavies, the Black Prince has better agility than it seems on paper (most likely due to its good terrain passability), and when used tactically it can make a brawler in a pinch, though it is generally a better idea to avoid close combat in order to fully utilize the advantages of your gun. It is vital especially in close quarters to angle your armor, preferably slightly to the right at around thirty degrees. If you can jam your front end against a rock or other cover with just your sharply angled side and your turret exposed to enemy fire, you can also become a frustrating blockade for any tank at your tier (this tactic is also known as sidescraping). While Black Prince's armor can sometimes bounce shots from KV-3' and IS's 122 mm gun, driver should fear the Tiger and T29, which with a suitable drivers can easily penetrate you armor and empty your health pool.
Note that once you're set in a direction, it will be rather difficult to backtrack as the Black Prince's awfull top speed won't get you there in time; instead, you should consider where your allies are going and where you can be of most use. If you are close to the middle or bottom tier, stick to the second line and provide support with the accurate 17 pounder, which can penetrate weak spots on most high tier tanks easily thanks to its great accuracy and aim time and good penetration with premium rounds. The damage will seem lacking but the rate of fire is acceptable and the gun will drain all but the largest health pools in a short time. Be ready to take the initiative though and to lead an assault through where the enemy lines are weak. Given the fast reload of your gun, you can charge through enemy fire and get into their faces as your allies follow you up.
No matter what the fight, don't stray too far from your support. The Black Prince can fight a lot of things and win head to head, but if you enter combat with more than one agile, well-armed tank in close quarters your chances of victory plummet. Shots to your exposed sides and rear carry a high chance of injuring a crew member, track your tank, or worse destroy your ammo rack. This will more than double your reload time and make your cannon far less potent due to its low alpha damage.
Take note that when cornering or making tight turns your sides will be exposed long before your turret and gun, allowing enemies to potentially cause extensive damage to your exposed hull. Instead of making tight turns, you should take corners from far off the edge and angle yourself diagonally. This makes it harder for enemies hiding around the corner to penetrate you due to the shallow angle of your sides, and will leave your gun clear to fire at the enemy. This tactic is valid on all Churchill Tank Models.
Despite it's flaws though, Black Prince is basically a TOG that has thicker armor, more health, a tier higher, more mobility, and the same gun. So if you like the TOG, this is for you. When put into tier 7 battles, it is usefull. Above that not so much, the 17 Pdr has no business being on a Tier 7 heavy tank.
Early Research
The tank doesn't have many research options, and those don't make any big differences, including the unrequired suspension. The choices will depend if you favour fire-power over mobility, but once again, no change will have outlandish results. The 2nd engine is MUCH lower weight than the first, so you can easily mount a full set of equipment without ever upgrading the weight limit. The upgrade to your gun seems small on paper but the performance in battle is noticeably improved, especially against thick armor.
Suggested Equipment
Gallery
Historical Info
Development
As a development from the Churchill, the Black Prince was a continuation of the line of Infantry tanks, that is slower, heavier tanks intended to operate in close support of infantry. The parallel development in British tank design were the Cruiser tanks, which were intended for more mobile operations. A43 was the General Staff Specification number issued in 1943, for an interim tank that would eventually be superseded by a "Universal tank" that would replace both Infantry and Cruiser tanks.
The cruiser line led to the Cromwell tank (and the 17 pounder armed Challenger variant) and then the Comet tank, (which had a variant of the 17 pounder gun) entering service during the war. While not as heavily protected as the Churchill, the Comet showed the way tank development was going. This led to the last of the cruiser line and the first of the Universal tanks, the very successful Centurion tank.
A larger gun than a conventional Churchill required a larger turret on a wider turret ring and consequently a widening of the tank hull to carry this. The Black Prince weighed around ten tons more than the Churchill so the suspension was modified and the tracks widened by 10 inches to carry the extra load. However, the Churchill's 350-horsepower (260 kW) engine was retained, leading to the tank being underpowered and slow, with maximum speeds of 10.5 mph (16.9 km/h) on roads and 7.5 mph (12.1 km/h) cross country. This was so slow that the tank's tactical usefulness would have been limited. Consideration was given to the use of the Rolls-Royce Meteor engine; this would have increased the available power to 600 hp (450 kW), but the idea never left the drawing–board. Likewise, plans to fit the Black Prince with the turret from the Centurion were never carried out.
By the time the Black Prince prototypes had appeared in May 1945, the Sherman Firefly had acquired a proven combat record, the Comet tank was in service and the introduction of Centurion was imminent. All these tanks carried the QF 17-pounder or a derivative; all had better mobility than the Black Prince and the Centurion had frontal armour of comparable effectiveness. The Black Prince had become redundant and the project was abandoned.
The Black Prince marked the end of the development of the Churchill tank, and the end of the Infantry tank concept in British tank design.
Survivors
The only surviving Black Prince tank is held by the Bovington Tank Museum in Bovington, UK; it is the fourth of the six prototypes that were built. It has recently been restored to running condition.
Historical Gallery
Historical Accuracy Errata
The OQF 77 mm Gun Mk. II gun was only used on the Comet tank. It was never developed for the Black Prince.
- The Rolls-Royce Meteor engine was never developed for the Black Prince.
- Actual top speed is 16.9 km/h, not 20 km/h.