Hobart's Funnies
They were forerunners of the modern combat engineering vehicle and took their nickname from the 79th Division's commander, Major General Percy Hobart.[4] Bradley did request 25 flail tanks and 100 Churchill Crocodiles shortly after the demonstration in February 1944, and the British War Office agreed to supply them as well as British-crewed AVREs.[5] Considering results of the US landing on Omaha Beach, Bradley's decision has been criticised as it was felt that use of the range of "Funnies" could have saved American lives.Regarded as a powerful psychological weapon, this flame tank proved highly effective at clearing bunkers, trenches and other German fortifications.The Churchill's main gun was replaced by a spigot mortar (known as "Petard") that fired a 40lb (18 kg) HE-filled projectile nicknamed the "flying dustbin" around 150 yards (140 m).Also, small numbers of Churchill AVREs and Sherman BARVs were used until the 1960s, when they were replaced with similar vehicles based on the Centurion Tank.Other nations developed their own armoured bulldozers after the war, such as the Soviet IMR variant of the T-72 tank, the US army's Rome plow, and the Israeli Armored CAT D9.
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