After the British 8th Army encountered German self-propelled artillery in North Africa, it was decided to build a similar weapon for infantry support. The result was the Bishop, based on the Valentine chassis and armed with the already-proved a 25 pdr. The gun was enclosed in a simple, fixed steel casemate.
The Bishop only saw limited production, as the superior US 105 mm HMC, M7 became available. After the North African campaign, the Bishop was retired from active service, but remained in service as a training vehicle.
| Bishop | |
|---|---|
| Crew | |
| Crew |
|
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Weight | 17.7 t |
| Length | 5.54 m |
| Width | 2.63 m |
| Height | 2.83 m |
| Armour | |
| Armour (range) | 8-60 mm |
| Performance | |
| Speed (max) | 24 km/h |
| Engine | |
| Engine | AEC A190 |
| Net h.p. | 131 |
| Armament | |
| Primary weapon | QF 25 pdr (1) |
| Secondary weapon | .303 cal. Bren Machine Gun (1) |
