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The Churchill Oke was a prototype flamethrower tank that was produced in 1942 and took part in the disastrous raid on Dieppe.
The Oke used a normal jettisonable fuel tank to carry the flamethrower fuel. It got its name from Major Oke, who first suggested the idea. It won the support of Lord Mountbatten, then Chief of Combined Operations, and was ready for operational use an impressive three months later.
The fuel tank was linked to a Wasp-type flame projector. The operator sat in the hull machine gunner's position on the Churchill. The cylindrical fuel tank was mounted horizontally across the back of the tank and was linked to the flame projector by a pipe that ran up the side of the tank. The flame projector was mounted in the front left of the hull, to the left of the Besa machine gun. The flame had a range of 40-50 yards.
Three Churchill Oke flamethrower tanks took part in the disastrous attack on Dieppe in August 1942. All three were destroyed before they could enter combat.
The Churchill Oke was soon replaced by the Churchill Crocodile, one of the most effective flame thrower tanks of the Second World War.