Glider
Captain
some first class photos here, many thanks
Ready for El Alamein: ideal British tanks
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stug3
Staff Sergeant
A Humber Mk II armoured car and crew of 'B' Squadron, 11th Hussars – the first vehicle to enter Tripoli, photographed on 2 February 1943.
General Sir Alan Brooke (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) and General Sir Harold Alexander (C-in-C Middle East) in the back of a staff car during Winston Churchill's visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
Winston Churchill greets an officer of 51st Highland Division during his visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
25-pdr field guns and 'Quad' artillery tractors parade past Winston Churchill during his visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
The Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a speech to men of the 8th Army at Tripoli, Libya, on 7 February 1943.
General Sir Alan Brooke (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) and General Sir Harold Alexander (C-in-C Middle East) in the back of a staff car during Winston Churchill's visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
Winston Churchill greets an officer of 51st Highland Division during his visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
25-pdr field guns and 'Quad' artillery tractors parade past Winston Churchill during his visit to Tripoli to thank the 8th Army for its success in the North African campaign, 4 February 1943.
The Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a speech to men of the 8th Army at Tripoli, Libya, on 7 February 1943.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
vinnye
Senior Airman
I liked the Hurricane IID Tankbusters film. Especially like the flying tin opener logo!
stug3
Staff Sergeant
An AEC Matador tows a 4.5-inch field gun across a wooden track built across soft ground on the border between Libya and Tunisia, February 1943.
A Scammell Pioneer recovery lorry tows a disabled Crusader tank into a REME workshop, February 1943.
A Scammell Pioneer recovery lorry tows a disabled Crusader tank into a REME workshop, February 1943.
vinnye
Senior Airman
Was the Crusader the only British tank with the mantlet outside the turret during WW2?
fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
The early Valentine, Matilda and some of the earlier Cruisers had external mantlets.
vinnye
Senior Airman
Why did the other tanks have an internal mantlet?
It was one of the reasons why it was difficult to upgrade the guns?
It was one of the reasons why it was difficult to upgrade the guns?
yulzari
Tech Sergeant
IIRC this was the reason why the Vickers HV 75mm gun could not fit the Cromwell turret it was supposed to be designed for. The Vickers had an external mantlet mount and the turret an internal one so the gun was too long to fit.
Considering that the Churchill was bodged to take a Sherman external mount I am at a loss to understand why they did not do something similar with the Cromwell for the Vickers HV 75mm.
Sudanese Staghounds were fitted with the AEC turret and Sherman external mantlets and guns post war so it looks like it might have been possible.
Considering that the Churchill was bodged to take a Sherman external mount I am at a loss to understand why they did not do something similar with the Cromwell for the Vickers HV 75mm.
Sudanese Staghounds were fitted with the AEC turret and Sherman external mantlets and guns post war so it looks like it might have been possible.
vinnye
Senior Airman
That explains one of the issues I had thought about with the fitting of larger guns to British designs. As you say Yulzari - it was done with the Churchill, so why not a similar fix for the Cromwell?
yulzari
Tech Sergeant
To be pedantically fair, the fitting of the ex Sherman mantlet/guns to Churchills was to use 75mm HE in Italy as the Churchills there had the 6 pounder. The UK was enlarging the barrels of new ROF 6 pounders to 75mm to use the same ammunition as the new standard for new Cromwells and Churchills. Even on the last Valentines.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
General Montgomery with Lt-Col A C Clive of the Grenadier Guards in a turretless Stuart command tank, March 1943.
Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun in Tunisia, March 1943.
Guardsmen of the Scots Guards inspect a knocked-out German PzKpfw IV tank near Medenine, 12 March 1943.
Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun in Tunisia, March 1943.
Guardsmen of the Scots Guards inspect a knocked-out German PzKpfw IV tank near Medenine, 12 March 1943.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
British tank driver peering out of his Grant tank in North Africa, 1942.
Remains of German tanks form circular patterns in the sand at Sidi Rezegh in Libya.
Abandoned Italian respirators lying in the sand in the Western Desert.
Remains of German tanks form circular patterns in the sand at Sidi Rezegh in Libya.
Abandoned Italian respirators lying in the sand in the Western Desert.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
Two Long Range Desert Group patrols meet in the desert.
parsifal
Colonel
The LRDG was formed specifically to carry out deep penetration, covert reconnaissance patrols and intelligence missions from behind Italian lines, although they sometimes engaged in combat operations. Because the LRDG were experts in desert navigation they were sometimes assigned to guide other units, including the Special Air Service and secret agents across the desert. During the Desert Campaign between December 1940 and April 1943, the vehicles of the LRDG operated constantly behind the Axis lines, missing a total of only 15 days during the entire period. Possibly their most notable offensive action was during Operation Caravan, an attack on the town of Barce and its associated airfield, on the night of 13 September 1942. However, their most vital role was the 'Road Watch', during which they clandestinely monitored traffic on the main road from Tripoli to Benghazi, transmitting the intelligence to the British Army Headquarters.
With the surrender of the Axis forces in Tunisia in May 1943, the LRDG changed roles and moved operations to the eastern Mediterranean, carrying out missions in the Greek islands, Italy and the Balkans. After the end of the war in Europe, the leaders of the LRDG made a request to the War Office for the unit to be transferred to the Far East to conduct operations against the Japanese Empire. The request was declined and the LRDG was disbanded in August 1945.
The Axis also had LRDG special forces, with the italians in particular having some impressively equipped units. The crews of A.S.37 put forth very favorable judgments on these vehicles; their four wheel drive and large diameter wheels prevented them from becoming easily bogged down. The A.S.37 principal defect lay in a silhouette too high and thus too visible.
With the surrender of the Axis forces in Tunisia in May 1943, the LRDG changed roles and moved operations to the eastern Mediterranean, carrying out missions in the Greek islands, Italy and the Balkans. After the end of the war in Europe, the leaders of the LRDG made a request to the War Office for the unit to be transferred to the Far East to conduct operations against the Japanese Empire. The request was declined and the LRDG was disbanded in August 1945.
The Axis also had LRDG special forces, with the italians in particular having some impressively equipped units. The crews of A.S.37 put forth very favorable judgments on these vehicles; their four wheel drive and large diameter wheels prevented them from becoming easily bogged down. The A.S.37 principal defect lay in a silhouette too high and thus too visible.
Attachments
![AS37_cassonato[1].jpg](/forum/data/attachments/205/205937-edcfb874e089cfa7db69b183144cb1d2.jpg)
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stug3
Staff Sergeant
British war correspondent Alan Moorehead's impression of the American army in Tunisia from Alan Moorehead: The Desert War Trilogy
In the drizzling rain little groups of infantrymen were drawn up to receive their last instructions. They were hardly more than boys, most of them, wonderfully tall and proportioned and looking very forbidding under their Nazi-like helmets.
Unlike the British battledress and equipment, which tends to hold a man stiffly upright, these boys were in a uniform which gave them plenty of free movement. The short and formless weatherproof jacket was scarcely a garment of beauty, but it allowed the men to walk in the easy stooping way to which they were accustomed.
Most of the American stuff was first-class, and even as good or better than the German. Their mess tins, water bottles, rubber-soled boots, woollen underclothes, shirts and windbreakers were all superior to the British equivalents and their uniforms in general were made of finer stuff.
The Garand rifle and the officers' carbine were already regarded by many veterans as the best small arms on the front. As for their heavier equipment, it is doubtful if any army ever went to war so well supplied.
The only general criticism might have been that there was too much of it. Every other truck had a machine-gun mounted on its cabin. The self-propelling guns and the Long Tom guns were some of the heaviest artillery along the whole front. The diesel Sherman was certainly the best tank of its class.
The jeeps, at the other end of the scale, were unmatched, and the Germans loved to capture them for their own use, just as we had loved to get hold of a Volkswagen. The weapon-carriers and the command vehicles were all brand new, as were the signalling sets, the bulldozers for road-mending, and the electrical workshops.
It was the volume of this stuff, the intensity of the firepower that was so impressive. Possibly the troops could have done with a better heavy machine-gun and an improved mortar, but in general there was no question that they were the best equipped allied amiy at the front.
By European army standards the American rations were lavish to the point of extravagance – vast quantities of tinned meats, fruits and vegetables. In any American mess you could be sure of getting an excellent hot meat and vegetable stew, a plate of fruit, white bread and a cup of coffee.
Things like cigarettes, chewing-gum and toothpaste were handed out in a way that made the British soldiers gape. The Doughboy was always generous in sharing out his good things. As a British war correspondent I personally was given immediate hospitality wherever I went, and such things as maps and plans were discussed with me without hesitation.
A US tank crew pose in front of their Lee tank in Tunisia. Note the weighted 75mm gun.
US President F.D. Roosevelt inspects troops from a jeep during the Casablanca conference, January 1943.
In the drizzling rain little groups of infantrymen were drawn up to receive their last instructions. They were hardly more than boys, most of them, wonderfully tall and proportioned and looking very forbidding under their Nazi-like helmets.
Unlike the British battledress and equipment, which tends to hold a man stiffly upright, these boys were in a uniform which gave them plenty of free movement. The short and formless weatherproof jacket was scarcely a garment of beauty, but it allowed the men to walk in the easy stooping way to which they were accustomed.
Most of the American stuff was first-class, and even as good or better than the German. Their mess tins, water bottles, rubber-soled boots, woollen underclothes, shirts and windbreakers were all superior to the British equivalents and their uniforms in general were made of finer stuff.
The Garand rifle and the officers' carbine were already regarded by many veterans as the best small arms on the front. As for their heavier equipment, it is doubtful if any army ever went to war so well supplied.
The only general criticism might have been that there was too much of it. Every other truck had a machine-gun mounted on its cabin. The self-propelling guns and the Long Tom guns were some of the heaviest artillery along the whole front. The diesel Sherman was certainly the best tank of its class.
The jeeps, at the other end of the scale, were unmatched, and the Germans loved to capture them for their own use, just as we had loved to get hold of a Volkswagen. The weapon-carriers and the command vehicles were all brand new, as were the signalling sets, the bulldozers for road-mending, and the electrical workshops.
It was the volume of this stuff, the intensity of the firepower that was so impressive. Possibly the troops could have done with a better heavy machine-gun and an improved mortar, but in general there was no question that they were the best equipped allied amiy at the front.
By European army standards the American rations were lavish to the point of extravagance – vast quantities of tinned meats, fruits and vegetables. In any American mess you could be sure of getting an excellent hot meat and vegetable stew, a plate of fruit, white bread and a cup of coffee.
Things like cigarettes, chewing-gum and toothpaste were handed out in a way that made the British soldiers gape. The Doughboy was always generous in sharing out his good things. As a British war correspondent I personally was given immediate hospitality wherever I went, and such things as maps and plans were discussed with me without hesitation.
A US tank crew pose in front of their Lee tank in Tunisia. Note the weighted 75mm gun.
US President F.D. Roosevelt inspects troops from a jeep during the Casablanca conference, January 1943.
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stug3
Staff Sergeant
Valentine tanks carrying infantry of the Black Watch, March 1943.
Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled guns in action near Grenadier Hill, 23 March 1943.
A Universal carrier escorts a large contingent of Italian prisoners, captured at El Hamma,
Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled guns in action near Grenadier Hill, 23 March 1943.
A Universal carrier escorts a large contingent of Italian prisoners, captured at El Hamma,
Bob_Semple_Airplane
Airman
- 13
- Apr 3, 2013
I wrote this a while ago on the topic of a British assault gun based off the Crusader. Armed with the 3 inch AA gun.
Englander Sturmgeschutz - Alternate History Discussion Board
Here's the pic:
In retrospect it looks like the superstructure shape has room for improvement.
Englander Sturmgeschutz - Alternate History Discussion Board
Here's the pic:
In retrospect it looks like the superstructure shape has room for improvement.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
A Sherman tank crosses an anti-tank ditch during the advance through the Gabes Gap, 6-7 April 1943.
stug3
Staff Sergeant
This pattern of anti-aircraft fire provides a protective screen over Algiers at night. The photo, recording several moments of gunfire, shows a defense thrown up during an axis raid upon Algiers in North Africa on April 13, 1943.
