Ready for El Alamein: ideal British tanks

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Shortround6 said:
... 6pdr HE ammo was a scarce as hens teeth for the first year or two of the guns service ...
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Even if not plentiful there were seemingly enough 6pdr HE during the Tunisia campaign for CW troops, production had been 396,000 HE shells in 1942 and was 1,865,000 in 1943, after which the production was sharply curtained.

Juha
 
British users have told me that 6 pounder HE was a prized item for US troops to swap their kit for them. Apparently UK rations were worth 3 US ones too. I got the same rate in the late 70's/early 80's. Tells you more about US rations than UK ones I suspect. Tinned cake and bacon roll could buy you anything other than weapons. I dare say they feed them better now.
 

In the early 1970s I remember having Turtle soup in a ration pack. My parents didn't believe me so I took one home
 
Ah, the 1970s 24 hour 'ratpack'. Probably packed in 1950 (going off the price on the 'Mars Bar'; wrapper), full of heavy tins, designed to 'bung you up' for three days (life expectancy in a CEFO conflict), but apart from the tinned cheese, brilliant stuff! Want to swap three tins of cheese for an oatmeal block?
 
IIRC all 6pdr HE was Made in UK, so US 57mm equipped TD units, if they got HE rounds, they were from British stocks

Juha
 
In Finnish army, we had "guerilla food" packages, it incl. amongst other items, choco bar, raisin nuts mix and tinned liver casserole.

Juha
 

I think there must have been a warehouse the size of the Moon stuffed with Korean war era ratpacks we still got them in about 1980. Mmmm tinned syrup pud with a melted Mars Bar used as a sauce....Drools.
 
And I defy anyone to tell the difference between 'Biscuits, Sweet, A' and 'Biscuits, Plain, B' - they were both made from sawdust, concrete dust and dead flies. Now back to the thread .....
 
Production figures for 6pdr ammo show about 1 round in 21 was HE in 1942. In 1943 production was about one round HE for every 5.6 rounds of AP (both varieties). Production in a given year does not mean issue on the front lines. And production over one year can mean big changes from the beginning of the year to end of the year and not an even distribution of production during a year.
 
Hello Shortround
maybe the problem wasn't the scarcity of HE but the overproduction of AP shots, 20+ million 6 pdr AP shots seems to me excessive. At least the only rgt that was equipped with 6pdr tanks during Tunisia Campaigh I have some info , the North Irish Horse, seems to have had enough HE shells for their needs.

Juha
 
fastmongrel said:
What did you do to deserve tinned liver casserole, get caught in bed with the colonels daughter?
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No, even if our Lt.Col had 2 daughters of right age and at least one of then was fairly good looking. It was a standard issue, and I happen to be a part of the minority which likes it.
 
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A Stuart tank being refuelled from an RAF fuel bowser outside Sidi Barrani, 15 November 1942.


A Hawker Hurricane Mark IID of No. 6 Squadron RAF gives a demonstration of the firepower of its Vickers 40mm Type S anti-tank guns against derelict German tanks in the North African desert.
 

The 6pounder was also the standard training anti tank gun for the Royal Artillery during and for years after the war, possibly a lot of those AP were fired on ranges. I believe there were still 6 pounders and plenty of ammo in stock but not issued in the early 1970s when I was in the Territorial Army.
 
Hello Fastmongrel
the production of all other AP rounds but APDS stopped in 44, in 45 they produded only APDS and HE for 6pdr and I'm not surprised that many of the 20+ million AP rounds produced were not used during the WWII. And yes 6pdr was still in 44 the most numerous A/T gun in InfDivs in ETO. And IIRC even in 1950 there were 6 6pdr in the ToE of the British inf.battalion even if they were to be replaced by BAT.

Juha
 
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A Valentine tank crew in Tunisia reading letters by the side of their vehicle, December 1942.


Burnt-out Supermarine Spitfire Mark VC, ER621 'LE-B', of No. 242 Squadron RAF, which was shot down near Tebourba, Tunisia.

Douglas A-20C, 42-33229 'A', flys over the target area as bombs explode on enemy armoured units on the slopes of Djebel Bou Kournine, Tunisia, during a raid by 30 Bostons of No. 326 Wing RAF against 10th Panzer Division units which were holding up the advance of the 6th Armoured Division to Tunis.


Stuart 'Honey'
 
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