Hello Paul,

Glad you like the pictures.

Normal wisdom is right, the rungs or hand rails were not fitted to Kangaroos. But in practice, Gun Towers were converted into Armoured Personnel Carriers (see Mark Tonner's recent articles on this subject), of which the hand rails and rear towing hook were not removed. So externally at least they still looked like Gun Towers, but were in facts APCs.

I understand your excitement, but I cannot see such a special vehicle with special maintenance needs surviving in the field in 1944.

As pointed out by David Herbert - a veritable Ram expert I might add - chances are that this late during the war, Wright R975-EC2 engines would have been replaced by R975-C1 (or -C4) radial engines, simply because they would no longer be supported by the supply system. And changing them over was relatively easily: if not during conversion, then by the time the original R975-EC2 was worn out, it would have to be replaced by a -C1, simply because EC-2's were no longer to be had from store supplies.

Hanno

Look at this Canadian Newsreel at the 7:57 time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vvVsVU2KhE

Great to know,. I was under the impression that the arrangement of the piping and ducting in the C1s was sufficiently different that their air cleaners _had_ to be moved outside, so a tank with the internal air cleaners would _have_ to be fitted with the Wright. Cool to find out this isn't true. Thanks a bunch!

Paul

Tyrant
 

Colourised photo from:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/miss...71622#p1671622

Attachment 128750

More 49th APCR Kangaroos
 

Hi Hanno here are a few more Kangaroos from 49th APCR

Blackpool
Captor
Comet
King John
Mars
Merlin
Neptune
Raider
Revenge
Rotherham
Spear
Tapir
Todmorden

More Kangaroos
 

Pictures only

And more
 

These come various sources, IWM, Bill and Barry Miller to name just a few.

Cheers

Kevin

Battle at ‘t Woold
 

Thanks for the extensive selection, Kevin.

Here is a write up on the Battle at ‘t Woold I made for the Sherman Register page a while ago:

Interesting, a Stuart VI in that last picture, you don’t see that many photos of those in Commonwealth service, AFAIK.

There are several pictures of these in Commonwealth service in late 1944/early 1945....Canadian, as well as Polish and also British, you will find a couple of them in the pictures taken in Bergen op Zoom oct 1944, and also Eelde in 1945, so in my opinion pictures of these aren't that rare.....but interesting nonetheless!


https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/pos...m3-stuart-tank

Tyrant ?
 

Kevin,

Do you have a listing for TYRANT?

Attachment 128924

The first photo looks to a Ram Kangaroo named TARANTULA. I cannot make out anything on the second and the Stuart seems to end T???212.
Can anyone make out anything else.

Cheers

Kevin

Hi Hanno,

Only the census CT 160052 and was part of F Squadron.

Cheers

Kevin

Ct160052
 

Hi Kevin, thank you!

Tarantula
 

TARANTULA also appears in a colorized video on youtube, shot at 't Woold: “Liberation Route East Holland in full-color - April 1945" - https://youtu.be/zgiqBwVWcKk

Attachment 128967

Nice work on the model, Kevin!


This is a clear example of why I don't like colorized black and white footage.......someone made a guesstimate about the colour of the RAM.....brown, green? Or was it red?

Colourized Photographs
 

I agree with Alex, I despise colourized photographs as I consider them to be nothing more then a guess by the 'artist'. They actually distract from the historical record and unfortunately now show up everywhere with little to no information stating that the image has been altered. The worst thing is that the museum community, the people who should know better, have bought into the colourization process.

F squadron 49APCR
 

I posted this photo of TYRANT CT-160052 to which Bill Miller replied:
Attachment 130087


“After the battle... Tyrant is one of 7 kangaroos of F Squadron, 49APCR knocked out. All named beginning with 'T' (Tarmois, Tapir, Taunt, Tarantula, Tiger, Tyrant & Terror).”
Attachment 130088

F Sqn Rams
 

TARMOIS, TAUNT, TIGER and TERROR are all new to me, are there any photos of these?

Cheers

Kevin

The scale of issue for Canadian armoured regiments, like the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment (27th Canadian Armoured Regiment) was a recce troop of as many as 11 Stuarts. They were seldom photographed because they were kept quite busy and not as numerous as the Shermans!

Two mentions in the latest regimental history bear repeating. In the race from Falaise to the Seine River, the SFR recce troop were packet escorts. Command wanted to keep the steel tracked tracks off the undamaged roads, and ordered the columns to skirt along field edges and forest tracks. With few maps, the Stuarts shepherded the tanks from one form-up point to the next. The other was very late in the war when the road network up on the North Sea Coast was too soft and narrow for Shermans. Recce troop with attachments lifted a company-minus sized infantry force onto their objective.

Diana CT40372
 

Ram Kangaroo CT-40372 "DIANA" of the 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment. One can tell they are British as the crew is using an umbrella to keep the weather at bay ;-)

CT-40372 was Struck Off Strength from Canadian stocks to the British in October 1944.

Attachment 130128 Attachment 130129

Attachment 130130

Kevin, let me check with Bill Miller who posted that info.

Hi Kevin, the named list of the seven knocked out Kangaroos at Winterswijk came from a local Dutch historian who also had access to primary documents, accounts and photos (many of which have already been posted here).

I cannot confirm photos of the four names mentioned above. There are photos of a couple other hulls, but the names painted on them cannot be made out clearly.

This hull (T11), I believe, is either Terror or Tiger. According to a detailed infantry account, this kangaroo brewed up immediately and a number of the infantry passengers were burned badly, including one burned to death. Of the kangaroo crewmen in this column, 8 ORs were wounded and Sgt. KFA Webber was killed. In the photo, you can see another Kangaroo in the upper right corner, near a farm building. That is CT40694 Tarantula.

Bill.

Attachment 130134

Hi Bill thanks for replying. So do you think that I would be safe in taking the names as accurate., if so I will add them to my database name list and credited to you.

I have tried manipulating the photo but the name is too blurred to be sure it could TAUNT or TERROR but impossible to be sure.

Cheers

Kevin

Yes, I think you could take them as accurate, considering it was from a primary source and what little photographic evidence there is, corroborates part of the list.

I was going through the 49APCR war diary the other night and found an action report for this incident that also corroborates the account from a veteran of the Ox & Bucks. Sadly, neither the 49APCR diary or the 49APCR Workshop diary records the name or census number of a single Kangaroo APC, they're actually worse than the 1CACR diaries... so really all we have to go on, are 3rd party period documents/letters and photos.

Bill.

Hi Bill Thanks for confirming that. I will add them to my list.

This is what I have so far for 1 CACR:-

A Sqn
Helen, Laura-Mae 3Tp, Lollypop 3Tp, Lonesome Joe, Marion CT159891,

B Sqn
Alice, Buckshee, Butch 3Tp CT160122, Butcher 3Tp CT159493, Fame 3Tp CT160098, Fearless, Ferocious, Fortune, Irene, Hairless Joe HQ, Tp, Jackie, Joan, II and III CT159873, Joan-Margot, Lili Marlene CT160100, Lois, Min 3Tp, Pat 3Tp CT160024, Patty, Pearl, Red Chief, Ruby-Flo 3Tp, Tee-Mick 3 Tp CT160041, Thunder 3 Tp CT159496

C Sqn
Cobault CT159954

Yokum Tp
Daisy-Mae, Granny Yokum, Lil Abner, Lil Sue, Mammy Yokum, Pappy Yokum

Un-confirmed Sqn
Canada, Defiant CT40640, Eileen, Enid, Fatima, Frisky, Happy, Karla, Norma, Phyllis CT160065, Siska, Violet. Too many un-matched census numbers to be listed here. I will post them later.

For 49th APCR I have:-

A Sqn
Anarchist CT40761, Armadillo CT40703, Arsenic CT40657, Assassin CT40347, Blackpool CT40856, Brighton CT40491, Brighton II, Bull CT40601, Callous, Captor, Charger, Cod CT40576, Comet CT40189,

C Sqn
King John, Leicester?, Liberator, Mars CT40730, Merlin CT40458, Neptune, Nero, Nightjar II

F Sqn
Olympian CT40709, Raider, Revenge, Rotherham, Sailor, Spear, Tapir CT39862, Tarantula, Tarmois, Taunt, Terror, Tiger, Todmorden, Tyrant.

Un-confimed
Diana CT40372, CT40592, CT40636

Cheers

Kevin

Kevin,

I have a spread sheet detailing the known/confirmed 1CACR named APCs by Squadron and with census numbers (when known). I've not compiled such data on the 49APCR as of yet.

I will review your lists and get back to you. I do see a few minor errors in what you have.

Bill.

Thank you Bill,

Any help is appreciated.

Cheers

Kevin

Roos
 

As I either walk or drive the into town - I often spot a mob numbering around twenty grazing in a neighbors paddock. I will take some more pics as I am walking into town today .. exercise.

Please make sure to add their serial numbers, registration numbers, unit markings and any other detail that can help to ID them and record their history as much as possible.

:D

All kidding aside, there is a surviving Ram Kangaroo in Australia.