T16s in service?
 

Were T16s used in NW Europe in 1944 / 45? I presume they were, but have not paid them much attention over the years... I've various reference books on UCs but all give the T16 a brief paragraph or so, no real detail. Would someone like to give a broad resume of the T16s wartime use with the British.

Thanks Guys.

Re: T16s in service
 

Hi Alastair;

I understand you asked about British use, but of interest, this is taken from the EQUIPMENT STATE, CANADIAN ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE DECEMBER 1944 (dated 31 December 1944):

Establishment: 348
Held: 266
Deficiencies: 82

so as at 31 December 1944, First Canadian Army operating in North-West Europe had 266 T16 carriers on charge.

Cheers

Also...a recently deceased local Legion member, 7th Recce Regt (17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars), told me that they trained with UCs but rode T16s into battle during the NW Europe campaign.

(1) I know T-16s had a great reputation in early spring 1945 in their ability to cross mud flats during Operation VERITABLE. I cannot, however, give you numbers or specific assignments;

(2) I also have photographic proof that a few of the antitank platoons in Canadian regiments were issued T-16s 'to try out' in the spring of 1945. An example comes to mind - a single T-16 issued to the AT PLT of the 48th Highlanders, tried but rejected in favour of their previously-used 15cwts, primarily because of the lack of crew and storage space. I can imagine this was the stance taken by more than a few of those regiments;

(3) We also have photographic proof of T-16s used by recce units such as the Lake Superior Regiment, generally armed with whatever machine guns which could be scrounged, and most likely accepted because of their cross-country mobility and low profile;

(4) Overall, we have had suggestions that many of the T-16 production run never made it into the front lines, but it's clear many also did... how many in Canadian units vs in British units remains a question to be answered however, although it was a demonstrably better carrier than the standard UC (and maybe even than the vaunted Windsor) due to its extra bogie wheels, differential steering system and Mercury V-8 engine.

You don't get more primary source material then this. Ive said it a few time but 2nd Cnd Inf Div was out fitted with T-16's for the infantry battalion A/T platoons. This happened while in England and they went to NWE with them in July 1944. 3rd Div was given all Mk1/2 carriers to keep things the same for the invaision. If you look at almost any NWE picture of a T16 is can almost certanly be traced back to a 2nd Div unit. There are lots of pictures you just need to look really hard for some of them as the veh's are in the background or under piles of kit.

http://www.class-five.com/~mlu/forum...ghlight=forbes

Geoff, you make mention of the 48th Highlanders. Thats very true about them wanting trucks as thats what they used in Italy and there is a lot more room in a truck then a T-16.

Unless someone has found a new picture depicting British use in NW Europe, issue seems to have been totally restricted to Canadian units.

There is already a very extensive thread on this forum referring to T16's with lots of pictures.

Hi Alistair,

Nice to see you on this forum too. I am a bit of a "T16 afficionado" and if you do some searching you will see a lot of information on T16's amassed over the years. To get you going, here are a few threads:
- Wartime T16 pictures
- Carrier, 4.2 inch Mortar (T16)
- Picture ID challenge: T16's near Caen
- A Brief History of the T-16 Carrier

Hope this helps,
regards,
Hanno