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Old 06-09-14, 22:23
Rob Beale Rob Beale is offline
C8AX Ambulance (NZ), UC1*
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Gisborne, New Zealand
Posts: 388
Default You are correct Lynn.

The Kiwi armour in the Pacific campaign was a squadron of Valentines, including the Kiwi converted 3" Howitzer Close Support version.
There are also descriptions of the mating of 40mm Bofors High Explosive shells to 2 pounder cartridges to give the 2 pounder tanks a HE capability for dealing with anti tank guns etc.
(Apparently they also did the 2 pounder solid shot shell onto the 40mm bofors cartridge to give the bofors an anti tank capability! No evidence that it was ever used though).

The Stuarts were a mixture of M3 Hybrids with the M3A1 turret, and true M3A1 models. The Hybrid was only fit for training, and there were many complaints that it was not battleworthy.

A few carriers were swapped or sold, and one survivor on Guadalcanal is likely to be NZ built, though it can't be confirmed. Some went to New Caledonia and one of these is now in France I hear.

The 2 NZ Div sourced all its vehicles from Britain, including British, Canadian and US manufacture. These were all left in Europe at the end of the war.

Small numbers of British made vehicles were purchased before, during and after the war, but our home based wartime fleet was predominantly US and Canadian supplied.

Howzat, Rob
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