There may be some conflicting info in this thread, this is what I make of it:
Cruiser Tank, Ram Mk II, CT159854, Shop No.1399:- First assigned to 13 Tp, C Sqn, 12th (Canadian) Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment), Central Canadian Stocks & Central British Stocks. Named 'COBAULT' while a gun tank with 12 CAR. Records show it was at Worthing, UK with 12 CAR in March '43.
- CT159854 was Struck Off Strength from Canadian Central Stocks to Central British Stocks in Jan 1944 and by 31 May 1945 under the WD number of 159854 had been converted as the pilot ARV II by the British. In photos this shows as RECT (Recovery Tank) 159854.
- Also, as/at 31 May 1945, due shortages in British stocks of the Sherman, an order was placed to have 100 Ram Mk II tanks (out of their stock) converted into ARV II (based on this pilot model, RECT 159854). This order was subsequently cancelled in October 1945.
It seems this was the only Ram ARV II converted. David Herbert spotted the remains of one in a British scrapyard decades ago.
