My father was a Royal Horse Artillery Troop Commander in France in 1940. His guns were First World War 18pdrs, with the original artillery wheels replaced by pneumatic tyres. Apparently some of the guns had been obtained from a Canadian military museum. The gun tractors were Guy Quad FATs. I do remember him telling me that they were considered under powered and unreliable, and that he was quite happy to leave them for the Germans when he was finally captured at a place called Cassel, just outside Dunkirk, in May 1940. I have attached a photo of FATs from his regiment in the town of Cassel after the Germans had captured it, the photo being taken by a German propaganda film unit.
The car behind the 18pdr gun looks like a Simca 8, perhaps belonging to the regiment's French Liaison officer, or maybe purloined by the invading Germans.
Hope this is of interest, although I admit it adds nothing to the technical debate.
James
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23-09-07, 23:59
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