Staghound Restoration

[Dirk Thielens]

Hello Everyone,
I am pleased to announce that a small group of enthousiast in Belgium has started to restore a Staghound T17E1. The group is called Taskforce Liberty.
The Staghound was probably used by the Canadians and after the war transferred to the Belgian Army and the Gendarmerie (state police). The purpose is to get it running for the 75th anniversary of the liberation in 2019. The owner of the Staghound is the Belgian Army but as they have no further use for it nor place to store it they have given to us in long time loan in order to use it for commemorations, parades, liberation events, etc. We have found the US registration number (USA 6.031.187)on it but that is for now the only thing we know about the vehicle. There are attachment points for the deep wading kit. Is there someone out there who could help us identifying the vehicle in order to find it’s history?
For the facebook users, we have a facebook page with the name Taskforce Liberty that shows all the pictures we have made untill now.

[Dirk Thielens]

Hope this works. This is the link to our facebookpage:
www.facebook.com/Staghound.be/
Cheers,

Dirk

[James P]

Great stuff, I hope we see LOTS of pics posted of your vehicle and restoration work. I always liked the Staghound looks and history.

[David Dunlop]

Dirk. What a fascinating Staghound you have to work on!

My wife's Father and Uncles served with the 12th Manitoba Dragoons during and after the war and a neighbour down the lane from my parents also served with that Regiment.

Your vehicle is interesting from so many levels. The US Army was definitely not a major user of this vehicle during the war. I believe a number served with US Forces in Australia and may have been used post war by the Australian Army and I think some were based in the United States during the war, to serve what purpose I do not know. The US certainly sold a number of Staghounds to Central and South American counties post war, but where those vehicles came from I do not know.

I have seen pale blue US Army markings on a few wartime vehicles but it does not seem to have been a common practice. This is the first time as well that I can recall ever seeing a US Army number on a vehicle using the decimal point system of numbering. It would be interesting to know when and why US vehicles used pale blue markings and when the decimal numbering system was in use.

I am not familiar with how other Canadian Regiments that used the Staghound came by their vehicles other than the 12th Manitoba Dragoons. They did not get their vehicles until the Regiment arrived in England, and they were apparently drawn from existing British stocks of the vehicle already in England, so those at least, should not have passed through US Army hands.

I cannot wait to follow your restoration story of this vehicle!

Best regards,


David

[Mike Cecil]

Hi David,

Your comment that "..... a number served with US Forces in Australia and may have been used post war by the Australian Army" .... needs some clarification.

US Forces in Australia did not use Staghounds: the T17E1s in Austraia were purchased by the Australian Army in 1943(?) when the local 'Rhino' Heavy Armoured Car project fell over. The type was used in Australia during WW2, and a small number were deployed to Japan as part of BCOF, but were soon withdrawn due to limitations imposed by the road system in the Australian AO.

They remained in service with the Australian Army, mainly the reserve, until the 1970s.

Mike

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Mike. So even less use by the US Army than I thought.

David

[Russ Gregg]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

I have seen pale blue US Army markings on a few wartime vehicles but it does not seem to have been a common practice. This is the first time as well that I can recall ever seeing a US Army number on a vehicle using the decimal point system of numbering. It would be interesting to know when and why US vehicles used pale blue markings and when the decimal numbering system was in use.

It was my understanding that the blue markings on US vehicles were painted pre-war. Once the war started they went to white.

[tankbarrell]

Blue lettering was for tactical purposes and lasted well into the war. All US vehicles built to US Govt. contracts had a USA serial applied.

My Sherman, built in Sept. 42, had its number written in blue as follows:-

U.S.A. W-3.057.081

It also had its WD number, T-146309 in blue.