142nd Regt. Bishops

[John McGillivray]

When the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade sailed from Scotland to Sicily, to take part in Operation Husky, they were accompanied by two British Artillery Units. One was the 93rd Bty of the 70th Medium Regiment RA, while the other was the 142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment (S.P.) RA.

I found some pictures of the 25-pdr (SP) Bishop guns in Sicily belonging to the 142nd Regt on the IWM site, dated the 27 July, 1943. From the photos one can see that the guns were not repainted before they left the UK. The question is what colour are they, Khaki Green No. 7?

[John McGillivray]

Here are some more photos of Bishops in Italy, from the IWM site. The original captions appear below the photos.



Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 506th Battery, 142nd Field Regiment, 14 September 1943.



Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun near Cava, 28 September 1943.



Rear view of a Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun near Cava, showing the crew inside the fighting compartment 28 September 1943.



A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery operating at a captured airfield among the wreckage of German aircraft, 12 October 1943.



A Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery firing at night from a captured airfield near Grazzanise, 12 October 1943.



Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 142nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, on a Diamond T tank transporter of 610 Heavy Recovery Section, REME, 23 December 1943.