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Kangaroo (armoured personnel carrier)

March 06, 2024

A Kangaroo was a Canadian armoured personnel carrier (APC) during the Second World War which was created by converting a tank chassis. Kangaroos were created as an expedient measure "in the field" by the Canadian Army, and were so successful that they were used by other Commonwealth forces, including the British Army.

Kangaroo
A Priest Kangaroo of 209th Self-Propelled Battery, Royal Artillery, transports infantry of 78th Division near Conselice, Italy, 13 April 1945.
TypeArmoured personnel carrier
Place of originCanada
Service history
In service1943–1945
Production history
DesignerGuy Simonds
Designed1944
VariantsRam Kangaroo
Priest Kangaroo
Churchill Kangaroo
Kangaroo Badger flame tank
Specifications
Crew2 + 8 to 10 passengers, often more
Main
armament
1 × .50 cal MG (Early models)
1 × .30 cal MG (Later models)
(Pintle mount)
Secondary
armament
1 × .30 cal MG
(Bow or cupola MG depending on model)
Flamethrower
(Kangaroo Badger: Replaced cupola MG)

Their ability to manoeuvre in the field with tanks was a major advantage over earlier designs, and led to the dedicated APC designs that were introduced by almost all armies immediately after the war.

History edit

The earliest iterations of the Kangaroo were created from M3 and M5 Stuart light tanks to serve as artillery tractors in North Africa campaign in circumstances where Universal Carriers were unavailable. They were effective in their role, but attempts by soldiers to use them as improvised APCs proved ill-advised due to the Stuart's very light armour.

In July 1944, Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar's First Canadian Army was concerned by manpower shortages due to combat losses. While the British and Canadian forces had received some American M3 Half-track APCs, the supply was heavily reduced by this point due to the Americans' own need for them, and Universal Carriers were individually insufficient despite the enormous numbers. However, self-propelled artillery and tanks were currently oversupplied, with a significant number sitting idle not being used. Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, commander of II Canadian Corps, devised Kangaroos as a field-expedient alternative to purpose-built APCs.

The original Kangaroos were converted from 72 M7 Priest self-propelled guns of three field artillery regiments of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. The Priests were "defrocked" at the Advanced Workshop Depot under the codename "Kangeroo", removing their 105mm guns and ammunition stowage, and separating the driver's compartment from the rest of the vehicle. Priests with machine gun turrets retained them, and some that did not already have machine gun mounts had improvised ones fitted. When the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was re-equipped with towed Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun-howitzers in late July, the rest of their self-propelled tracked vehicles were stripped of their 105mm guns and converted to Kangaroos. Later Kangaroos were based on Sherman, Churchill, and obsolete Canadian Ram tanks. The process was broadly similar, with the entire turret removed, ammunition storage removed, bench seats fitted in the turret ring area, and the driver's compartment separated. Hull machine guns were retained, and new machine guns were sometimes fitted to the turret ring. Kangaroos in general were supposed to carry 8 to 12 soldiers, though similar to the practice of troops riding on tanks, it was more common to simply cram as many as could fit without being at risk of falling off.

The Priest Kangaroos were first used on 8 August 1944 south of Caen during Operation Totalize to supplement the half-tracks already available.[1] When re-converted Kangaroos were returned to U.S. custody, other vehicles were pressed into service, the vast majority (some 500) being Rams,[2] which were standing idle after being used as training vehicles when Canadian armoured formations re-equipped with Shermans. The Ram gun tanks were shipped to France and duly converted, deploying piecemeal as they arrived.

While 'debussing' - climbing out of the hull and jumping down, potentially under fire - was challenging, the obvious difficulty of getting into a vehicle that was designed to prevent enemy soldiers climbing onto it was quickly appreciated. Accordingly, climbing rungs were soon added as a field modification that also simplified loading the carrying compartment with ammunition, food and other supplies to troops under fire.

The Ram Kangaroo entered service piecemeal with the Canadians in September 1944, but in December these minor units were combined to form the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment (initially the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment), joining the British 49th Armoured Carrier Regiment under the British 79th Armoured Division which was the administrative division for the deployment of the specialized combat support vehicles known as "Hobart's Funnies".

The first operation for the Ram Kangaroo was Operation Astonia, the assault on Le Havre 10-12 September 1944, the last the British 7th Armoured Division's march into Hamburg on 3 May 1945 in the Capture of Hamburg.[citation needed]

In Italy, Sherman III tanks and some Priests were converted for use by the British Eighth Army. Removing the turret of the Sherman and some internal fittings gave room for carrying up to ten troops.[3]

From 1943, Stuart tanks (both M3 and M5) had their turrets removed and seating fitted to carry infantry troops attached to British armoured brigades.[4]

Gallery edit

  •  
    Infantry of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in a Ram Kangaroo of the 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment, on the outskirts of Ochtrup, Germany, 3 April 1945
  •  
    Ram Kangaroo at The Tank Museum, Bovington
  •  
    A Churchill Kangaroo viewed from the rear corner

See also edit

Israeli conversions

References edit

  1. ^ Ellis and Chamberlain AFV Profile No 13 Ram and Sexton p16
  2. ^ Livesey, Jack (2007). Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World War I and II. Anness Publishing Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-84476-370-2.
  3. ^ Chamberlain & Ellis British and American Tanks of World War II 1969 Arco Publishing p 131-132
  4. ^ Chamberlain & Ellis (1969) p 91
  • The Battle for the Rhine 1944, 2005, Robin Neillands (chapter 7, "The Battle for the Scheldt")
  • Grodzinski, John R. (1995). ""Kangaroos at War" The History of the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment". Canadian Military History. 4 (2).

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kangaroo APC.
  • Priest Kangaroo at web.inter.nl.net
  • Canadian Kangaroos.CA, dedicated to 1CACR
  • RAM Kangaroo vehicle datasheet
  • Kangaroo Development and description

March 06, 2024
kangaroo, armoured, personnel, carrier, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, kangaroo, armoured, personne. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message A Kangaroo was a Canadian armoured personnel carrier APC during the Second World War which was created by converting a tank chassis Kangaroos were created as an expedient measure in the field by the Canadian Army and were so successful that they were used by other Commonwealth forces including the British Army KangarooA Priest Kangaroo of 209th Self Propelled Battery Royal Artillery transports infantry of 78th Division near Conselice Italy 13 April 1945 TypeArmoured personnel carrierPlace of originCanadaService historyIn service1943 1945Production historyDesignerGuy SimondsDesigned1944VariantsRam KangarooPriest KangarooChurchill KangarooKangaroo Badger flame tankSpecificationsCrew2 8 to 10 passengers often moreMainarmament1 50 cal MG Early models 1 30 cal MG Later models Pintle mount Secondaryarmament1 30 cal MG Bow or cupola MG depending on model Flamethrower Kangaroo Badger Replaced cupola MG Their ability to manoeuvre in the field with tanks was a major advantage over earlier designs and led to the dedicated APC designs that were introduced by almost all armies immediately after the war Contents 1 History 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe earliest iterations of the Kangaroo were created from M3 and M5 Stuart light tanks to serve as artillery tractors in North Africa campaign in circumstances where Universal Carriers were unavailable They were effective in their role but attempts by soldiers to use them as improvised APCs proved ill advised due to the Stuart s very light armour In July 1944 Lieutenant General Harry Crerar s First Canadian Army was concerned by manpower shortages due to combat losses While the British and Canadian forces had received some American M3 Half track APCs the supply was heavily reduced by this point due to the Americans own need for them and Universal Carriers were individually insufficient despite the enormous numbers However self propelled artillery and tanks were currently oversupplied with a significant number sitting idle not being used Lieutenant General Guy Simonds commander of II Canadian Corps devised Kangaroos as a field expedient alternative to purpose built APCs The original Kangaroos were converted from 72 M7 Priest self propelled guns of three field artillery regiments of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division The Priests were defrocked at the Advanced Workshop Depot under the codename Kangeroo removing their 105mm guns and ammunition stowage and separating the driver s compartment from the rest of the vehicle Priests with machine gun turrets retained them and some that did not already have machine gun mounts had improvised ones fitted When the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was re equipped with towed Ordnance QF 25 pounder gun howitzers in late July the rest of their self propelled tracked vehicles were stripped of their 105mm guns and converted to Kangaroos Later Kangaroos were based on Sherman Churchill and obsolete Canadian Ram tanks The process was broadly similar with the entire turret removed ammunition storage removed bench seats fitted in the turret ring area and the driver s compartment separated Hull machine guns were retained and new machine guns were sometimes fitted to the turret ring Kangaroos in general were supposed to carry 8 to 12 soldiers though similar to the practice of troops riding on tanks it was more common to simply cram as many as could fit without being at risk of falling off The Priest Kangaroos were first used on 8 August 1944 south of Caen during Operation Totalize to supplement the half tracks already available 1 When re converted Kangaroos were returned to U S custody other vehicles were pressed into service the vast majority some 500 being Rams 2 which were standing idle after being used as training vehicles when Canadian armoured formations re equipped with Shermans The Ram gun tanks were shipped to France and duly converted deploying piecemeal as they arrived While debussing climbing out of the hull and jumping down potentially under fire was challenging the obvious difficulty of getting into a vehicle that was designed to prevent enemy soldiers climbing onto it was quickly appreciated Accordingly climbing rungs were soon added as a field modification that also simplified loading the carrying compartment with ammunition food and other supplies to troops under fire The Ram Kangaroo entered service piecemeal with the Canadians in September 1944 but in December these minor units were combined to form the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment initially the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment joining the British 49th Armoured Carrier Regiment under the British 79th Armoured Division which was the administrative division for the deployment of the specialized combat support vehicles known as Hobart s Funnies The first operation for the Ram Kangaroo was Operation Astonia the assault on Le Havre 10 12 September 1944 the last the British 7th Armoured Division s march into Hamburg on 3 May 1945 in the Capture of Hamburg citation needed In Italy Sherman III tanks and some Priests were converted for use by the British Eighth Army Removing the turret of the Sherman and some internal fittings gave room for carrying up to ten troops 3 From 1943 Stuart tanks both M3 and M5 had their turrets removed and seating fitted to carry infantry troops attached to British armoured brigades 4 Gallery edit nbsp Infantry of the 53rd Welsh Division in a Ram Kangaroo of the 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment on the outskirts of Ochtrup Germany 3 April 1945 nbsp Ram Kangaroo at The Tank Museum Bovington nbsp A Churchill Kangaroo viewed from the rear cornerSee also editLorraine 37L Churchill tank Sherman tank Operation TotalizeIsraeli conversions BTR T and IDF Achzarit less haphazard conversions of T 55s into APCs Namer based on Merkava tank Nagmachon and Nakpadon both based on Centurion tankReferences edit Ellis and Chamberlain AFV Profile No 13 Ram and Sexton p16 Livesey Jack 2007 Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World War I and II Anness Publishing Ltd p 60 ISBN 978 1 84476 370 2 Chamberlain amp Ellis British and American Tanks of World War II 1969 Arco Publishing p 131 132 Chamberlain amp Ellis 1969 p 91 The Battle for the Rhine 1944 2005 Robin Neillands chapter 7 The Battle for the Scheldt Grodzinski John R 1995 Kangaroos at War The History of the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Canadian Military History 4 2 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kangaroo APC Priest Kangaroo at web inter nl net Ram Kangaroo at militaryfactory com Canadian Kangaroos CA dedicated to 1CACR RAM Kangaroo vehicle datasheet Kangaroo Development and description Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier amp oldid 1183610463, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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