3 RTR B Squadron

None of my photos show it more clearly. This is my camera photo of a photo in the book I mentioned.

 

You're quite right, that's for the gunner's optics... not sure why they put a mg in this tank, unless to make it look 'meaner'!! https://live.staticflickr.com/3826/9283563760_04d21411bc_c.jpg, unless it was a later modification...cheers for that!
(And I've corrected the tank, the hull mg was a bit small in the original version - maybe the tank was over-compensating!)

 

The Walkaround is of the Comet - a former Gate Guard - at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. The main gun is a mockup and they've added another MG to the Gunners's vision port. The markings are also the figment of someone's imagination.

 

Trust my luck, of all the photos on the internet, I go and choose the wrong one! Cheers for the info! Every cloud, etc, now I know what that hole is for, and how to spell battalion!

 

Don't feel too bad Frank at least you didn't get it tattooed on your chest, and you can wear your t shirt at night in the dark in bed.
Dizzy and She

 

It's a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt...

 

Anyway, back to more 'serious' things, whilst going through the photos, etc, looking for things I may have overlooked, I saw on the back of the Bad Segeberg pic of Cherub & crew written faintly in pencil this:


I've enhanced the contrast, so it's more legible. Here he clearly says, "Crew of 3 Bad Segeberg" . Now I'm assuming that 3 refers to the Troop number, while in the photo taken with Sid Evens, the troop number appears to be 7. Going back to what we were talking about earlier in the thread, would it be normal for tanks to change troop number? In fact, in the pic with Sid the exhaust cowlings look new, the one-piece version, whereas in other photos it has the twin cowling..anyone know when the new cowlings were fitted? Maybe when the 'Gibb' idler wheels were brought over?

 

Is it possible that Sid changed tanks, instead?

 

Tanks could change Troops if there was a Squadron reorganisation (normally after incurring high losses making it necessary to reduce the number of Troops pending replenishment with new tanks). The Squadron ORBAT could also be changed but this didn't happen that often.
More frequently, individual Troopers could be 'lent' to other tanks (for example when Troopers went on Leave) or transferred to other tanks/Troops when Troops were reorganised. This makes it difficult to track all of this especially when such detailed information was not retained or recorded even in the Service Records (it would simply have been too big a job).

 

I believe (from a historian's tweet on Twitter) that this photo was taken on this date, 75 years ago.

 

A good question, which leads me back to this: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?attachments/sid-evans-jpg.261590/
Are these pics of the same person? If so, then Sid was with Cherub throughout... I think they are the same person, but.....!!!

 

Okay l’m not a ‘Blackbelt’ in vehicle call signs from that era but the no 3 might well refer to the tank’s c/s, l’m going by the fact that back in the day, well up to 1984 anyway 7 Troop B Sqn’s c/s would have been 23, 23A & 23B and more recently 30, 31 & 32!

 

Interesting! Thanks! I shall have to look into that!

 

The c/s for 7 Tp for that era might well have been 3, 3A & 3B, but if they had four tank troops there would be a 3C as well! In later years they stuck a number in front to signify which squadron it belonged to ie A - 13, B - 23, C - 33 & D - 43!

 

This has got me wondering about how radio operating was carried out...for example, how would the squadron CO call a particular tank? ("Come in, nº3, your time's up")? Would the operator be solely responsible for the use of the radio, or would the tank commander also twiddle the dial? Forgive my ignorance on the matter, I knew my grandfather was the operator, and assumed he 'did the radio thingy', but I now realise I've no idea what went on!

 

The Operators job is to look after the radios, making sure they're on the right frequency for the day, tuning them in and making sure they stay on freq. He would also take down any messages and de-code them where necessary and vice versa. He would also answer up for the commander if he was busy doing something else! In more modern times he would also load the gun(s) and make the brews and sarnies!

 

More on callsigns here:- British army radio voice procedure

 

Hmm, not sure, I reckon it was on the 2nd, the WD says:

2nd 1100; CO to 1 HERE HQ for conference with Brigadier Churcher.
1150; Bn moves. Order of March A, RHQ, B, C.
1154; Ordered to go to REINFELD 8085 and send sqn WEST from RETHWISCHDORF
to capture crossing on rd to BAD OLDESLOE 7482.
which I believe is here: Google Maps, fits with the pic of Cherub:

 

Further to my last if you want to call someone you say something like 'Hello 3A this is 3 move now to grid 123456' in answer '3A Wilco Out' - note 'Wilco' was used in answer to an order and 'Roger' was used if the message was understood!

 

The sign seems to be warning users of the autobahn about fuel supply problems/risks. The last line says ‘Use the RAB at your own risk’. Anyone any idea what RAB means?