"Honey tank" - Turret-less or otherwise.

Awesome stuff lads these are some great photos. Heres one from the NZ archives of a 4th Armoured Brigade Staurt V recce tank outside Florence 1944.http://digital.natlib.govt.nz/get/15593?profile=access

 

Andy,

The Stuart really is a favourite of mine and thanks for the Recce picture. I was trying to see the cap badge, but it is not too clear. It looks Recce, but there again I am a little biased!
Not sure if my fathers lot had these super little AFV's.
Super picture, thanks for sharing.

Tom

 

Splendid shot Andy - Overhead views can be few and far between.
Is that Ammo tubes on the back/ Maybe 37mm for some other turreted Stuart? Mortar Bombs? or what?
Von Poop, The ammo could possibly be 37mm for Staghounds, as far as I know the only Stuarts/Honeys the kiwis had in Italy were the recce versions as the turreted stuarts/honeys were replaced by Staghounds when the 2NZEF went to Italy in 1943.
Andy,

The Stuart really is a favourite of mine and thanks for the Recce picture. I was trying to see the cap badge, but it is not too clear. It looks Recce, but there again I am a little biased!
Not sure if my fathers lot had these super little AFV's.
Super picture, thanks for sharing.

Tom
Hi Tom,
The caption says New Zealand 4th Armoured Brigade, doesn't state which regiment though. I think you will find that the badge is a 2NZEF badge similar to this one. Hope that helps mate.

 

Andy,

Apologies, I missed your post earlier. Thanks for your reply and cap badge photo.

Adam,
Great views of the various models in use. Thanks.

Regards

Tom

 

Owen found a few on this thread:
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/weapons-technology-equipment/7438-honey-tanks.html
If I recall there were a couple of different styles of hood for the Stuart Recce,(some having no such arrangement at all) and pictures are pretty scarce. I'll see what I've got that's worth scanning.

I started that thread, and now I'm confused. Would a reconnaissance Honey with the Irish Guards in north Germany in April 1945 have had turrets? In the description of the action mention is made of the "hull Browning" and of the crew having pistols, so might this have been a turretless tank?

Belville

 

I found another turretless 'Honey' in Italy, while looking for Chaffees.

 

Bodston (et al)

Earlier on in this thread you posted two pics of Turretless Honeys.

The second pic, titled "British Stuart Recce in Arrezzo , Italy 1944" is almost a dead ringer for the Honey tank that was my home in March 1945 and is certainly exactly how I remember it.

In particular I would ask you to note how perilously close the 30 Browning gun is to the driver, whos head you can just see on the right of the tank (as you see it in the photo)

This illustrates pretty well the story I originally told on the BBC WW2 Archives

Friday 13th. April 1945
Moved over Santerno. Some M.G. nuisance and one H.E. about twenty yards away. Bags of prisoners, Kiss from Signora. "Liberatoris !". Chasing after tedeschis with 30 browning blazing!
The Browning machine gun referred to was rarely fired in anger, the exception being on this one occasion when I nearly killed Hewie our Stuart Tank driver.
We had been on the move all day and the Germans were surrendering left, right and centre. To our left, about two hundred yards away, German infantry were climbing out of slit trenches with their hands high and we were gesturing to them to get behind us and to make their way to the rear.
Suddenly someone to our right opened light rifle fire at us and Busty (SSM ‘Busty’ Thomas) lost patience and yelled at me "Let the bastards have it!" Hewie swung the tank to the right so we could face the new threat and I started firing non-stop, without giving Hewie a chance to drop his adjustable seat down below the level of fire belching from the Browning. A horrified Busty yelled: "Get down you stupid bastard!" and to my immediate relief Hewie disappeared from view before I could hit him.
Within seconds the rifle fire was replaced by more hand-raising, and we were able to proceed without further incident.
The original link is given below and I have also posted the pic
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a2017630.shtml

ps
As I remember it, we had a .30 Browning mounted fore (as shown) and a .50 Browning mounted aft and reserved strictly for anti-aircraft action.

 

Cheers, Ron.

 

has anyone out there got pictures or info on stuart111 tanks serving with british or comonweath forces in italy or elsewhere in europe?i am restoring one and have only found one picture so far but with no visible unit markingsany help apreciated

 

Hello Mike and welcome! You will find there are a number of people who like the Stuart tank here on the forums.

 

wow that was quick!the first pic is the one i'd seen before but the other is new to me.both are just like our tank.i'll try to post a pic of it at some point.can you see any markings on the original pics?

 

heres a couple of pics of our tank being delivered they are not very good but it drove off the trailer and straight into the barn and there's not enough room in there to take a good pic.i'll take more in a few weeks when we start work on it.just bought a gantry crane to take the turret off and the engine out.it is one of the brazilian ones imported last year.it appears in fairly good condition mostly needing cosmetic+serviceing work
does anybody know what units were useing these in italy?

 

heres a couple of pics of our tank being delivered they are not very good but it drove off the trailer and straight into the barn and there's not enough room in there to take a good pic.i'll take more in a few weeks when we start work on it.just bought a gantry crane to take the turret off and the engine out.it is one of the brazilian ones imported last year.it appears in fairly good condition mostly needing cosmetic+serviceing work
does anybody know what units were useing these in italy?
Dont agree with you MikeD those pics are fantastic!!!
It does look in fairly good nick all the same.