The particulars: kit: AFV Club 1/35 M3A3 (Stuart V) AM parts: Royal Model PE #342 Bronco T-16 workable track links crew figure: Ultracast conversion decals: Archer and home made/printed grass: Gaugemaster Historical background: Juno Beach sector, around the vicinity of Secqueville-en-Bessin, June 8th 1944. Morning found the flanks of the Canadian Scottish infantry under heavy fire from German snipers. The 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment, also known as the First Hussars, were on hand in the infantry support role. A Lieutenant W.A.P. Smith was given the task to head out in his Stuart to recon the area. In a buttoned down tank, it was difficult to spot the enemy, so the lieutenant threw open his turret hatch for a better view. With his upper body fully exposed, he was instantly hit by a sniper round in the arm, followed seconds later by another hitting the side of his helmet. Luckily, that one deflected upwards and out the top, causing no injury. His crew quickly rushed their wounded commander back to HQ. On arrival, he refused medical aid until he could fully relay the sniper positions he had seen just before being hit. For this act of bravery, plus several others during the advance inland, Smith was awarded the Military Cross. Subsequently, two more Stuart recon tanks were sent to the area Smith had last been. There, they helped the Canadian Scottish unit to ferret out the Germans. More than thirty snipers were either killed or captured, resulting in a welcomed respite in the rear area. regards, Jack - edited to correct Lt. Smith's middle initial
Jack Your build is absolutely awesome, I have the same kit and a build in mind, similar to yours thank you for posting. Small question I am having a small issue trying to locate the markings of the first hussars, not decals as I have them but on your HQ sdn Diamond were they black behind in the Sabre Squadrons too similar to the 3RR in Italy, and I wonder if the Ontario and Calgary Tanks were the same in 1CAB, and was FGH and SHrbrk Fus the same practice with the black behind the Regimental marking?? and last ? Did A SQDN use the upside down triangle. Like the 3RR I cannot find anything on google.
Here is his Military Cross citation. Don't pay for it, I'm just about to go to work so I'll post a copy of the original tomorrow if someone doesn't beat me to it. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9035181
This is a beautiful museum piece displaying a top-notch paint job on both tank and figure. Cheers, Neil
Thank you all very much for the generous compliments. Thundergrunt - the placement of black within the tactical marking might be purely artistic license on my part . I decided to go with it since it's sister regiments within 2nd Armoured Brigade had it displayed this way through photos found from very early in the Normandy campaign, namely BUCK from FGH and CHASER from SHrbrk Fus. I've found no photos Hussars' Stuarts, so even the vehicle census number is a guess. While a painting of a Hussar Sherman looks to have a dark center on the tactical mark, another period photo of CATARAQUI does not: Have you checked Barry Bedlam's site, very certain I've seen some info there on 3RR. http://www.armouredacorn.com/#!canadian-vehicle-markings/c1oy0 --------------------------------- Drew5233 - I reside in Ontario , Canada - thanks for the link to the citation. I've seen two different middle names for Smith, so I've corrected that in my initial post accordingly. regards, Jack
Beautiful build! However, if I was going to open up in an area reported as sniper infested, I would have just peeped over the rim of the hatch rather than climbing half out! Chris
Jack Yeah ive seen the site, and the black background seems to be most of the units in italy and didnt carry over to NWE. i am having such anhard time trying to find the marking placement and numbering convention of the 8th Princess Louise Hussars and the Canadian Grenadier Guards. Been looking for months, i have seen one picture of the 8th PLH tanks lined up for a shoot. With nubers in their squadron symbols but dont know how the troops were set up, 5 3tank troops or 4/4 with a firefly. And also the numbers were they yellow or white. And also with the Shrbk Fus they had a numbering convention with the numbers on the storage box using the Firefly picture fore example of 14 was it 1st Troop Number 4 Tank. Or 14 troop. Can you shed any light i have 2 build on hold because i cannot find the answer or close to,it. Thanks Euge Ps. I just bought the afv club stuart V. Your build gave me a dio idea.
Thank you Chris and Clive. ----------------------- Euge - aren't Allied vehicles fun - who says researching Shermans is boring? lol Lot of questions, and many of those posed by you I've come across, and most have no clear cut answers. For Normandy, I think the intention was to have 4 tanks per troop (4 troop per squadron) once there was enough Fireflies to go around (two per troop). Initially the Firefly was given to the senior officers, which were the lead of each troop. The Germans recognized very early that the long barreled sherman was top priority, so Commonwealth officers were being lost at an alarming rate. It was then decided to put Fireflies at no. 3 and 4 positions within troops. Not sure the date for this order, but certainly by the end of the month? The special numbering, sometimes referred to radio call signs, could vary from unit to unit. From my understanding, each vehicle was suppose to have a specific number assigned, so I have doubts the number would represent just the troop. So for the Firefly example, 14 would indicate the fourth vechicle in the 1st troop - which ties in with change of Firefly allotment explained above. The colour, no idea, but I'd gravitate towards yellow. Quite visible, but not as harsh as white? Here's my example of a Firefly during the second day of action in Normandy. This was Chaser, lost during the bloody fighting around Buren. Call sign makes it first vehicle of the 2nd troop. I haven't studied much Canadian armour in Italy, but those units that transferred to NW Europe, did they leave their vehicles behind? regards, Jack
JAck, An excellent model, and I particuarly like and appreciate the historical background and details of the build materials. You have captured the essence of the scene beautifully so the observers can comment upon the whys and wherefores of the award. Thanks for posting, David
Here you go Name Smith, William Angus Paul Rank: Lieutenant Regiment: Canadian Armoured Corps Theatre of Combat or Operation: North West Europe Award: Military Cross Date of announcement in London Gazette: 31 August 1944 Folio: 632
Dave and Tom - thanks very much! Drew - cheers, that is a nice bit of history you have attached there, Very kind of you to dig that out. regards, Jack
The folks at the 1st Hussars Museum in London would love to get their hands on that fine piece of work Jack. If they haven't been after you already. https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Hussars-Museum/128335217187177
