Dear guys!
Since some time I try to get information about if the Home Guard in the years 1940 and 1941 had any armour to their use - and if it would have been only a single tank. Maybe some prototype, obsolete tanks of the army from the interwar period or even selfmade tanks what were better armored and armed then Beaverettes and Co. Just something what deserved the name "Tank".
Would be great if someone could give me direction/information.
Greetings
(03-20-2021, 07:40 PM)Sempai Wrote: [ -> ]Dear guys!
Since some time I try to get information about if the Home Guard in the years 1940 and 1941 had any armour to their use - and if it would have been only a single tank. Maybe some prototype, obsolete tanks of the army from the interwar period or even selfmade tanks what were better armored and armed then Beaverettes and Co. Just something what deserved the name "Tank".
Would be great if someone could give me direction/information.
Greetings
I assume you mean the UK Home Guard in 1940/41, in which case I would have to say no. Certainly not in 1940. After Dunkirk and France they were hard pressed to provide motor transport of all types to the front line units that required them. Also there would be no call for Home Guard to have such a vehicle as their role did not require them to have them.
To Steel God: Yea, I meant the british Home Guard.
To Hawk Kriegsman: OK, but except the Beaverette did they have something else? Especially something that deserved the name "Tank"? Following Steel God they didn´t have anything in that sense.
To both: Thanks for Your answers! Count this (no tanks, only Beaverettes) even for 1941? Or did the english economy provide tanks then to the Home Guard? And how was it with the regular army, the Royal Army? What did they have in 1940 and 1941?
Greetings
When you say “tank” you assume you mean fully tracked vehicles and not armored cars, in which case the Home Guard never had any (nor would they have reason to have had them).
British armored formations in 40-41 would have been variously equipped. The RTRs would have had infantry support tanks, Matildas in 40 and into 41 with Valentines replacing them in 41.
The armored brigades would have had Cruiser models in 40. They would have remained in service through 41 but begun to be phased out and replaced with Crusaders in 41. In 41 you also had large numbers of American lend lease M3 Stuart’s being fielded.
Yep, fully tracked and better armored and armed then cars etc.
OK, if Sealion would have been launched what of the armor would have defended the coast in a first wave/line? The tank brigades or the "independent"/single regiments? Were tanks thought to break the first wave(s) of german landing forces at all? Or were tanks thought as a hold back force to counter any breakthrough somewhere?
Or if the former questions can´t be answered - How was the probability as a german to face Cruisers (A9 till A13) and/or Mathildas/Valentines in 1941 during the landing? I don´t need the exact percentage but maybe an about ratio of Mathildas/Valentines to Cruisers.
In every case I´m very thankful for Your answers, Steel God! It´s hard to find such information.
Have a nice weekend!
Greetings
Thank You as well, Herr Straße Laufer! But this was the first adress I looked up. So far I couldn´t see there isn´t any information how many tanks (artillery etc.) was in use and of what kind. There is only a general order of battle what says nothing for me. Maybe I overlooked something but I´m relatively sure I didn´t. But I´m still searching.
Greetings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_an...itish_Army
Not sure what else to give you.
Your original question involved the Home Guard. Then you morphed the discussion into tanks when you were told the HG had none.
The above link tells you what the Brits had to repel an invasion.
What specific units were available are not discussed. But, you can see how many troops and tanks were there to do the job.
HSL
(03-27-2021, 06:48 AM)Sempai Wrote: [ -> ]Yep, fully tracked and better armored and armed then cars etc.
OK, if Sealion would have been launched what of the armor would have defended the coast in a first wave/line? The tank brigades or the "independent"/single regiments? Were tanks thought to break the first wave(s) of german landing forces at all? Or were tanks thought as a hold back force to counter any breakthrough somewhere?
Or if the former questions can´t be answered - How was the probability as a german to face Cruisers (A9 till A13) and/or Mathildas/Valentines in 1941 during the landing? I don´t need the exact percentage but maybe an about ratio of Mathildas/Valentines to Cruisers.
In every case I´m very thankful for Your answers, Steel God! It´s hard to find such information.
Have a nice weekend!
Greetings
Buy a copy of JTS Sea Lion 40. It has a very detailed OOB for what the British had to repel an invasion in September 1940. The armor available to them is what you might expect in 1940; RTRs sported the Matildas (I's and II's), but no Valentines yet. The Hussars would have the Mk VI Light tanks, and the armored Brigades would have the Cruisers (A9 to A13), No armor was deployed forward,most of it was kept centrally located near the CHQ line west of London until they could determined where the main landings were.