The T17E1 Armoured Car was an American armored car design produced during the Second World War. While it never saw service with frontline US forces, it was supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces during the war, under the name Staghound. A number of other countries used the Staghound after the war; some vehicles continued to serve until the 1980s.
|
|
Each combat group or fraction fielded conventional armour, infantry and artillery sub-units, provided with Panhard AML-90Hamizrachi, The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt (1984), pp. 55-89.Badran, Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2010), pp. 50-52. and 33 Staghound armoured cars,Colonel Barakat's Army Staghound Mk.III armoured car near Binayit el-Béton, East Beirut, March 1976. AMX-13Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas (1979), p. 21.
|
|
US vehicles in the collection include both an early model and later model Stuart, M47 Patton, M48 Patton, M110 self-propelled gun, M3 Lee, M3 Grant, Sherman M4A1, White half-track, Staghound, M52 105mm SPG, LVT4 landing vehicle, M114 Command and Reconnaissance vehicle, M577A1 Command Vehicle (ex Australian Army), M113A1 (ex Australian army), White M3 half-track, Staghound Anti-Aircraft variant, M3 Grant "local farm conversion", M36 Jackson, M7 Priest and M41 Walker Bulldog.
|
|
The Staghound entered service too late for use in the North African Campaign where its combination of armor, range and main armament would have been an advantage in a light forces reconnaissance role. As a result, it first saw operational service in Italy, where many units found its large physical size too restrictive in the narrow roads, and streets of Europe. It saw most service at squadron and regimental headquarter level; an armoured car regiment having three Staghounds with the Regimental HQ and three with each HQ of the four squadrons in the regiment.B.T. White AFV Profile No 21, Armoured Cars Profile Publishing Conditions for the Staghound improved when the Italian campaign became more mobile in the middle of 1944, and the Staghound was also used in north-west Europe campaign.
|
|
Hamizrachi, The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt (1984), pp. 55-89.Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 23.Badran, Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2010), pp. 50-52. and Staghound armoured cars.
|
|
Ferret scout cars attached to A Squadron, 1963 In December 1948 the Southern Rhodesian Reconnaissance Regiment was reestablished as the Southern Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment. Aside from a few Marmon Herringtons retained from wartime association with South Africa, 20 American T17E1 Staghounds – distinguished in Commonwealth service as the Staghound – were acquired. The Staghound was also of World War II vintage but remained ideally suited to local conflicts. It was swift, with a road speed hovering near ninety kilometres per hour, an excellent range of nearly eight hundred kilometres on one tank of fuel, and enough protection to withstand punishment from virtually all small arms.
|
|
The Tigers' own armoured corps was created in early 1976, equipped with an assortment of ex- Lebanese Army M41 Walker Bulldog and AMX-13 light tanks, Charioteer tanks, M42 Duster SPAAGs,Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 25. M113 and Panhard M3 VTTKassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 24.Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 56. Armoured personnel carriers, Bravia V-200 Chaimite armoured cars, Staghound armoured cars,Ludovic Fortin, T17E1 Staghound Armored Car – Le char sur roues, Trucks & Tracks Magazine, December 2007 - January 2008 issue, pp. 48-67.Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 56.
|
|
It was decided to salute the occasion by firing a symbolic 37mm round towards Zambia. Twelve solid shot armour-piercing shells were drawn, six to each working Staghound. Only one car fired successfully, destroying its elderly breech protector in the process. Both were returned to the Rhodesian Army motor pool in early 1966.
|
|
A French staghound pack: moving off Once the season properly starts (usually from early November in the northern hemisphere, or May in the southern hemisphere), the idea is to drive the fox from the covert and pursue the scent that it leaves for long distances over open countryside. The northern hemisphere season continues through to March or April.
|
|
Master of the Staghounds was a position in the British Royal Household created in 1738 and abolished in 1782. cited at The office was responsible for the oversight and care of the Royal staghounds (dogs bred for hunting deer). "Master of Staghounds" was also a title or descriptive given to staghound masters on a more local level.Fortescue, Hon. John.
|
|
Lessons learned in its trials also led to the design and adoption of more successful Armored Cars, such as the T17 Staghound and M8 Greyhound. The lessons learned about its cross country performance were a factor in the eventual adoption of light tanks and half-tracks for many mechanized cavalry and recon units in the early 1940s.
|
|
The assault troops were composed of lorried infantry and were called up when enemy resistance needed to be overcome. Later in the war, more efficient and well-armed armoured cars such as the Humber Armoured Car, Daimler Armoured Car, Staghound and Greyhound augmented the light reconnaissance cars in scout troops.A British Soldier Remembers The Logistics of a Recce Regiment (organisation and vehicles pages).
|
|
However the British applied for T17E1 production to be continued for the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease. 3,844 Staghounds were produced in total. The Staghound was an innovative design that incorporated some advanced features. It had two rear-facing 6-cylinder engines with automatic transmissions (with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears) feeding through a transfer case to drive both axles.
|
|
To this end "Lulu" (on a Sherman tank) and subsequently "Bantu" (on a Staghound armoured car) were developed. The detector mechanism was in non-metallic rollers on arms held away from the vehicle. When the roller passed over a mine, or a similar piece of metal, the roller it was under was indicated in the vehicle. Prototypes were built but never tried in combat.
|
|
During 1943, the regiment conducted reconnaissance patrols across much of WA. The regiment survived the 1st Armoured Division's disbandment in September 1943 and became part of the 2nd Infantry Division. Although the regiment was re-equipped with Staghound armoured cars in early 1944 it was disbanded in New South Wales in March or April 1944 at which time its personnel were transferred to other units more suitable for jungle warfare.
|
|
English Foxhound circa 1915. The English Foxhound was created in the late 16th century, as a result of the perception of the depletion of red deer in England. Nobles and royalty had hunted deer for both food and sport, using the Deerhound or Staghound for this purpose. During the reign of Henry VIII, it was perceived that a new prey was needed, and the red fox was selected.
|
|
A longdog (sometimes long dog) is any type of sighthound, either a purebred sighthound breed, or a crossbreed of pure sighthound breeds, although the term is most frequently used to refer to crossbred sighthounds. Longdogs are often compared to the lurcher, compared to the longdog the lurcher is usually a cross of a sighthound with a collie or terrier. Examples of longdogs include the American staghound and Australian kangaroo dog.
|
|
Three days later, the regiment began moving back to Maadi, arriving on 1 June. At Maadi the regiment received replacements, while some personnel who had served with the first three echelons received three- month leaves in New Zealand. On 5 July, new personal weapons were issued and the regiment began training on the rifle and light machine gun ranges. A month later the regiment was one of the first units equipped with Staghound armoured cars.
|
|
The Master of the Buckhounds (or Master of the Hounds) was an officer in the Master of the Horse's department of the British Royal Household. The holder was also His/Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot. The role was to oversee a hunting pack; a buckhound is smaller than a staghound and used for coursing the smaller breeds of deer, especially fallow deer. The position was abolished by the Civil List Act 1901.
|
|
Upon re-establishment in 1948 they adopted the Staghound armoured car,Hopkins (1978), p. 342. which it operated until 1956. At this time, the Australian Army, following the British Army's lead, decided that armoured units would be tasked with anti-tank defence. As a result of this, the regiment was converted to an anti-tank regiment, equipped with Land Rover four wheel drives and 6-pounder static and towed 17-pounder anti-tank guns.
|
|
After the war, the Staghounds were distributed among smaller NATO countries in Europe and to the Middle East. For instance, Mk I and Mk III Staghounds were used during the Lebanese Civil War by both Christian and Muslim militias. The last new Staghound variant to be offered for export was probably a Swiss model retrofitted with several modern armament packages, including 30mm and 47mm anti-tank guns. It was marketed unsuccessfully to Syria.
|
|
The PSP militia fielded by 1977 a small mechanized corps made of Panhard AML-90Hamizrachi, The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt (1984), pp. 55–89.Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 57.Badran, Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2010), pp. 50–52. and Staghound armoured cars, M42 Duster SPAAGs and M113 armored personnel carriers seized from the Lebanese Army in February 1976, plus a fleet of gun trucks or technicals.
|
|
In Great Britain, they may have included the now-extinct North Country Beagle and Southern Hound. As styles of hunting changed, and the Bloodhound fell out of use, packs were normally employed on their own to hunt all quarry. Though their name became obsolete, raches must have continued in this use. We may assume that it was from them, rather than the Bloodhound, that the various breeds of pack hounds such as the English Foxhound, English Staghound, Harrier and Beagle were developed.
|
|
Staghound Armoured Cars and Canadian Scout Cars (known as "doodle bugs")—similar to the British Daimler Dingo but manufactured in Canada. The first regimental camp was held in February 1949 and the Regiment was the first CMF unit to go into camp. Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron was located at Muswellbrook with tank squadrons in Newcastle, Tamworth and Armidale. The regiment was retitled 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers on 31 July 1949, forming part of the 1st Armoured Brigade.Hopkins 1978, pp. 180 & 183.
|
|
303 rifle, Thompson Sub-Machine Gun, Bren Light Machine Gun and hand grenades, in addition to fieldcraft skills. No. 1 Airfield Defence Squadron was re-established at Mallala, South Australia as a National Service unit in 1951, then once again disbanded in 1952. There is evidence to suggest that the RAAF considered the introduction of an armoured car capability in the 1950s,Stephens 1995, p.332. with ADIs attending training on Staghound vehicles with the Army at Puckapunyal;Walker 2007 p.144.
|
|
The British allocated the name Staghound to the T17E series. British liaison officers had had contact with Macpherson, the Chevrolet engineer in charge of the project and felt they had influenced him sufficiently to produce something that met all their requirements. Accordingly, in December the British Purchasing Commission "formally requested" production of 300 vehicles; the US Army authorized production of 2,000 in January 1942. The British order was confirmed in March 1942 when the pilot T17E was delivered to the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
|
|
Subsequent versions received a 6 pounder or a 75 mm gun. The vehicle also carried two machine guns, a smoke grenade discharger and a No. 19 radio set. The Mk I was first used in combat in the North African Campaign late in 1942, where a few vehicles were reportedly fitted with a Crusader tank turret mounting a 6 pounder gun. The Mk II and Mk III took part in the fighting in Europe with British and British Indian Army units, often together with the Staghound.
|
|
After the war, it was reformed as a single squadron in 1949, when it became fully mechanised and was renamed the 10th Western Australian Mounted Infantry,. operating Staghound and Canadian Scout armoured cars. Expanded to a full regiment in 1952, it was again renamed as the 10th Light Horse in 1956 when it was equipped with Staghounds, Saracens and Ferrets, before being reduced to a single independent squadron again in 1976. The squadron remained independent until 2001, when it formally became a part of the Army Reserve's 13th Brigade.
|
|
Regimental Staghound in Castiglione, 16 July 1944 On 5 June, the main part of the regiment was combined with two companies of infantry and a squadron of tanks to form Wilder Force, which was to take over the front from the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade. A Squadron pushed up the valley and Wilder Force advanced behind, through Balsorano. After the Axis retreated to their next line of defence, the New Zealand Division withdrew to Arce for training. The regiment moved forward again on 10 July, advancing to Cortona on 11–12 July.
|
|
With the reformation of the Commonwealth Military Forces (CMF) in 1948 the 12/16 Hunter River Lancers Regiment was formed and was equipped with Matilda tanks. In 1952 the tanks were replaced with Staghound Armoured Cars. Following other changes the Regiment became an RAAC Regiment in 1972 comprising RHQ, HQ Squadron a Cavalry Squadron and an APC Squadron. During the 1950s the Workshop section of the former Gun Shed (now Q-Store) was used as accommodation by the Sergeant, with the Camp Cart and Gun Shed sections used as classrooms.
|
|
During World War II, Piron served during the German invasion of Belgium (10–28May 1940), after which the Belgian Army surrendered and Belgium was placed under military occupation. Piron, however, refused to accept the Belgian surrender and succeeded in escaping from occupied Belgium via France and Spain to British Gibraltar. He arrived in Scotland in February 1942. T17 Staghound armoured car with the markings of the Piron Brigade The Belgian government in exile began to form a Free Belgian army in late 1940 among Belgian soldiers and expatriates who had succeeded in reaching the United Kingdom.
|
|
The 1st Armoured Car Squadron was raised at Puckapunyal, Victoria in January 1946 to form part of the Australian 34th Brigade which was forming at Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies prior to its deployment to Japan. The Squadron was manned by volunteers from the 4th Armoured Brigade and was equipped with 18 Staghound armoured cars and 8 Canadian Scout Cars. After a brief period of training the Squadron embarked for Japan in late March 1946, arriving at Hiroshima on 12 April 1946. Following the arrival of its armoured cars in early June the 1st Armoured Car Squadron began conducting patrols across the 34th Brigade's area of responsibility.
|
|
Upon formation the brigade was under the command of Brigadier Robert Nimmo. After a lengthy period of training which took place while political negotiations between the Allied powers took place, the brigade finally departed for Japan in February 1946, arriving at Kure between the 21 and 23 February.Horner & Bou 2008, p. 20. With an authorised strength of 4,700 personnel, the brigade was structured around three infantry battalions—the 65th, 66th and 67th—with various supporting arms including an artillery battery, a squadron of engineers and an armoured car squadron, which had been raised from the 4th Armoured Brigade and equipped with Staghound armoured cars.
|
|
U.S. T17E1 Staghound armored car of World War II A LAPV Enok a modern armored car of the German Army A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted cavalry, armored cars were developed for carrying out duties formerly assigned to light cavalry. Following the invention of the tank, the armored car remained popular due to its faster speed, comparatively simplified maintenance and low production cost. It also found favor with several colonial armies as a cheaper weapon for use in underdeveloped regions.
|
|
The modifications were first tried out by two officers of the 1st Armoured Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, who obtained rockets and launching rails from an RAF base and carried out the first test firings on 17 March 1945. They were inspired after hearing the idea had been earlier tried, but abandoned, by a Canadian unit, the 18th Armoured Car Regiment (12th Manitoba Dragoons), who had fitted RP-3 rails to a Staghound Armoured Car. Within a week all the tanks of Number 2 Squadron had been fitted with launch rails, some tanks had two launching rails, others had four. The rails were at fixed elevations and the rockets had fixed ranges either .
|
|
A M4 Sherman tank of the Nicaraguan National Guard during clashes with Sandinista rebels in Estelí, 1979. The Guardia also fielded a small armoured corps, organized since 1978 into a single mechanized company while platoon-sized units where attached to General Somoza Combat Battalion, the Presidential Guard, the engineer battalion, and the EEBI Infantry School. The inventory consisted mostly of World War II-vintage American vehicles acquired in the 1950s – ten ex- Philippine Army M4A3 E8 (76) and M4A3E8 (105) Sherman tanks, three to four M3A1 Stuart light tanks, and forty-five T17E1 M6 Staghound armoured cars of Israeli origin (some had their turrets removed and replaced by a 30. or 50.
|
|
The Eighth Army crossed the Trigno in late October and Montgomery planned to advance along the coast road to Pescara, which was the most defended route. Montgomery considered his four infantry divisions too weak to break the line without reinforcement. Staghound armoured cars from the regiment on an Italian road, 19 November 1943 Div Cav became part of the Eighth Army reserve along with the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division and was positioned several miles north of Lucera, near the Foggia Airfield Complex, on 4 November. On 12 November, the regiment left Lucera for the front, arriving at Cupello in the afternoon to guard a bridge over the Sinello River below the village of Gissi.
|
|
Additional shipments of small arms and transportation and communication equipment followed, as well as some training and light transport aircraft. United States military aid to the National Guard continued under the Rio de Janeiro Treaty of Mutual Defense (1947), but stopped in 1976 after relations with the administration of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1967–72, 1974–79) worsened. Some United States equipment of World War II vintage was also purchased from other countries—Staghound armored cars and M4 Sherman medium tanks from Israel and F-51 Mustang fighter aircraft from Sweden. Except for minor frontier skirmishes with Honduras in 1957 over a border dispute, the National Guard was not involved in any conflict with its neighbors.
|
|
After the Battle of the Falaise Gap, which saw most of the German Army in Normandy destroyed, the 7th Armoured Division then took part in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine. Major General Gerald Lloyd-Verney, GOC 7th Armoured Division, enters Ghent in his Staghound armoured car, 8 September 1944. The division's performance in Normandy and the rest of France has been called into question and it has been claimed they did not match those of its earlier campaigns. In early August 1944, Major General George Erskine, the division's GOC, who had been in command of the division since January 1943, Brigadier William Hinde, commanding the 22nd Armoured Brigade, and up to 100 other officers of the division were removed from their positions and reassigned.
|
|
After the war, the Dutch army had to be rebuilt and modernised, with a far higher level of motorisation. Also equipment had to be found for the expeditionary army fighting the colonial war in the Dutch East Indies, the Indonesian War of Independence. For the reconnaissance units armoured cars were taken from the various Allied army dumps present on Dutch territory, of the British Humber Mk IV, American Staghound and Canadian Otter Light Reconnaissance Car types. Though these had been obtained for scrap value in the Spring of 1946, their condition was so poor that the maintenance effort needed to keep the rusty equipment operational proved to be prohibitively expensive. To solve this problem, Humber Mk IVs had to be bought from the UK. The General Staff therefore already in June 1946 considered the question whether it then would not be cheaper to restart production of the DAF M39.
|
|
Subsequently, three pending prosecutions against hunts, including one brought privately by the League Against Cruel Sports, were dropped and a further two cases which did reach court were thrown out at the conclusion of the prosecution cases when the District Judges ruled that there was no case to answer. From March to November 2013, staff of six separate hunts were either acquitted of Hunting Act offences or had the prosecutions against them dropped, including three foxhound packs (The York & Ainsty South, the Avon Vale and the Ledbury), a harrier pack (Weston & Banwell Harriers), a staghound pack (The Quantock Staghounds) and a beagle pack (The RAC Beagles). In September 2013 David Parker, the huntsman of the Seavington Hunt, was fined after he admitted illegally hunting a fox with dogs in Dorset. The prosecution was brought by the RSPCA with evidence from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
|
|
T17 Staghound armoured car with the markings of the Brigade Piron The D-Day landings took place on 6 June 1944 without Brigade Piron, to the great disappointment of its 2,200 men but the British preferred to reserve them for the liberation of Belgium. (This policy was applied to all of the smaller national military contingents, which were expected to form the basis of post-war armies and for whom it would have been difficult to find replacements for casualties.) Piron lobbied the Belgian government in exile, which requested the British Government to send the Belgian troops to the front, to reverse the declining morale of those troops. On 29 July 1944, the Brigade was ordered to be ready to move. Its first units arrived in Normandy on 30 July and the main body arrived at Arromanches and Courseulles on 8 August, before the end of the Battle of Normandy.
|
|
These tanks were considered obsolete, and were later supplemented with small numbers of Centurion main battle tanks which were issued only for training. The 6th Motor Regiment was issued M3 Scout Cars, which were also obsolete. The 1st Armoured Regiment was based at Parramatta, while the 12th/16th Armoured Regiment was spread across regional New South Wales with depots in Muswellbrook, Armidale, Tamworth, and North Maitland. 'A' Squadron of the Newcastle-based 15th Amphibian Assault Regiment, was assigned to the brigade to provide an amphibious capability, and operated LVT(A)4s. As of 1953, the 1st Armoured Brigade's headquarters were located in Lancer Barracks at Parramatta. Throughout the early 1950s, the brigade's elderly vehicles and equipment became rundown. Plans to purchase Centurion tanks for the CMF armoured regiments were abandoned in 1954 due to the pressure the National Service scheme was placing on the Army's budget. The Matildas were withdrawn from service in 1955, and the 1st Armoured Brigade's two armoured regiments used Staghound armoured cars for training that year.
|
|