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| KANGAROO
VEHICLES |
| Overview |
| The Kangaroo concept of
moving infantry units forward with the leading elements of armoured formations
quickly became a critical, integral aspect of armoured corps operations
in Northwest Europe, and later, in Italy. It is a concept which remains
the cornerstone of all infantry operations today. |
Priest
Ram
Other
Vehicles
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| The Canadian
Armoured Corps, which provided most of the personnel for the Kangaroos
as well as the basis for their administration and employment, was itself
a relatively new service, having only been constituted just a few short
years before. Largely through the efforts of one remarkable man,
Frank Worthington, Canada was able to field more than two complete armoured
divisions during WW2. They played a critical part in tthe campaigns in
Italy and Northwest Europe, fighting with equipment which was sometimes
greatly inferior to that of the enemy. The men of these units were proud,
bold, and creative, as they had to be - and they and their attitudes were
the seed corn of the startlingly simple, radical new concept of carrying
the infantry under armour (more may be read about the Armoured Corps on
the MAPLE
LEAF UP site). |
| The story of
the Kangaroos is of a unit which used what it could, wherever it could
be found. The vehicle chosen for their mission was initially the U.S. M7
Priest Self-propelled Gun, which embodied a 105mm howitzer in an open body
set on an early Lee/Grant/Sherman chassis. As has been seen, in a momentous
effort in the first week in August 1944, 72 of these vehicles were overhauled
and modified as personnel carriers; subsequently they went on to prove
a concept which remains the cornerstone of infantry operations to this
day. |
| Once the inherent
value of such a unit was realized, and official steps taken to expand it
into a full regiment, the Priests, which were by this time some 53 in number
through battle damage and general mechanical attrition, were replaced by
specially modified Canadian Ram tanks, which were available in quantity
in depots in England (having been superceded as battle tanks by the U.S.
Sherman, itself having been declared the standard of Commonwealth armoured
formations). |
| Along with the
new Regiment came a significant headquarters infrastructure which also
required different vehicles for reconnaissance, logistics and general administrative
activities, which further changed the face of the unit as a whole. |
| We will examine
each of these vehicles in turn, evaluating their performance, applicability
and usefulness in the accomplishment of the Kangaroos' mission. In addition,
we will touch upon the crucial endeavours of the unsung AWD and LAD detachments
of the First Canadian Army, the tireless efforts of which guaranteed the
success of this innovative unit. |
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