British Armoured Regiment

An armoured division contained 4 armoured regiments, three equipped with Shermans, and the Recce Regt with Cromwells.

A regiment had four squadrons, HQ, A, B and C. The HQ squadron contained, command tanks, a recce troop of 11 Stuarts, an AA troop of 8 AA Crusaders (the AA troops were disbanded after August 44).

The three tank squadrons were organised identically with a HQ troop and 4 troops of 4 tanks. Shermans were the most common tank, typically 1 tank per troop would be a 17pdr armed Firefly. Supply of 17pdr guns was limited, but a second Firefly would be added to troops when available. Each squadron had a considerable number (15+) of trucks.

To identify tanks various markings were added:

• White allied stars - initially on the sides as well as the top surface. The side ones were quickly removed, or painted over as they were good targets for German gunners.
• Divisional symbol, left side at the front, right side at rear. These tanks are from the 11th Armoured Division, and have the black bull on a yellow background.
• Regiment Number, red square with a white 52, for the second regiment, for the 11th AD this was the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment. The tactical symbols would be yellow for this regiment.
• Squadron Tactical Symbols, each squadron had a geometric shape, these could be on the sides or rear of turret or the hull.
  • HQ sqdn - diamond
  • A sqdn - triangle
  • B sqdn - square
  • C sqdn - circle

Aerial Shot

All tanks are 10mm from Pendraken. Each troop is represented by a single tank for use with Blitzkrieg Commander rules. The 75mm Shermans are a variety of marks from Pendraken. The tanks of C sqdn have camo netting, sandbags and stowage as part of the moulding.

Overviews

Front and side views of the same arrangement of tanks in the overhead shot. The side view shows the Fireflies with their longer 17pdr guns.

A Squadron command tank

Pendraken 75mm Sherman, with Minifigs despatch rider, the closed turret hatch has been drilled out, and a cut-down Pithead para jeep driver added as the commander, along with plastic card hatches (the base still needs some flocking).

A Squadron Sherman Firefly

Close-up of Pendraken Sherman Firefly

Recce Troop

Three bases of Stuarts to represent the 11 tanks of the recce troop of the HQ squadron. Late in the war the turrets were often removed from the tanks, emphasising the need for stealth over firepower, for recce troops.

AA Troop

Close up of Pendraken Crusader AA Mk III, armed with 2 x 20mm Okerlin cannons. The TO&E called for 8 AA tanks in the regimental HQ squadron. By August '44 due to the minimal threat from the Luftwaffe and the need for tank crews in gun-tanks, most AA troops were disbanded.

In the background is a M32 recovery sherman, each squadron HQ had a recovery tank as part of its establishment.

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