Rhino Barges

One of the dullest, coolest, more bizarre and fascinating pieces of kit used in Normandy.

Which NO ONE REALLY CARES ABOUT.

BUT I DO AND YOU SHOULD TOO.
/1

#WW2 #SWW #History

The Churchill Tank in Normandy: Part One 40-44

Ratty Relic or Bocage Buster?

How did it go from a hated, atrocious POS tank worthy only of the scrapheap to a reliable, trustworthy, survivable and popular gun tank in action?

Another pertinent tale. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

At 38 tons the Churchill was clearly a beast but a manageable one, given concerns about railway loading gauge had informed development (even then you still had to remove the side air louvres for rail tpt).

As always, compromise & industrial limitations underpinned design. /2

Early Mk I and Mk II were respectively armed with a 2 Pounder with coaxial Besa in the turret but with differing hull armament, I - 3" howitzer, II - Besa machine gun.

88.9mm of front armour provided excellent protection for the five man crew, and WS No. 19 provided comms. /3

Other than being undergunned another problem was, they didn't work very well.

But why?

It call comes back to, you guessed it, June 1940 - at the height of that invasion-scare summer.

AFV cupboards were bare so the initial models were raced into production in June 1940... /4

there wasn't time for proper prototyping or accompanying development as the imperative to have ANY gun tank pushed Vauxhall to the limit in the race to get SOMETHING, ANYTHING into the field.

9 RTR probably enjoyed the dubious honour of the first Churchill deliveries. /5

So how easy was it for British & Canadian soldiers to keep clean and healthy in Normandy?

Couldn't be too hard, right? /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

You're an front line infantryman in a two man covered slit trench. Maybe 100m from the enemy

From dawn to dusk you're hunched underground, making the best of things in a covered trench 6' long, 3' deep and 2 1/2' wide or so.

With your mate crammed in there with you. /2

You know you're under constant observation by enemy observers and marksmen, who scan the ground looking to punish any foolish or unlucky opportunity target.

They may not get you, but their rounds may well kill or maim your friends. /3

Night offers a modicum of respite.

In darkness fresh, hot grub is bought up in large thermos flasks from the cooks in B Echelon. It's good hearty stuff.

The problem is the closer you are to the enemy, the more likely it'll be delayed or obliterated by an errant 155mm shell. /4

You can always tuck into food from your compo crates, which is fine, or 24 hour ration pack... or the famed emergency ration in a sticky spot.

The latter is really nice.

Chocolate laced with amphetamine or high dose of caffeine.

Yum. /5

So you're a company commander in Normandy, trying to coordinate your three platoons in action, & liase w supporting tanks & some arty, & keep battalion headquarters appraised, & adapt as needed.

You know your platoons' sets are a bit crap.

What do you do? /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

The whole thing is a bit of a juggling act.

The core set at Company HQ was the WS No. 18 set, linking in with WS No. 38 sets used by platoons & back to Battalion HQ.
0.25 Watts
6-9Mhz
2.5 miles range with R/T and 4 miles with W/T
Interference in woodlands/around armour /2

The 18 set was more durable than the WS No. 38, but much less powerful than the popular WS No. 19 and 22 sets... then again you can carry it about and not worry about a vehicle or cart for it in action. /3

Much like the WS No. 38 set, the No. 18 set also relies on a rather conspicuous aerial - 10' (3m) high.

The Army knew such height wasn't desirable and trials of ground trailing aerials for the 18 and 38 sets were underway in theatre but there were problems... /4

It performed poorly on wet ground, and Normandy was... frequently soggy, whilst movement through thick undergrowth could damage the copper wire which also had the habit of snapping if stepped on.

So signallers, and those around them, had to be pretty considerate in action. /5

So you're a platoon commander in Normandy, you've got your three infantry sections, and you need to quickly confer with your company commander. You're wireless op is ready with his WS No. 38.

Easy right?

Well... read on. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

The WS No. 38 set was a compact wireless set (hence WS) assigned at the platoon level, allowing communication to headquarters, who used the bulkier and more powerful as WS No. 18.

A dedicated wireless operator controlled the set at platoon HQ, speaking via the throat mic. /2

WS No. 38 was usually controlled by Wireless Op's throat mic. Mounted on the chest with a nifty webbing cradle.

Aerial: three piece 12' aerial or 4' 'battle' aerial
Power: 0.2 Watts
Frequency: 7.4 - 9 MHz
Weight: 6kg
Battery: 20 - 35 hrs
Range: