British Army units with Fantails (LVTs) in Italy, 1945

Discussion in 'Italy' started by Gary Kennedy, Feb 2, 2023.

  1. Gary Kennedy

    Gary Kennedy Member

    I was trying to work out which British Army units in Italy used the Fantail, this being the codename used in the theatre for the Landing Vehicle, Tracked (LVT), more commonly known in British and Canadian Army circles as the Buffalo.

    From what I can see, and it is only after a cursory check on the web, the LVT only arrived in Italy in time for what were to be the final weeks of the campaign. A few sample pages from "Victory in Italy: 15th Army Group's Final Campaign, 1945" by Richard Doherty indicate that two units were converted to operate LVTs, these being 15th Transport Column, RASC, and the US Army 755th Tank Battalion.

    My query is then, was 15th Tpt Col the only British unit that was converted to LVTs in Italy?

    Thanks,

    Gary
     
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Just ran across this in a book about 2 Polish Corps, for what it's worth - it talks about how many LVTs were available. I have Doherty's book if you would like me to look into it.


    Screen Shot 2023-02-02 at 12.50.18 PM.png
     
  3. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    Last edited: Feb 2, 2023
  4. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    The Fantails were also used on the Po.
     
    vitellino likes this.
  5. Gary Kennedy

    Gary Kennedy Member

    Thank you both very much, that's most helpful, especially the diagram for the Br/US Composite Fantail Regiment. I hadn't picked up on 27 Lancers being involved with Fantails, though after looking again they do get a mention in the Doherty book as providing crews for them. They were (I think) an Armd Car Regt at the time, so perhaps "Part E" was a reference to them usually having A to D Sqns? I was trying to work out whether any RAC units in particular went over to LVTs in Italy, as was the case in 21 Army Group, but it seems it was just the few personnel from 27 Lancers who did so.

    Thanks,

    Gary
     
  6. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    I don't see any mention of other units equipped with LVTs in Doherty's book. He does mention that re 27th Lancers' organization (p84)

    "27th Lancers had a dual role with one squadron operating Kangaroos while the remaining two took on the armoured reconnaissance role and thus the regiment trained for both".

    Speculation: I think a Kangaroo would probably only have a crew of 2. Did this free up men to crew LVTs?
     
  7. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    I will get the file I mentioned next time I am down in Kew - to confirm it is Italy only so I'm expecting to cover what units operated LVTs.
     
  8. Wobbler

    Wobbler Well-Known Member

    Chris C likes this.
  9. Gary Kennedy

    Gary Kennedy Member

    I found the passage I recalled reading, not in Doherty's book as noted above but on a webpage also by him;

    The Final Offensive

    "As Indians, New Zealanders and Poles advanced, soldiers of 56th (London) Division, the Black Cats, launched 80 LVTs carrying two battalions of the 169th (Queen’s) Brigade. Crewed by men of 27th Lancers and the US 755th Tank Battalion, the amphibious craft took the 2/5th and 2/6th Queen’s across the mosquito-infested Lake Comácchio toward the villages of Menate and Longastrino."

    Also mentioned in a post on tapatalk;

    Missing-Lynx-Buffalo IV (LVT-4) with 25-pdr; Req. for info

    "As the 755 US Tank Bn could only man 120 LVTs out of 182 they were allocated crews from 27th Lancers"

    I also found some of the After Action Reports for the US 755th Tank Battalion on the CGSC digital collection. The quality of some of the pages is frankly awful, however those for the period of the Battalion operating LVTs are passable. Not that much is given but they do recall working with the "Royal Army Supply Corps" and "2/7 Lancers" so the British Army tactic of using designations that confound friend and foe alike was still working well even at this stage of the war! Pages 98 to 103 cover the period;

    World War II Operational Documents

    Gary, if you do get the chance to look at the file I'm sure it would be of interest to folks here but please don't make a diversion for my sake. Italy poses a lot of queries for me on the subject of substitute equipment, variations to WEs and an ever shifting order of battle, which I've been trying to make some inroads on of late, this topic being one of them, and this thread has been most helpful already.

    Cheers,

    Gary
     
  10. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Perhaps not adding much given the reference was before the attack.

    The war diaries of the 1st Bn London Irish Rifles (for 2nd April 1945) refer to the plan that the 9th Bn Royal Fusiliers (also in 167 Brigade) were due to use Fantails but entries for subsequent days state that it was found that the lake was "too shallow for them to float and too muddy for their tracks alone...".
    It's not clear whether 9 RF ever got to use them during the operation.

    IMG_9637.jpg

    IMG_9638.jpg
     
  11. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    9 Royal Fusiliers didn't use them during the operation. From what I can tell they were used by 2/5 and 2/6 Queens, 1 Buffs and 9 Commando.
     

Share This Page