Naming vehicles

Discussion in 'Weapons, Technology & Equipment' started by kfz, Apr 9, 2007.

  1. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Nice one, I was looking for that picture last week. Please tell me there was an article in Wheels & Tracks about those Jeeps?... as I rooted through nearly the whole set looking for it...
     
  2. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Nice one, I was looking for that picture last week. Please tell me there was an article in Wheels & Tracks about those Jeeps?... as I rooted through nearly the whole set looking for it...

    Doesn't ring any bells with me.
    This is becoming a nightmare though, distant memories of snippets of information or a dim recollection of a blurry photo. But which book/magazine /website was it on???

    "Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain" Homer Simpson
     
  3. Mikal

    Mikal Junior Member

    A Sqn 22 Dragoons started out naming their tanks after English cities. Mind you by 1944 when they had flails the A Sqn gun tanks (used by OC, 2iC & 3iC) were named after greek gods - Ajax (OC), Achilles (2iC)....
     
  4. Mikal

    Mikal Junior Member

    Vehicle serial numbers were used in the casualty reports appended to the monthly war diary return.

    The longest use of serial numbers I've come across is the attachment in the wind up of 27th Lancers where every single vehicle is listed on disbandment.
     
  5. Gerry Chester

    Gerry Chester WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Names seem to have appeared on all sorts of vehicles but it is mostly on armour that they seem to be official, reflecting Squadron etc. Presumably a cavalry thing. Couldn't get out of the habit of naming horses.
    Hi Rich,

    Not horses but ships. Many years passed before cavalry units, albeit reluctantly, gave up their horses. Perhaps due to Field-Marshall Haig's post WW I derogatory remarks about the effectiveness of the tank.

    Cheers,

    Gerry
     
  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Naming of Tanks or His Majesty's LandShips started right at the beginning, when they were first used in Sepember 1916.
    C Company had names such as,
    Champagne, Cognac, Chartreuse, Chablis, Creme de Menthe, Cordon Rogue, Corunna, Casa, Clan Leslie.

    D Company had, Daredevil I, Daredevil II, Dolphin, Dolly, Die Hard, Dracula, Dinnaken, Delilah.

    Gerry as for Haig bemoaning the Tank, wasn't he the one after their first use who asked for even more with better armour and for the designers to come up with a 68 ton tank.
    He also asked the Royal navy if they could land tanks from barges on the coast of Belgium?
    Think of that, he was asking for amphibious tank assaults within days of their first use.
    How many years did it actually take for that to become reality?


    (Haig does seem to come under fire on this forum alot, doesn't he?)
     
  7. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

  8. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Excellent site, would merit some development.
     
  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    A Crusader AA Mk III tank, 'Skyraker' (aka 'The Princess') of 22nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, leads a column of Stuart tanks moving off from the beaches.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. craftsmanx

    craftsmanx Junior Member

    I was a amber of the REME LAD , The Royal Horse Guards (Blues) in 1959 and they still named all their Daimler Armoured and Scout cars , the name beginning with the initial letter of the squadron. HQ, A and C squadrons were also allocated a Scammell recovery vehicle which was also named according to the squadron it supported.(B Sqn was airportable and had ferrets) The Scammells were ,IIRC, Hercules, Achilles and Collosus.
     
  11. This practice i beleive was offical in WW1 until later in the war when it was 'banned' although they still appeared with names, well you'd have to wouldn't you?
     
  12. Gerry Chester

    Gerry Chester WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

  13. 4th wilts

    4th wilts Discharged

    i like the burnt out churchills,called,churchill.lee.
     
  14. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    I have been scouring my books for pictures of my three favourite tank names.. of all time. I finally remembered where I'd seen them.

    Ally Sloper, a Vickers Light Mk. VIB of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 1940

    [​IMG]

    Fray Bentos, an old WW1 name carried by this Crusader of 6th RTR 1941

    [​IMG]

    and my favourite, Divine Discontent, a Valentine Mk.II possibly of the North Irish Horse? UK (Northern Ireland) 1941. I've struggled to match the beret badge to any other Armoured Regt. It could be a RTR badge but it looks too large and not quite right. Any other possibilities?

    [​IMG]

    This is a shot from the IWM archive showing an exercise near Ballymena with a tank of the North Irish Horse. The man in the tank is probably an infantry liason because he is wearing the field service cap and not the tank beret.

    [​IMG]

    Some interesting modelling challenges there methinks.
     
  15. Gerry Chester

    Gerry Chester WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Hi Bodston,

    Both the Valentines are North Irish Horse.
    The second was named 'Dopey' - from left to right:
    Major (later Lt. Colonel) The Lord O'Neill 2 I/C, He was killed in Italy.
    Lt. Colonel Powell CO - he relinquished the position to Lt. Colonel (later Sir David Major-General) Dawnay.
    Lt. (later Major) Bertie Sidebottom. As OC 'B'Squadron he was commander of the last Churchill I crewed. The regiment's officers did not wear berets until shortly before moving from Northern Ireland to England. Aboard tanks they wore forage caps.
    Captain (later Major) P.Welch

    Cheers, Gerry
     
  16. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Cheers Gerry. This is the entry in "British Tank Markings and Names" by B.T. White regarding the North Irish Horse. North Irish Horse: This Regiment (which was actually classed as militia cavalry rather than yeomanry) was equipped first with Valentines and then Churchills both in the United Kingdom and in action in Italy. Churchill tanks with 'A', 'B' and 'C' Squadrons were given those names of counties and towns in Northern Ireland which corresponded to the squadron letter such as Ardess, Blackrock and Castlerobin. The letters 'D', 'E' and 'F' were alotted to Regimental HQ, the Reconnaissance Troop (an example of which is Enniskillen, a Sherman used in Italy) and spare tanks.
    So these tanks with 'D' names, Dopey and Divine Discontent would be Regimental HQ vehicles.

    Thanks again,
    Bod
     
  17. Gerry Chester

    Gerry Chester WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Hi Bod,

    The 18 Valentines that the NIH had in Northern Ireland came from a Royal Armored Corps Regiment in England during 1941 - if memory serves the 145th - which was requipped with Churchills. As it was known the NIH was also in line, later in the year, to become a Churchill unit the names worn by the Valentines were not changed. A few, 'Dopey' being one, did add the regiment's innsignia.

    The NIH moved to England in October where the newly delivered Churchills were given names of towns in Ireland (north and south) appropriate to each Squadron.

    Cheers, Gerry
     
  18. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Gerry -
    don't think your Valentines came from 145RAC as we were formed from 8th Batt Duke of Wellingtons on 15th Nov '41 and by the end of Dec '41 we had a total of 7 Churchill Mk 11's and 6 Infantry Tanks Mk 1v's -on landing on North Africa these were all exchanged for 2 pndr Mk 111 and 1V's until the six pounders caught up - then in Italy we had a few - one per squadron MkV's - 95 mm howitzers -
    "A" sqn had names on all tanks starting with the letter "D" as in Decisive - Defender - Diogenes - Destroyer - in fact all but Deserter !- "B" and "C" had different initials to start their names - can't think of them now though !
     
  19. GPRegt

    GPRegt Senior Member

    The Sherman of three times MM awardee Sgt Fred 'Buck' Kite, A Sdn 3 RTR, was called Shuftie's Hope.

    Steve W.
     
  20. Gerry Chester

    Gerry Chester WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Hi Tom,

    I should have realised, although your regiment had names beginning with 'D', you wouldn't name one 'Dopey'!

    When I get back to the States - leaving London on Tuesday next - I will check my records and post from which unit the Valentines did come.

    Warmest regards, Gerry
     

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