I've read several South African Regimental Histories, and am currently reading the history of the 3rd SA Brigade. In them I often find references to 'Armoured Car' platoons as being part of infantry battalions. Does anyone know if this is a misreporting of Universal Carriers or did SA infantry battalions have an integral armoured cars platoon? Of those units that I've so far been able to find details of, all of have 3x Rifle Companies, but there seems to be no standardisation of the battalion HQ and support companies organisation. 1st SA Brigade 1st RNC- Support Coy- 1x Armoured Car Platoon and 2x Mortar Platoons 1st TS- Support Coy- 1x Carrier Platoon, 1x Mortar Platoon, 1x MMG Platoon 1st DEOR- Support Coy- 1x Armoured Car Platoon 2nd SA Brigade 1st CTH- Support Coy- 1x Armoured Car Platoon, 1x MG Platoon 3rd SA Brigade 1st RLI- HQ Coy- 1x Carrier Platoon Support Coy- 2x Mortar Platoons, 2x MMG Platoons 4th SA Brigade UMR- 1x Armoured Car Platoon (including 6x A/C and ?x Carriers), 2x Mortar Platoons 6th SA Brigade 2nd TS- 1x Carrier Platoon, 1x Mortar Platoon and 1x MMG Platoon So does anyone know what the official organisation of a SA Btn was in 1942? Regards Steve
Steve, In my recent research of the South African role on 1/7/1942 in the First Battle of El Alamein, with extracts from three books supplied (SA Official History, Orpen and The Durban LI), there is no mention of integral armoured cars with battalions. The 6th SA Armoured Car Regt. was operating with 13 Corps, so not alongside the SA Division further north. I have not looked at the organization of SA infantry battalions. If you look for David Katz he has written on the use of armoured cars, though not in North Africa. See DRyan's help in: South African Divisions in North Africa
Cheers for that. Indeed, I've read 'Springboks in Armour', but that only talks about the actions of those of the Armoured Car Regiments/Reconnaisance Btns and makes no mention of infantry Btn's having any. Still I've seen it in too many separate books to write it off as just one writer confusing them for carriers. And in the case of the UMR history, the author notes that the platoon in question had 6x Armoured Cars and an unidentified number of Carriers, which would seem to definitively confirm the presence of both with that unit prior to Gazala. I'll have to see if the 3rd Brigade history can provide any more details. I've only just started it, but it refers to several ILH armoured cars being subjected to an air attack in December 1941, with one being destroyed killed several of the units soldiers, which once more reinforces the probable of presence of them within the organisation of battalions. The same confusion also seems to be with regard to 3-inch mortar platoons. In see in the 1939 organisation the battalion just one platoon, but in three of the histories I've read the battalion is noted as having two of them. Regards Steve
Update: The 3rd Brigade book refers to armoured cars from No13 Platoon, ILH, being heavily involved in the December 1941 assault on Bardia. It mentions some with and some without turrets, which could imply that the platoon was equipped with Marmon-Herrington armoured cars.
