You are correct Hanno
Yup, that photo was taken during the same excercise as the other postwar photos I've seen and the Pathé newsreel. The number on the side of the foreground Ram matches the one in the newsreel. Though this scene is not in the reel. (Reels actually, there are two parts to the film)
The Photo from Henk Kuipers website is of C Squadron, 49APCR. The documentation I got recently shows that we really shafted the British Army when it came to the Rams we gave them. They received pretty much exclusively all really early Rams of the 39000 and 40000 series. Another Pathé newsreel that shows C Squadron rolling into Hamburg shows several early Rams with hull side doors.
I have a list of destroyed and recovered kangaroos used by the 1CACR during Ops Blackcock and Veritable. That list includes 3 or 4 early Rams (40000 series) but also notes they were reclaimed "crocks". My list of the original 106 Rams converted for the 1CACR are all 159000 and 160000 series.
I think the engine cover shown in your photo Hanno is a Post-war modification? I haven't seen it on any of the wartime photos I have or have seen. But then again, very few of those photos clearly show that part of the tank.
Bill.
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