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M10 17 pdr S237818
Over on Missing Lynx there is a still grab ( under the posting of Screen grabs ) of a knocked out M10 17 pdr. The WD serial is S237818 and a name "LEILAN" ( this could be a partial name ). This M10 17 pdr is listed in the great posting earlier by Tony Viste and is listed as being one 5th Anti - Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery.
Does anyone have any further information or is able to confirm the name? Thanks for anu help. Cheers Kevin |
#2
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“Leilan” is a girl’s name.
L troop of the 5th A/T Regt RCA was destroyed near Quesnay Wood with the lost of all four of its 17pdr M-10s, on the 10th (?) of August, 1944. From the book South Albertas (p117) “It is not known why B Squadron was withdrawn from St. Hilaire Farm but in any case Swatty decided to replace them with the troop of M-10 self-propelled 17-pdr. guns from 5th Anti-Tank Regiment assigned to the SAR. This unit's heavy anti-tank weapons were normally allotted, on a troop basis, to the other units in 4th Division for defensive purposes, the self-propelled equipment going to the armoured regiments, the towed pieces to the infantry battalions. “By this time the Recce Troop had worked out a safer route to the farm and L Troop of the 5th Regiment was sent that way in the early afternoon guided by their troop leader in a jeep. Unfortunately they made a wrong turn and moved too close to Quesnay Wood - within minutes all four guns were brewed up by AP fire and only one crew escaped. The commander of the last vehicle in action, a Sergeant McAlinden, "was last seen firing his gun while his M-10 was burning" and received a posthumous Mention in Dispatches. The troop leader survived and drove back to Langannerie, where he ran into Captain Jay Moreton of B Squadron. Jay had "heard the firing going on and shortly after a guy turned up and ... said his four tanks were gone and he was just a young fellow and he was weeping all over the place." There was nothing that Jay or anyone else could do to comfort the man.” |
#3
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Hello Kevin and John,
Hereby two other photo's from M10'S. The first one is S-230553 named JOYCE II. Location is Bergen op Zoom in Holland in Oktober 1944. The quality isn't to good Source: http://www.markiezenhof.nl/ Marco
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Staghound F215633, 12th Troop "Sergeants Car" XII Manitoba Dragoons |
#4
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And the other one is S237843 named JEAN.
Same location and source. Also, I can advice anyone interested in the South Alberta Regiment to have a look in this photoarchive. Go to "beeldbank" (=photoarchive) and search on "bevrijding" (liberation). Succes, Marco
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Staghound F215633, 12th Troop "Sergeants Car" XII Manitoba Dragoons |
#5
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M10 17 pdrs
Hi Marco,
Thanks for posting those. I have a doubt about the WD serial for S230553. According to the list I have S230470 - S230769 was for M7 105mm howitzers and S230770 - S231069 was for M10's. As you say it is not a good image, so do you think it is possible that 553 could be 883 or 993? Can anyone else make it out? Sadly my steam powered computer is unable to get a good copy of the image. Cheers Kevin |
#6
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Hi Kevin,
Yes, that is possible. The best I could make out of it is S-230553 but it might be S-230883 as well. Best regards, Marco
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Staghound F215633, 12th Troop "Sergeants Car" XII Manitoba Dragoons |
#7
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August 10th is correct
Quote:
August 10th is correct. My Father Cliff was a sergeant for L troop of 5th A/Tk regt. RCA. All four M10's were destroyed. The story from "South Albertas" is very interesting. I have two other accounts of that "battle" one from his commanding officer and one from one of the soldiers who witnessed it first hand. I am putting together all the info I can about that day. My father was taken prisoner and spent 9 months as a P.O.W. in Fallingbostel. Looking forward to hearing from you sir. Cheers ! Mike Slusar |
#8
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#9
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From Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson’s book “The Gunners of Canada” Vol II, page 322.
“Another of Lt.-Col. Harkness’s batteries, the 14th Anti-Tank Battery, suffered a heavy loss when one of its troops was almost completely wiped out when it missed its way and ran unto an enemy trap at Quesnay Wood. Only one of the gun crews escaped, and all four M-10’s were destroyed. It was a regrettable incident that served to point up the importance of good map reading in military operations. Courageous and devoted to duty to the end, Sgt. M.J. McAlinden was last seen firing his gun while his mount burned. He was posthumously awarded a Mention in Despatched.” |
#10
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5th A/tk Regiment RCA
Hello John
Thanks for the link and information, I have seen that page of the war diary before. Its nice that they are readily available online. I was not aware of the book reference. I now have another avenue of research, thank you so much for that. Sergeant McAlinden was definitely part of my fathers "L troop". I have that info from his commanding officer Lt. Jack Connors. Jack wrote his memoirs but to the best of my knowledge it never got published. I'm really interested in locating the photo that Kevin T refers to in a previous post. My fathers tank was called LEILANI so i'm almost positive he is describing a picture of my dads burnt out M10 Sincerely, Mike |
#11
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Have more info about this M10 17pdr "LEILAN"
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I have info about this tank, I can't confirm the serial number but My father was a tank sergeant in the 5th A/Tk regt RCA. I think this was his tank. Would really like to talk to you. Cheers ! Mike |
#12
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You tube link no longer working
Hello
Just found out that this link to You tube is no longer working, apparently due to copyright issues. I have seen other you tube videos of this newsreel but the quality is just not as good. I am currently in contact with the German archive to see if I can get a DVD copy. This piece of film is amazing and is something to help preserve my fathers military history. Thanks again to all the people who helped me find this film clip. Best Regards, Mike |
#13
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Thanks again guys! new info!
Once again I just have to says thanks a lot to all who have contributed to this thread and story. I was able to borrow a DVD (newsreel #730) from the German Bundesarchiv and it was a much higher resolution, revealing much more detail, it allowed me to confirm another detail about that day. The DVD revealed a soldier lying down in the background behind my father. The soldier is injured and has a covering over his right leg. These are details that get missed by watching you tube versions of these war films. They get copied and recopied so many times that they lose some of the important details.
The injured Sgt Garrah became a good friend of my Dad and I have a hand written letter detailing the events of that day. I have been aware of the letter for about ten years now, but now I have a film clip that documents it !! Wow, truly blessed to have this much info. I have registered on the Axis history forum to investigate more of what happened from the German side that day. https://forum.axishistory.com/viewto...40659#p2192046 Thanks again, continuing to dig !! |
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