11th Army Field Regt?

[John McGillivray]

Good day all,

I was wondering what type of guns the 11th Army Field Regt. RCA was using in Italy in the first part of 1944. I know that they were re-equipped with towed 25 pdrs in August 1944 when they became part of the 12th Bde group of 5CAD.

CMHQ Report 141 contains the following at the end of para 48:

“In Italy 5 Cdn Armd Div received 24 Sextons in April; on the formation of 12 Cdn Inf Bde they were replaced by tractor-drawn 25-prs (C.M.H.Q. file 13/Equip State/2/4: Equipment States, Cdn Forces in A.A.I.).”

5CAD never used Sextons in Italy. The only SP Fd Regt in the 5th Div was the 8th which used 105mm M7’s. They only changed over to Sextons after their move to NWE in the spring of 1945. Was it the 11th Army Field Regiment of 1 Cdn AGRA that was using the Sextons?

Also what would have been the number on the AoS of this Unit? When it served as the 11th Fd Regt in 5CAD its number was 54. Would it have carried the same number when it was badged as the 11th Army Field Regt? Also would its formation sign have been that of the 8th Army?

Thanks for the help.

John