Rams outside 1st Armoured Carrier Regiment

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Bill Miller

I am also puzzled by a footnote in Donald Graves' book, "South Alberta's: A Regiment at War", Chapter 7, Note 4:

"In the spring of 1944 the CAC Operational Training Squadron at Woking experimented with using Ram tanks, with their turrets removed, as APCs. These evolved into the Kangaroo APC." Interview with Danny McLeod, 1996.

??? Spring of 1944, Rams!!!! This predates Simonds, "Totalize" and the M7 Priest APCs? Any idea if there is a way to prove or disprove this? If that is true, it certainly changes the origin story of the "Kangaroo".

Another thing which we need to find out is why these Rams in Woking had their turret removed. I strongly suspect (or: it is one of the options) they were converted for driver training. The same was done with a number of Grizzlies, either during or after WW2.

I can see turretless Rams for driver training being eyed by an infantry officer, who later experimented with them as APCs.

You are right of course, if this is true, the Totalize innovation could be a copy of something experimented earlier. It would make a lot of sense, would it not?

Hanno