Stuart VI Recce (was: Stuart Recce replacement)

[Stefan Leegwater]

Thanks Hanno

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Just a second thought Stefan, and I checked the pictures on https://military-classic-vehicles.fr...ecce-a-vendre/

As it was stripped internally already to serve as a Gun Tower, I think the logical bits to remove for conversion to Recce are already gone. You would have to put the top deck and driver's hatches back on. These can be fabricated, Adrian Barrell has done this many years ago.

Just add a radio in an appropriate location - vital for it's role as a Recce vehicle, not so much as a gun tower - add a MG and you're done.

Attached a picture of a Stuart VI Gun Tower, just for reference - and because I couldn't find a new Stuart VI Recce picture ;-)

Stuart VI Gun Tower.jpg

[Alex van de Wetering]

Couple more............details and markings blurry, as usual!

First one might be an M3A3 Recce (normandy)....other 4 stills show 2 different M5A1 Recce's in Belgium 1944.

source: Britishpathe.com (stills can be found there)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbmTTtQKf4o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNnYyJ4dc00

I am still looking for more pics/footage of the Canadian Recce in Bergen op Zoom, but sadly the city archive has moved to a new web address and somehow removed a lot of the interesting pics!

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

And an M3A1 Recce for good measure....

Roosendaal 1944
source: https://westbrabantsarchief.nl/

[Hanno Spoelstra]

This makes for interesting reading: http://overlord-wot.blogspot.com/202...pping.html?m=1

In September 1944 the British forces in the Mediterranean received a M5A1 Stuart (Stuart VI in British terminology), on loan from US forces, to see if it would be suitable for mass issue. They proceeded to run it on a 2,500 mile trial run after modifying it to the British standard. Obviously, they felt that returning the Stuart half worn out was not sporting or particularly neighbourly. Luckily, they were able to source some twenty-three Stuart VI that had been converted to British recce versions. Thus, one of these vehicles was returned to the workshop to be reconverted back to a US standard, and then returned in place of the one that was worn out. A list of modifications required to convert it back was included, and this gives us a good idea of what was needed to convert between British and US standards. The modifications required are:

40EB62E7-887C-43CD-87DB-45E1DD490C47.jpeg

[Stefan Leegwater]

Hanno,

Thanks for this information, interesting!

Stefan

[maple_leaf_eh]

http://overlord-wot.blogspot.com/202...pping.html?m=1

Who wanted to see overheads? Here you go! https://i.imgur.com/GbYcrLr.jpg

WRT the posted page for how to restore a Stuart to American standard, where would the cast off turrets have been stored? Seems unnecessary when the tanks were declared obsolete.