FOO Vehicles

[holdfast]

Was there a standard vehicle in which FOOs were mounted in the 8th Army in 1942? The FOO with the Notts Yeomanry (SRY) is described as being in a Stuart. So probably a Honey.
There doesn't seem to have been much standardisation and in 1942 the 8th Army seemed to burn its way through mountains of equipment anyway, so it may be anyone's guess.
And if it was the norm that the FOO was in a Stuart when all around him were in Valentines/Grants/Shermans it would have made him a 'signature vehicle' that the other side would home in on.
 

[T13A]

Hi Holdfast

Just checked the 'Battlefront WWII' (Fire and Fury) webpage (http://www.fireandfury.com/index.shtml) and they have FOO's in Daimler Scout cars for Gazala (May 1942) and that is for both RA Field and Medium Regiments. My gut feeling is that you could probably get away with almost anything at the time.

Cheers Paul

[sultanbev]

Re North Africa FOO:
M3A1 White Scout cars were also used from at least June 1942.
FOO tended to be in tanks if supporting an armoured regiment, softskins or light AFVs such as Daimler Scout Car, M3A1 White, Universal Carrier-OP if supporting infantry battalions. Looking at production figures, the Universal Carrier-OP would be the most common.

But I haven't heard of gunless Matildas and Valentines being used as FOO vehicles, so I suggest infantry tank units used FOO in light AFVs as they technically were mean't to be supporting infantry.....

South African units used turretless Marmon-Herringtons.

[holdfast]

Don't think Daimlers were an ideal solution as there wasn't much room for the two radios that an FOO needed in order to function.
White Scout Cars sound good for Infantry as lots of room. As is mentioned, a tank is useful when supporting an armoured regt, but having a totally different tank to the rest of the regt is like putting a 'kick me' sign on the back of your jacket.
An indication of how dire the tank situation was in the summer of 1942.

[paulr]

I think we tend to under estimate:

• how hard it is to identify a tank 'in the field'
• the lack of knowledge amongst troops about the other other sides tanks

I am reminded of the comment of one Normandy veteran when asked what German tanks he fought against, "bloody big'uns"

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Seen at least one account of an FOO using a Honey and fighting it. Must have been a tad cramped. The offical so far as there is one is Carriers for units supporting infantry would have carriers, those supporting armour a defanged tank of the same type.

[Orcs]

I think we tend to under estimate:

• how hard it is to identify a tank 'in the field'
• the lack of knowledge amongst troops about the other other sides tanks

I am reminded of the comment of one Normandy veteran when asked what German tanks he fought against, "bloody big'uns"

Yes I am sure that tank knowledge was quite limited. Listened to a lecture from National Army Museum yesterday, about Major General Strickland. His Matilda 1 was knocked out at 300 yards by friendly fire in 1940

[ciaphas]

Generally any spare vehicle, the general rule is soft skin or armoured car, Dingo type for infantry/mechanised and a tank of the same type for armoured. ie. a Sherman or Cromwell would look out of place in amongst Churchill Regiment.
There are examples of tanks joining enemy columns especially in the dark.
Silly example Clint Eastwood at the start of Kelly's Heroes.

jon

[Jemima Fawr]

By 1944, every armoured regiment had two tanks out of the four in the RHQ fitted as OP tanks (still armed, but with a second radio set replacing an ammo rack).  Attached FOOs often brought their own OP tank, halftrack or Carrier, but if not they could be assigned one of those RHQ tanks, with the FOO replacing the commander and his radio operator replacing the loader.  I don't know when this system was adopted, but I don't think it was in place by 1942.

I have read of RAF FACs riding in Crusader tanks by late 1942 and it seems to have been fairly common practice to assign FOOs to one of the Recce Squadron/Troop tanks (these were typically Stuart or Crusader, depending on the regiment, though Infantry Tank Regts were usually 'pure'), or to one of the Dingos of the Liaison/Intercom Troop.