WesWorld

A look ahead to see what's entering development or entering service next year with the British Army.

Tanks & Armoured Vehicles

Development of the FV300 series chassis continues. New variants for entering testing in1947 are:
FV303 20pdr self-propelled gun - the gun is mounted in a rear armoured compartment like the other FV300 series SPGs
FV309 Royal Artillery section vehicle - has the same hull as the FV302 GPO/CPO command vehicle

Development of the FV200 series chassis has begun for other uses beyond the basic Centurion tank. New variants entering testing in1947 are:
FV3801 artillery tractor
FV3803 Command Post Vehicle
FV3805 5.5 inch self-propelled gun - has 650hp Orenda engine in the front hull and driver located over the trackguard
FV4219 Armoured Recovery Vehicle - has 30mm armoured compartment instead of the normal tank turret, rear-mounted spade and 30-ton winch driven by a 72hp Bedford QL truck engine and a dismountable 1-ton jib crane. A single MG is fitted for protection.

Heavy Tank Mk II Centurion Mk II: armed with the new QF Mk I 20pdr gun, a co-axial MG replacing the cannon and a fully cast turret, now in full production
Heavy Tank Mk II Centurion Mk III: armed with 95mm howitzer for the close support role and a co-axial 20mm cannon with a fully cast turret, now in low rate production
Heavy Tank FV221 Caernarvon: Prototype tank begun trials with 20pdr gun, four other prototypes under construction (Whitehall rumours persist this tank will be cancelled at some stage)

Carrier Tracked No.3 Mk I FV401 Cambridge: Design work begun in 1947 by Rolls-Royce as an improved Oxford with simpler box hull with sloped frontal glacis and new torsion-bar suspension and a 160hp Rolls-Royce B80 petrol engine. The Cambridge is designed to carry eight infantry and two crewmen with provision for one TADEN LMG for self-defence and 25-12mm thick armour. Maximum speed is 33mph and range 145 miles. Planned to enter service in 1949.

FV701 Daimler Scout Car: Prototype trials have begun.

Infantry Weapons
Rifle No.6 Mk I EM-2: developed by RSAF Enfield and Canadian Arsenals Ltd. Fires the standard 7mm (7x43) cartridge. The gun weighs 7.7lb, is 35in long, and rate of fire is 450-600rpm. The ammunition is carried in a 20-round box and simple conical optical sights for fast aiming and had a carrying handle built into the top optical sights are fitted. The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) at Enfield worked on four designs, the generally similar EM-1 designed by Stanley Thorpe, the EM-2, the EM-3, designed by Major Eric Hall and EM-4, designed by Dennis Burney. The EM-2 is a Bullpup style weapon; the magazine and chamber are placed behind the trigger and pistol grip, leading to a shorter overall length (by about 20%) and a better ratio between barrel length and weapon length. The .280 round is accurate to about 800 yards (730 metres). The EM-1 and EM-2 were very similar but were internally very different in design and construction, with no common parts in common other than the sights. The EM-1 used steel plate pressings for simpler manufacture and was slightly heavier. After selection trials during 1947 the EM-2 was chosen for production.


9mm Machine Carbine No.3 (Sterling): in 1945 the British General Staff issued a specification for a new submachine gun which should not weigh more than six pounds (2.7 kg), fire 9×19mm Parabellum calibre ammunition, have a rate of fire of no more than 500 rounds per minute and be sufficiently accurate to allow five single shots to be fired into a one foot square target at 100 yards (91 m). George William Patchett, the chief designer at the Sterling Armaments Company of Dagenham submitted a sample weapon of new design in early 1946. The army quickly recognised its potential and ordered 120 examples for trials. The Sterling is constructed entirely of steel and plastic and has a shoulder stock which folds underneath the weapon. Although of conventional blowback design, there are some unusual features; the bolt has helical grooves cut into it to remove dirt and fouling from the inside of the receiver to increase reliability. The Sterling uses a 34-round curved double-column feed box magazine. A bayonet is issued, derived from the version issued with the Rifle No. 5 Mk I. When mounted, the Sterling bayonet is offset to the left of the weapon's vertical line which gave a more natural balance when used for bayonet-fighting. The gun began to be issued to British Army units in 1947.


.280 RSAF Enfield Light Machine Gun No.4 Mk I TADEN: Now entering full production

Isn't the SA80 a bit advanced to be talked about in 1947? I recall that when Germany introduced something that looked very similar to the 1950s vintage G3 rifle a few game years back there was considerable discussion and opposition to the idea.

SA80? You are referring to the EM-2, Bruce?

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

SA80? You are referring to the EM-2, Bruce?

Dang! They do look a lot alike. My bad. ?(

Well I had similar thoughts about it until I hovered my mouse pointer over the image and saw the name. I then threw it into google and ended up at that page.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Well I had similar thoughts about it until I hovered my mouse pointer over the image and saw the name. I then threw it into google and ended up at that page.

I did not have that clue, and the link merely goes to Wikipedia media... so I presumed SA80. Today I learned something. Thanks.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Well I had similar thoughts about it until I hovered my mouse pointer over the image and saw the name. I then threw it into google and ended up at that page.

I did not have that clue, and the link merely goes to Wikipedia media... so I presumed SA80. Today I learned something. Thanks.

I'd have jumped to the same conclusion without further information.

British Army
Commander of the Imperial General Staff (C.I.G.S.): Field Marshal A. Cunningham

Home Forces
Southern Command, HQ Aldershot, G.O.C General B. Montgomery
II Corps: 1st Inf Div, 44th (Home Counties) Inf Div and 1st Arm Div

Eastern Command, HQ Colchester, G.O.C. Lt. Gen B. Horrocks
I Corps: 54th (East Anglian) Inf Div, 56th London Div and 2nd Arm Div

Western Command, HQ Lancaster, G.O.C. Lt. Gen E. Dorman-Smith
III Corps: 43rd (Wessex) Inf Div, 42nd (East Lancashire) Mot Div and 3rd Arm Div

Northern Command, HQ Catterick, G.O.C. General K. Anderson
IV Corps: 49th (West Riding) Mot Div, 50th (Northumbrian) Inf Div, 1st Para Div and 5th LARB

Scottish Command, HQ Glasgow, G.O.C Lt. Gen. G. Scones
V Corps: 9th (Highland) Div and 51st (Highland) Inf Div

Northern Ireland Command, HQ Belfast, G.O.C Lt. General J. Harding
VI Corps: Calvary Militia (North Irish Horse)

Middle East Command, HQ Cairo, G.O.C Western General W. Gott; G.O.C Eastern Western Command Lt. Gen R. McCreery
(Egypt) XIII Corps: 6th Inf Div and 7th Arm Div
(Malta) XVII Corps with the 1st and 2nd Malta Brigades
Eastern Command
(Iraq) IX Corps 7th Inf Div, 8th Arm Div and 6th LARB
(Palestine) XV Corps: 8th Inf Div, 10th Arm Div, 1st Special Air Service Brigade and Palestine Regiment
(Transjordan) Territorial Forces: Arab Legion, Transjordan Frontier Force
(Sudan) XVI Corps: 4th Inf Div, 1st Sudan Defence Brigade and 2nd Sudan Defence Brigade

Far East Command, HQ Singapore, G.O.C General W. Slim
(Burma) X Corps: 21st Inf Div, 1st Burma Div and 9th Arm Div
(Burma) Territorial Forces: Burma Frontier Force and Burma Auxiliary Force
(Malaya) XI Corps: 18th Inf Div, 2nd Inf Div, 1st Malayan Brigade, 2nd Malayan Brigade, Malayan Artillery Brigade and 4th Arm Div
(Malaya) XII Corps: 3rd Malayan Brigade (created from Federated Malay States Volunteer Force), Straits Settlements Volunteer Force and Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery
(Borneo) Territorial Forces: Sarawak Coastal Marine Service, Sarawak Volunteer Corps, Sarawak Rangers and Sarawak Armed Police
(Solomon Islands) British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force

West Africa Command, HQ Lagos, G.O.C. Lt. Gen R. Laycock
1st West African Infantry Brigade, 23rd West African Brigade, 24th West African (Namibia) Brigade, West African Artillery Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force and West African Engineers

East Africa Command, HQ Nairobi, G.O.C General M. Dempsey
(Kenya) VIII Corps: 3rd Inf Div, 1st Brigade King's African Rifles (KAR), Kenya Regiment, 10th Arm Brigade, East African Armoured Car Regiment, East African Light Artillery Regiment and East African Engineers
(Tanzania) XIV Corps: 21st East African Brigade and the 2nd Brigade KAR,
(Uganda) 26th East African Brigade and Uganda Regiment

Hong Kong Command, G.O.C Lt. Gen M. Stopford
Royal Hong Kong Regiment, 1st Kowloon Battalion, Hong Kong Volunteers, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery and two Battalions (on rotation from Home Forces)

Baluchistan Defence Force, HQ Quetta, G.O.C. Lt. Gen. W. Platt
Elements of the 26th East African Brigade

West Indies Command, HQ Kingston, G.O.C. Lt. General N. Ritchie
5th Inf Div, West India Regiment, Caribbean Regiment, Leewards Islands Battalion, the Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force and Montserrat Defence Force

Anti-Aircraft Command G.O.C. Lt. Gen F. Morgan
Eastern Sector, Group 1, HQ Bawburgh
Harwich, AAOR Mistley Heath
Norwich, AAOR Earlham
Thames North, AAOR Vange
Thames South, AAOR Fort Bridgewoods
London North, AAOR Lippets Hill
London South, AAOR Pendell Camp
London West, AAOR RAF Uxbridge
Dover, AAOR Dover Castle
Southern Sector, Group 2, HQ Box
Portsmouth/ Southampton, AAOR Fort Fareham
Bristol, AAOR Landsdown
Brockworth, AAOR Ullenwood
Plymouth, AAOR Crownhill Fort
Portland, AAOR Ridgeway Hill
Cardiff, AAOR Wenault
Swansea, AAOR West Cross
Milford Haven, AAOR Llanion Barracks
Scottish Sector, Group 3, HQ Barnton Quarry
Loch Ewe, AAOR Gairloch
Glasgow/ Clyde, AAOR East Kilbride
Clyde Anchorage, AAOR Inverkip
Forth/ Rosyth, AAOR Craigiehall
Western Sector, Group 4, HQ Longley Lane
Birmingham, AAOR Wylde Green
Mersey, AAOR Frodsham
Coventry/ Rugby, AAOR Stoneleigh Park
Barrow, AAOR Abbeywood
Manchester, AAOR Worsley
Belfast, AAOR Lisburn
Londonderry, AAOR Eglington
Northern Sector, Group 5, HQ Shipton
Tyne, AAOR Gosforth
Tees, AAOR Kirklevington Hall
Hull, AAOR Wawne
Leeds, AAOR Birkenshaw
Sheffield, AAOR Conisborough
Derby, AAOR Elvaston