WesWorld

A look ahead to the new weapons and equipment to be introduced during 1942.

Alecto II (A22): The Alecto II is armed with the new Ordnance 3.7in Mortar QF Mk II (95mm Howitzer) and is a variant of the basic Alecto mobile anti-tank vehicle. Four crewmen are carried and the engine and armour are unchanged.

Crusader Dozer: This is the basic Cruisader ARV chassis with a dozer blade added

Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Cromwell (A20): Centaur fitted with the new 17pdr tank gun, thicker frontal armour with sloped glacis and powered by the new 600hp Orenda Ursa (based on RR Merlin) engine as the main production cruiser tank, designed 1941 by Leyland and CC&F. A crew of five is carried and two .303in MGs (bow and co-axial) complete the armament. 600 ordered in 1942 to be built by Leyland (200) and Harland & Wolff (400). Armour is 76-20mm; dimensions 20ft 10ins long, 10ft wide, 8ft 2ins high; battle weight 63,600lbs; maximum speed 32mph and 18mph cross-country and a road radius 173 miles. Fording depth is 3ft (4ft prepared); vertical obstacle 3ft and trench crossing 7ft 6ins.


Infantry Tank Mk III Valiant (A24): designed by Vickers in 1941 as an improved Valentine with cast sections, new turret with 95mm howitzer or 6pdr gun, Orenda 400hp Ursa Minor engine to improve low speed of AEC diesel prototypes. In 1942 250 were ordered and these were all built by Vickers. 75 of the order were armed with the 6pdr gun. Armour is 114-10mm; dimensions 17ft 7ins long, 9ft 3ins wide, 7ft high; battle weight 60,480lbs; maximum speed 18mph and 8mph cross-country and a road radius 85 miles. Fording depth is 3ft; vertical obstacle 2ft 9ins and trench crossing 7ft 6ins.


Heavy Tank Mark I Chariot (A25): Heavy Cromwell project with 114-20mm armour, 17pdr gun, new suspension and generally bigger, designed 1942 by Leyland and English Electric. Dimensions 22ft 8ins long, 11ft 1.5ins wide, 8ft 6ins high; battle weight 100,800lbs; maximum speed 24mph and 12mph cross-country and a road radius 130 miles. Fording depth is 3ft; vertical obstacle 3ft and trench crossing 7ft 6ins.

A23 Infantry Tank: Designed by Vauxhall, this design has tracks that go around the hull like earlier Great War tanks and is designed to cross rough terrain and boggy ground. A turret is fitted.

Ordnance BL Mk I 6.5in Demolition Gun: Calibre 165mm, weight of shot 64lbs HESH, range 2,640 yards. Development began from March 1942 by Royal Ordnance for use by engineer vehicles.

Ordnance QF 25pdr Mk I on Carriage 25pdr Mk II: developed 1942 for use in jungle areas and for Airborne use.

Ordnance QF 3.7in Howitzer Mk III: an improved and lighter version for use with Airborne Forces with six main parts to assemble.

Ordnance 6pdr QF Mk IV on Carriage 6pdr Mk III: developed for Airborne use with narrower carriage and folding trail legs.

Ordnance ML 4.2in Mortar No.1 Mk I; under development during 1942 for use with Airborne forces as an alternative weapon to the 3.7in pack howitzer. Fires a forged steel 20lb HE or smoke round to 4,400 yards, weight in action is 1,320 lbs

Ordnance ML 3in Mortar No.1 Mk IV: a lightened version with a new baseplate for use with Airborne forces.

Royal Marines

In 1942 the Royal Marine Battalions were reformed into new formations called Commandos of about 450 men each. Excercises during Excercise Nelson and on Malta during 1941 began to show flaws in the cumbersome Marine Battalions. The fighting power of the Battalions is now focused into new units of around 450 men which can be carried by two Glen Class Landing Ships. The RM Battalions will still exist as higher formation HQs and they will contain the bulk of the support services and heavy support artillery.

Quoted

Royal Marine Commando

Commando HQ Company
Reconnaissance Troop (includes a sniper section)
2 RM Companies
2 RM Support Companies
1 Logistic Company

2 RM Companies each with;
Company Headquarters (Coy HQ)
3 Troops
1 Support Troop

Quoted

Each Troop comprises;
Troop HQ
Captain (Browning Automatic pistol & Very pistol)
Lieutenant (Enfield rifle, Very pistol, two 2in mortar bombs)
2nd Lieutenant (Enfield rifle, Very pistol, two 2in mortar bombs)
Troop Sergeant-Major (Enfield rifle, Very pistol)
Orderly (Enfield rifle, two 2in mortar bombs)
Orderly (Enfield rifle, two 2in mortar bombs)
3 Sections each comprising;

No.1 Sub-Section
Sergeant (Sten SMG with 5 magazines, 2 grenades, 4 lbs. of explosives)
Corporal (Sten SMG with 5 magazines, 2 grenades, 4 lbs. of explosives)
5 Marines (Enfield rifles, 2 LMG magazines, 2 grenades, 4 lbs. of explosives each)
LMG Sub-Section
Corporal and 2 Marines (Enfield Rifle, 4 LMG magazines each, one Vickers ‘K’ LMG)
No. 2 Sub-Section
Sergeant (Sten SMG with 5 magazines, 2 grenades, four 2in mortar bombs)
Corporal (Sten SMG with 5 magazines, 2 grenades, three 2in mortar bombs)
5 Marines (Enfield rifles, 2 LMG magazines, 2 grenades, three 2in mortar bombs each)
LMG Sub-Section
Corporal and 2 Marines (Enfield Rifle, 4 LMG magazines each, one Vickers ‘K’ LMG)
Support Sub-Section:
Corporal (Sten SMG, 2 grenades, binoculars, compass)
Mortar Lance-Corporal (Enfield rifle, twelve 2in mortar bombs (three HE and nine smoke rounds))
No. 1 Mortarman (2in mortar and 6 mortar bombs (three HE, three smoke), Browning Automatic pistol)
No. 2 Mortarman (Enfield rifle, 12 mortar bombs (six HE, six smoke))
Sniper (Enfield rifle with telescopic sight, 2 LMG magazines)

Quoted

Royal Marine Support Troop comprises;
Troop HQ
Captain (Browning Automatic pistol, Very pistol)
Lieutenant (Enfield rifle)
Sergeant (Enfield rifle)
Batman/Driver (Enfield rifle)
Batman/Driver (Enfield rifle)
Lance-Corporal RAMC (Enfield rifle)

Mortar Section (may be mounted in Carriers)
2 Corporals (Enfield rifle each)
1 Lance-Corporal (Enfield rifle)
2 Drivers/Mechanics (Enfield rifle each)
6 Mortarmen (two 3in mortars, Browning Automatic pistol each)
1 Range Taker (Browning Automatic pistol)
3 Drivers (Browning Automatic pistol each)
2 Signalmen (Enfield rifle each)

Machine Gun Section (may be mounted in Carriers)
2 Corporals (Enfield rifle each)
1 Lance-Corporal (Enfield rifle)
2 Drivers/Mechanics (Enfield rifle each)
6 Machine Gunners (two .303 Vickers MG, Browning Automatic pistol each)
1 Range Taker (Browning Automatic pistol)
3 Drivers (Browning Automatic pistol each)
1 Runner (Enfield rifle)

2 RM Support Companies each with;

Quoted

Company Headquarters
Heavy Machine Gun Troop (four Vickers 0.50in machine guns)
Mortar Troop (four 3in mortars)
Anti-Tank Troop (two 2pdr AT guns)
Close Combat Troop (as for RM Troop but all Marines equipped with Sten SMG, 6 grenades)

With "Commando" being derived from Afrikaans, I am surprised that the Royal Marines would adopt the word to describe their new units.

Looking at the Wiki writeup, the original commandos were mounted militia groups in the Dutch Cape Colony under a Dutch East Indies Company Law.

The irregular tactics sound like they came from fights with the Zulus, and continued during the OTL Boer war, which is when the Brits came into contact.

While it's up to Hooman, as I understand SAE history, I'd guess there's room for the militias and the term from the earlier portions of SA's establishment.

The WW Dutch have been using the Kommando term since the 1920s, with 2nd Marine Brigade providing the troops and running a training facility on Celebes near Dongalla. Even if Hoo's SAE hasn't popularized the term, the Malaysian Brits should be aware of the Dutch model.

So, much like the US Union troops had "Zouaves" it might be reasonable for the Brits to borrow a term to describe a unit type.

There, convoluted justification provided !!

Thanks for the justification Kirk! Probably plausible given the closeness of SAER co-operation excercises in the Far East between the Marines of both sides.
Really lingustics isn't something I want to get involved in, I haven't the time to re-write the entire English dictionary to remove all words of Afikaans, Hindi, Urdu etc. origin.

Commando is probably not an apt term in any case given the differing leagcy from WW2 and the lack of Combined Operations existance. I need a new name though as the old Marine Battalions will still exist in modified form and I don't want to confuse things by havng two different formations with the same name. Also I might look into forming some kind of indepdendent Marine Armoured Unit.

Quoted

Originally posted by Kaiser Kirk
The WW Dutch have been using the Kommando term since the 1920s, with 2nd Marine Brigade providing the troops and running a training facility on Celebes near Dongalla. Even if Hoo's SAE hasn't popularized the term, the Malaysian Brits should be aware of the Dutch model.

Ah... thank you. I was unaware of this usage. It would change things.

The French are just starting to use the term "commando", not as a technical term describing the type of unit, but as an informal colloquial term for a small group of raiding forces. There have been several French-language novels since the end of the South American War which use 'Commando' for this purpose, and the term is catching on as a borrowed linguistic term, at least in France.

The French units themselves might have other names, but the press is starting to refer to them as "commandos."