I do not intend to go into a lot of detail on the Australian 2 pdr Anti-tank gun as I have already done this for the Australian Jungle Division Army in a previous post.
I have duplicated the 6pdr guns of the later Tank Attack platoon with the 2pdr guns for the early anti-tank batteries that returned from the middle east with their guns.
The change to the 6pdr was a natural upgrade as more became available, although the 2pdr was still more than a match for the few Japanese tanks the Australians came across.
I did not remember that I had this one until I found it in what I thought was an empty box. This will be added to the other three and will be excellent for re-creating the landings in Borneo and the Australian air, land and see invasion of Lae which was used as a learning experience for D-Day.
Design is probably the wrong word as these are what I purchased when a shop was selling out of their Bolt Action range. Eric asked me in a comment how many points and I had to answer I didn’t know. Here is the army to paint:
Whilst not next on my agenda I have completed a few units that will form part of this collection when i get around to it. Firstly, the Willys Jeep that I talked about the other day:
I also completed a “cut down” 25pdr in April that will also be used for it,
Whilst painting the above I have also been working on the rest of the army not needed for the competition.
And other Australian “stuff” for other projects.
Once I finish those in the next week or so maybe I will start on the rest of my Song of Ice and Fire “Free Folk Army.
Or the rest of my Silver Bayonet figures.
Or maybe just catch up on my bedside reading? Who knows!
It is not as if I don’t have anything left to do!!!
Oh, I have forgotten to say that I have also picked up my travelling case from Knights of Dice purposefully designed for the Tank Attack Platoon!
This adds to the cases for the Australian Jungle Division and the Australian Tank Platoon armies. Lulu sleeps on totally undisturbed! Right under the ducted aircon of course!
The colours of the tag denotes which army, so I don’t have to pull them all down to find the right one.
Yippee the last unit for the competition is finally finished!
This Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) began development in 1941 as a private venture by the Morris-Commercial company. Morris was one of Britain’s most famous motor companies, renowned for their cars.
They also built a number of vehicles for the military, such as the Morris CS9 Armoured Car and the Morris Light Reconnaissance Car. One of their most famous military vehicles was the Morris C8 Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) also known as ‘Quad’. The Morris C9/B is based on this Tractor and was armed with the 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun.
A total of 1680 vehicles were built in total. The C9/B, officially designated the ‘Carrier, 30 cwt, SP, 4×4, 40 mm AA (Bofors)’ was intended to be a mobile gun platform for the defence of convoys and columns against air attack. Light anti-aircraft regiments were usually outfitted with a battery of six self-propelled guns.
The chosen armament for this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was perhaps one of the most famous anti-aircraft (AA) guns in history.
This 40mm autocannon, designed and built by the Swedish company Bofors, entered military use in 1934. It became one of the most reliable and deadly guns of the time, seeing use with multiple armies during and after the Second World War.
It had a number of uses, being placed on warships, towed into battle or mounted on various tank chassis. The gun fired a 40 mm (1.6 in) shell, weighing 0.2 kg (2 lbs), up to a maximum vertical range of 7,160 m (23,490 ft). The rate of fire was 120 rounds per minute. Elevation range was from −5 degrees to +90 degrees.
This is a good shot of how the truck was “steadied” on three of its four sides. The warlords kit does not allow for this to be modelled.
The pull out legs to stabilize the gun when firing. Not possible to model with this kit.
Additional weights were held on the front bumpers for stabilisation.
A magnet and washer were also added to assist the models stability on the tabletop – after all we do not want it to miss through a lack of appropriate stabilisation do we!
I am very pleased with my efforts as I only came up with the 2/3rd Tank Attack Platoon project as a way to use the spare guns I had exactly a month ago!
Geez I wish I could still do that!
Tomorrow I will show pics of the whole army together.
Also known as “LP1 Carrier (Aust), the Australian production was similar to the British Universal Carrier but welded with some minor differences. About 60 were sent to North Africa in 1940 and saw action in North Africa, Greece and Palestine. In all, 160 LP1 carriers were built by Victorian Railways at their vast Newport workshops in Melbourne.
They were not successful as the engine overheated, there was a shortage of spare parts and break wear was excessive. Although problematic, much was learnt from the experience, and a new design was produced, which corrected many of the inherent faults of this first model.
The Australian Tank Attack Platoon used the Bren Gun Carriers for gun tows, ammunition carriers, and troop carriers for the Command support teams and rifle sections.
I have also painted up a second Forward observer as it is allowed in the list that I am using. As I can have one for “free” (a British Army rule) I have not chosen it in my competition list.
There were occasion when the Australian Tank Attack platoon were issued Vickers Medium Machine guns. Most notably in Borneo when they were employed as ad-hoc infantry. One of the Bolt Action lists, the Campaign book “Battle of France”, allows for an MMG option.
As such, although not using in the competition, I had one left over so have painted it up as one of the armies “extras”.
