Hobart's Funnies

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"Hobart's Funnies"
DD tanks on Utah beach.jpg
Amphibious DD tanks await blowing of breaches in the sea wall on Utah Beach. This photo was taken shortly after H Hour.
TypeModified tank variations
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1944–1945
Used by 79th Armoured Division or by specialists from the Royal Engineers
Wars World War II
Production history
DesignerVarious
Designed1941–1944
ManufacturerVarious

Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal Engineers. [1]

Contents

They were designed in light of problems that more standard tanks experienced during the amphibious Dieppe Raid, so that the new models would be able to overcome the problems of the planned invasion of Normandy. These tanks played a major part on the Commonwealth beaches during the landings. They were forerunners of the modern combat engineering vehicle and took their nickname from the 79th Division's commander, Major General Percy Hobart.

The vehicles converted were chiefly Churchill tanks, and American-supplied M4 Sherman tanks.

History

Plans to invade continental Europe were completely revised after the failure of the raid on Dieppe in 1942. Allied units in Normandy would need to overcome terrain, obstacles and coastal fortifications if the invasion were to succeed. General Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff decided in 1943 to create special units and assigned responsibility to armoured warfare expert Percy Hobart for the development of vehicles and training crews to use them in action. [2]

Many of the ideas had already been tried, tested or were in experimental development both by Britain and other nations. For example, the Scorpion flail tank, a modified Matilda tank, had already been used during the North African campaign to clear paths through German minefields. Soviet T-34 tanks had been modified with mine-rollers. Close-support tanks, bridgelayers, and fascine carriers had been developed elsewhere also. However, the Funnies were the largest and most elaborate collection of engineering vehicles available.

By early 1944, Hobart could demonstrate to Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery a brigade each of swimming Duplex Drive (DD) amphibious tanks, "Crab" mine clearers, and AVRE tanks along with a regiment of Churchill Crocodile flame-thrower tanks.

Montgomery considered that the US forces should use them. A third of the "funnies" were offered to the Americans of all the vehicles available, but take-up was minimal. [3] Eisenhower was in favour of the DD tanks but left the decision on the others to General Bradley. None of the other designs was used, because it was thought that they required specialised training and an additional support organisation. Also, the Americans were reluctant to make use of funnies based on the Churchill tank as they did not want the logistical complexity of adding another tank model to their inventory. [4]

Bradley requested 25 flail tanks and 100 Churchill Crocodiles shortly after the demonstration in February 1944 and the British War Office agreed to supply them as well as British-crewed AVREs. In the event though there was insufficient time to produce the vehicles and train the crews so on the day American forces were limited to DD tanks and their own Sherman bulldozer tanks and armoured bulldozers while 42 Assault Brigade instead of supporting the US beaches became a reserve for the British and Canadian beaches. [5]

In light of operations during the US landing on Omaha beach, Bradley's decision has been criticised as it was felt that use of the range of "Funnies" would have saved American lives. [6] After D-Day, American forces did make limited use of the Sherman Crab mine-clearing tank. [4]

Designs

The majority of the designs were modified forms of the Churchill tank or the Sherman tank. Both were available in large numbers. The Churchill had good (though slow) cross-country performance, heavy armour, and a roomy interior. The Sherman's mechanical reliability was valued.

Among the many specialist vehicles and their attachments were:

The Churchill Crocodile was a Churchill tank modified by the fitting of a flame-thrower in place of the hull machine gun. An armoured trailer, towed behind the tank, carried 400 Imperial gallons (1,800 litres) of fuel. The flamethrower had a range of over 120 yards (110 metres), far greater than man-portable units. Regarded as a powerful psychological weapon, this flame tank proved highly effective at clearing bunkers, trenches and other German fortifications. The main vehicle in the 79th Armoured Division was the Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) which was a Churchill tank adapted for attacking defensive fortifications. The Churchill's main gun was replaced by a spigot mortar (known as "Petard" that fired a 40lb (18 kg) HE-filled projectile (nicknamed the "flying dustbin") around 150 yards (140 m). This was capable of destroying concrete obstacles such as roadblocks and bunkers. The mortar had to be reloaded externally by opening a hatch and sliding a round into the mortar tube from the hull. The crew of six were drawn from the Royal Engineers, except for the driver who came from the Royal Armoured Corps. One of the RE crew was a demolitions NCO sapper responsible for priming the "flying dustbin" as well as leading or supervising when they dismounted from the tank (which was easily done through the side hatches) to place demolition charges ("Wade" charges). Various attachments were designed to be carried and operated by the AVRE to enhance its capabilities. This equipment included

Other vehicles included

Crab: A modified Sherman tank equipped with a mine flail, a rotating cylinder of weighted chains that exploded mines in the path of the tank.

The 79th also used the LVT "Buffalo": British name for the American LVT2 and LVT4 lightly armoured amphibious landing vehicles. The latter had a ramp to ease loading of cargo. They were used in several operations including the crossing of the Rhine.

Many of the prototypes and their auxiliary equipment were developed by AEC. [7]

Post–Second World War use

The Centaur bulldozer continued to be used by the British Army for some years after the Second World War and saw action during the Korean War, as did the Churchill Crocodile. Also, small numbers of Churchill AVREs and Sherman BARVs were used until the 1960s when they were replaced with similar vehicles based on the Centurion Tank. The Royal Engineers subsequently used modified Centurion and Chieftain tanks that are designed to fulfill the same roles in battle as the Funnies. The last examples of FV4003 Centurion Mk 5 AVRE 165 saw combat in the Gulf War/Operation Granby of 1991. The most recent vehicles in this line are the Titan and Trojan variants of the Challenger 2 tank.

Other nations developed their own armoured bulldozers after the war, such as the Soviet IMR variant of the T-72 tank, the US army's Rome plow, and the Israeli Armored CAT D9. Armoured bulldozers are still in use today for counter-insurgency by the Israel Defense Forces, the Egyptian army, and the Lebanese army.

Surviving vehicles

This is an incomplete list:

Churchill ARK self-propelled ramp layer at Chatham Churchill ARK.jpg
Churchill ARK self-propelled ramp layer at Chatham
Churchill Crocodile at Southsea Churchill Tank at Southsea.jpg
Churchill Crocodile at Southsea

See also

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References

  1. Laurenceau, Marc (19 February 2016). "Hobart's Funnies during the Battle of Normandy". D-Day Overlord. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. D-Day: 24 Hours That Saved the World. New York City: Time Books. 2016 [2004]. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-93227-322-9.
  3. Haycock, D. J. (1 August 2004). Eisenhower and the Art of Warfare: A Critical Appraisal. McFarland. p. 76. ISBN   978-0-7864-1894-7 . Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 Zaloga, Steven (2012). US Amphibious Tanks of World War II. New Vanguard. Osprey. p. 19.
  5. Caddick-Adams, Peter (2019). Sand and Steel: A New History of D-Day. Random House. p. 221. ISBN   978-0-19060-189-8.
  6. United States Army Center For Military History (26 March 2006). "Omar Nelson Bradley: General of the Army". Arlington National Cemetery . Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  7. Contribution to Victory (PDF). The Associated Equipment Co. Ltd. 1945. pp. 32, 67. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  8. "Surviving M2 Medium, M3 Lee and M3 Grant tanks" (PDF). Surviving Panzers. 14 July 2014.

Further reading