1:72 Matilda II Mk. VI infantry tank, Royal Australian Army; Borneo 1945

[Rick Lowe]

Interesting.  Even if you have the wrong idea about armament.  The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45.  We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round... 

Neither the 2 or the 6 Pdr had canister rounds...

But this is Whiff-world...   

And a larger calibre also means more HE filling...   

[ChernayaAkula]

Nice work!  Turret looks really fitting on the Matilda hull. Nicely... balanced (?), I guess.

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice work!  Turret looks really fitting on the Matilda hull. Nicely... balanced (?), I guess.

Yup, almost a perfect match and option for a bigger gun - after all, the Matilda's narrow hull and small turret ring prevented a bigger turret, at least when the tank was still in production. Maybe the Valentine Mk. XI could have matched in real life, but it would have been too late for production and I do not think that any effort had been made to convert old hulls. The combo looks very good, though. 

[Wunanahalf]

Interesting.  Even if you have the wrong idea about armament.  The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45.  We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round... 

Neither the 2 or the 6 Pdr had canister rounds...

Q.F. 2pr Case Shot, 1.94lb of 3/8" lead balls propelled by 6oz. Cordite WT 144-048, effective range 150-175 yards.

I don't recall anything for the 6pdr specifically, but the US 57mm M1 had the T17/M305 Canister, 1945 is a bit late and not many were made but it existed. It should work out of a 6pdr.

[Rick Lowe]

Interesting.  Even if you have the wrong idea about armament.  The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45.  We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round... 

Neither the 2 or the 6 Pdr had canister rounds...

Q.F. 2pr Case Shot, 1.94lb of 3/8" lead balls propelled by 6oz. Cordite WT 144-048, effective range 150-175 yards.

I don't recall anything for the 6pdr specifically, but the US 57mm M1 had the T17/M305 Canister, 1945 is a bit late and not many were made but it existed. It should work out of a 6pdr.

IIRC, wasn't the US M1 the UK 6-pdr but "Made in the USA"?
So the rounds should have been interchangeable?

There again, the '6-pdrs' the Kiwis used in the Pacific were the US-manufactured version, so given that RW example you could say that any used in whif Matildas would probably have been from the same source.

[NARSES2]

IIRC, wasn't the US M1 the UK 6-pdr but "Made in the USA"?
So the rounds should have been interchangeable?

Theoretically yes but lots of things that are manufactured even in different plants of the same company sometimes have minor differences which means they are not interchangeable in practice, and sometimes bureaucracy, which even flourishes in wartime, finds it easier to treat things differently.

[Rick Lowe]

IIRC, wasn't the US M1 the UK 6-pdr but "Made in the USA"?
So the rounds should have been interchangeable?

Theoretically yes but lots of things that are manufactured even in different plants of the same company sometimes have minor differences which means they are not interchangeable in practice, and sometimes bureaucracy, which even flourishes in wartime, finds it easier to treat things differently.

True - look at the F-4 canopies for a RW example! 

Bureaucracy, and the NIH crowd seem to flourish anywhere and anytime.

[Wunanahalf]

Interesting.  Even if you have the wrong idea about armament.  The 2 Pdr was quite adequate for Australian purposes even in 1944-45.  We developed our own HE round in 1943 which did the job quite well.

But a larger calibre means a larger Cannister round... 

Neither the 2 or the 6 Pdr had canister rounds...

Q.F. 2pr Case Shot, 1.94lb of 3/8" lead balls propelled by 6oz. Cordite WT 144-048, effective range 150-175 yards.

I don't recall anything for the 6pdr specifically, but the US 57mm M1 had the T17/M305 Canister, 1945 is a bit late and not many were made but it existed. It should work out of a 6pdr.

IIRC, wasn't the US M1 the UK 6-pdr but "Made in the USA"?
So the rounds should have been interchangeable?

There again, the '6-pdrs' the Kiwis used in the Pacific were the US-manufactured version, so given that RW example you could say that any used in whif Matildas would probably have been from the same source.

I believe the ammunition should be fine, especially canister since it is not a precision made item to begin with.

The US made guns were originally being produced only for the British (before the Americans saw the usefulness of a 57mm), so they'd have to use at lest the same ammunition as the 6pdr. As NARES2 said if you dig down into the details you will probably find things like threaded fasteners use a different thread profile, so they are functionally identical but perhaps not physically interchangeable between the 57mm and the 6pdr. I believe the US went so far as to design a new carriage for its own use, but didn't change the gun.

[Old Wombat]

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt (Mk.II) & the 57 mm Gun M1 were identical & could fire the same shells & parts were (relatively) interchangeable. The carriages were the primary difference & US manufacturers made both British & American carriage types (about 1/3 of US production went to Britain/the Commonwealth).

The British supplied the Americans with HE shells until US production ramped up after D-Day.

Cannister shot was not produced until January 1945.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnance_QF_6-pounder

[David E]

Nicely done, and an additional 'what if' seems to have crept in.

There is no 'Royal Australian Army'.  The Royal title is conferred on individual Corps and Regiments in the same manner as the British Army.

A