Combat buses … Having offered the world the first armored personnel carrier developed at the end of the First World War on the basis of the Mark V tank, the British designers, joining forces with the Canadians, tried to repeat their trick at a new technological level already during the Second World War. In 1944, the Allies presented a whole galaxy of heavy tracked armored personnel carriers converted from M7 Priest self-propelled artillery mounts, and then from Ram, Sherman and even Churchill tanks. All these developments were united by the common name of the models: Kangaroo. Later, the idea of creating such armored personnel carriers will find the greatest response in Israel, where several successful well-protected tracked armored personnel carriers were created on the basis of tanks: Akhzarit (T-54/55 base), Puma (Centurion base) and Namer (Merkava base).
Improvisation in Canadian
In the armies of the allies, the quite peaceful word "Kangaroo" has become common to refer to heavy tracked armored personnel carriers of the Second World War, united by another word - improvisation. The Canadians, and then the British, turned to the idea of creating such armored vehicles not from a good life. There were not many similar specialized equipment at hand. The first attempts to create improvised armored personnel carriers were made back in 1942-1943 in North Africa by altering the light American M3 and M5 Stuart tanks, from which the towers were dismantled. These combat vehicles were used as artillery tractors. At the same time, attempts to use the first "Kangaroo" as armored personnel carriers were considered unsuccessful due to the poor reservation of the original tanks. But most likely, the matter was in the incorrect use of such a technique, given that such improvised armored personnel carriers had tangible advantages in smaller size and visibility on the battlefield, high maneuverability and mobility. One way or another, it was precisely as armored personnel carriers that alterations from the M3 and M5 Stuart tanks were practically not used.
The next time they turned to the idea of creating an armored personnel carrier on a tank chassis was in the summer of 1944. The Canadians, worried about the large number of infantry losses in their motorized rifle units, decided to quickly create a heavy tracked armored personnel carrier that could not only follow the tank fist, but also reliably protect the infantry. At the same time, the British and Commonwealth states experienced a shortage of American M3 half-track armored personnel carriers, which the United States needed to form its own units. And the universal transporters Universal Carrier built in huge numbers had a conditional combat value and limited capacity, not to mention the protection of the landing.
Since there was simply no time to create new armored vehicles from scratch, the Canadians turned to the previously worked out improvisation with the alteration of the combat vehicles already in service. 72 self-propelled artillery mounts M7 Priest immediately came to hand. It was an ideal option, it was only required to dismantle the artillery weapons and slightly modernize the spacious conning tower. It was also important that this version of the alteration did not exclude the possibility of reverse transformation of combat vehicles into self-propelled guns. Such improvised armored personnel carriers took part in the battles as early as August 1944 as part of Operation Totalize, a British-Canadian offensive aimed at breaking through from the bridgeheads in Normandy south of Caen to the heights near the city of Falaise. The initial stage of the operation was accompanied by a massive night bombardment of advanced German positions, as well as the use of heavy armored personnel carriers "Kangaroo", which, together with tanks, followed the barrage. The bombardment and subsequent attack of the Canadian units began at 23:00 on August 7, 1944.
The first experience of using improvised armored personnel carriers was highly appreciated. The vehicles, which possessed the maneuverability of tanks, were distinguished by good armor and reliably protected the landing from bullets, fragments of shells and mines, as well as from small-caliber artillery shells. The losses of the Canadian units decreased, so the generals enthusiastically began to convert additional Priest self-propelled guns into armored personnel carriers. But self-propelled artillery mounts cannot be enough for everyone, so the focus quickly shifted to the Canadian Ram tank, which did not take part in hostilities on the fronts of World War II.
BTR "Kangaroo" based on the tank "Churchill"
In Canada, they managed to assemble almost 1900 Rem tanks, which had a conditional combat value and in 1944 could not withstand German combat vehicles. However, such tanks were widely used in training units for training tankers; there were enough of such combat vehicles in Great Britain. The British, who appreciated the Canadian experience, also began converting Ram tanks into makeshift Ram Kangaroo armored personnel carriers. At the same time, serial Sherman tanks were also being altered. Mainly, vehicles damaged earlier in battles were used, from which, as well as from Ram tanks, the turret was dismantled. A photograph has even survived to this day with the conversion of the Churchill tank into an impromptu Kangaroo armored personnel carrier, it is not known whether this vehicle took part in the battles. In total, several hundred self-propelled guns and tanks were converted into heavy tracked armored personnel carriers.
Technical features of Kangaroo armored personnel carriers
All the Kangaroo armored personnel carriers were improvised. A distinctive feature of such armored vehicles was the simplicity of alteration; at the first stage, no action was even taken to facilitate the process of landing and disembarking the assault force. The vehicles were simple and reliable, as they were all based on the chassis of medium tanks. There were no problems with the maintenance and operation of such equipment in the troops, no special spare parts were required for them. At the same time, the simplicity of the work made it possible to remake combat vehicles right in the field workshops at the front, which was a significant plus for ersatz armored personnel carriers.
The initial version with the conversion into the M7 Priest self-propelled guns was ideal and the simplest, but there were not many free self-propelled guns. The problem was that serviceable installations that were needed at the front were being converted into armored personnel carriers. That is why, over time, the Canadians and the British switched to remaking the "Rem" tanks that were not used in battle and the "Shermans" damaged in battle. At the same time, self-propelled guns for these purposes were preferable, since they initially had a large open wheelhouse.
When converted into heavy tracked armored personnel carriers from self-propelled M7 Priest self-propelled guns dismantled 105-mm howitzer and all related equipment, including stowage for shots. The presence of a spacious armored wheelhouse with an open top made it possible to place up to 15 fighters with weapons inside. At the same time, theoretically, even more soldiers could be transported inside, as often happened, but with less comfort. The paratroopers left the car from the stern, through the roof of the engine compartment. It was also convenient because the soldiers from the front were reliably covered from enemy fire by armor. Armored personnel carriers "Kangaroo" had protection not typical for such equipment, their booking reached 38-50 mm. Another advantage of the M7 Priest ACS was the presence of a cylindrical sponson in the right corner of the hull to accommodate an annular machine-gun turret. Usually a large-caliber 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun was installed here. Thus, the armored personnel carrier automatically received powerful small arms.
But the use of artillery systems, even though they were convenient for conversion into armored personnel carriers, but such necessary artillery systems in battle, was not entirely expedient, so the decision was quickly made to “put the Canadian Ram tanks under the knife”. The Rams that did not reach the battlefields were distinguished by even greater armor, the armor of the hull's forehead ranged from 44 to 76 mm, and the sides - 38 mm. The turret and turret platform were dismantled from the tanks, all unnecessary equipment was removed and primitive seats were placed inside, after which the newly-made armored personnel carriers could transport up to 11 soldiers with full weapons, the crew of the armored personnel carrier itself consisted of two people. At the same time, the paratroopers were located in the former fighting compartment of the tank, where they fell, simply by climbing into the hole in the roof of the hull. When converted into armored personnel carriers, the tanks retained course machine guns placed in the frontal part of the hull, so that the vehicles again had standard armament, while the paratroopers themselves could easily fire directly from the fighting compartment, protruding from the hole in the roof of the hull. A distinctive feature of Ram tanks and armored personnel carriers based on them was a turret on the left side of the hull, in which a 7.62 mm Colt-Browning M1914 machine gun was installed. Already in the course of combat operation, for the convenience of the paratroopers, handles and handrails were welded onto the armor.
Over time, Sherman tanks began to be converted into armored personnel carriers, but mainly vehicles damaged in battles. They also removed the towers and all unnecessary weapons. At the same time, in fact, all the Kangaroo armored personnel carriers were relatives of the Sherman, created on a single base, the lower part of the hull, the chassis, some units and engines were identical. The Kangaroo armored personnel carriers were used by the Allies from the summer of 1944 until the end of the war, both on the Western Front and in battles in Italy. These vehicles were indispensable for escorting tanks and overcoming dangerous terrain in the face of enemy fire. After the end of World War II, the operation of all Kangaroo armored personnel carriers in this capacity was completed. At the same time, some cars were still used in the army, but already as training or vehicles.
