Reconnaissance Unit

 In the 1960s Roco Minitanks made a catalog of all their vehicles.  It came in several versions but the first one I got was about 4x6 inches and in all black and white.  At the beginning of the catalog was a series of unit organizational charts of American, German and other military units.  

 

One thing that ruined me for life is they misspelled reconnaissance, it should have two "n"s not just one according to about five online places I checked to write this article.

I always liked this one because it is a well rounded task force.  It has a medium tank to handle enemy tanks, four scout vehicles to perform the actual reconnaissance duties, an armored personnel carrier for troops who can scout dismounted, two light tanks for fast scouting and support, and finally a mortar carrier.  The mortar carrier can clear enemy infantry away so the reconnaissance can continue forward, or so they can drop smoke quickly and retreat if they find more than they bargained for!

 

I decided to do this unit in about 1968 and now in 2023 I am actually working on it.  My plan is to make several versions, starting at about 1955 until about 1984, using the M47, M48, and M60 series tanks as the main battle tank.  The tank in the photo I believe is an M48 medium tank.  I think this because the turret looks round, the tank is larger than that obvious M41 tanks at the bottom, and the gun seems to have a muzzle break.  That rules out M60 (no muzzle break), and the M47, which looks like a big M41 light tank.  Also the chart is dated 1967 when the M48 was common in US Army service.

 

So my first version will be:

Platoon commander:     1 x M47 tank

Scout Platoon:               4 x M38 Jeeps

APC:                             1 x M59

Tank Platoon:                2 x M41

Mortar Platoon:            1 x M84

 

It will all be Roco Minitanks except for the M59 which will be Roskopf, and the M84 which will be a conversion of the Roskopf M59 into the mortar carrier.  Except I will be using an 81mm mortar rather than the 4.2 inch standardized in the M84.  There was a proposal to use the 81mm mortar but it was decided an M59 was large enough that would be a waste to carry such a small mortar in such a large vehicle.  I think an 81mm mortar would be perfect in this role since it would deliver a higher volume of fire in a shorter period of time and for a reconnaissance unit that is more important than heavy fire, delivered slowly.  I have extra Roco Minitanks 81mm mortars from the Roco M3 halftrack.

I also plan to do two identical reconnaissance units like this one in olive drab.  The other one in all white Arctic camouflage as published in TC5-200 Camouflage.  Although TC5-200 did not come out until after the M47 was out of service I suspect it simply codified a white paint job already in service or from a previous manual.

Other iterations as they develop.
 

Sherman 105mm Howitzer or Not?

The unit organization of 186 Sherman tanks in an Armored Division is subject to many variables.

One of them is the availability of the M4 Sherman with 105mm howitzer.

In North Africa they used the T19 105mm howitzer mounted on the M3 Halftrack instead.

Some of these units went on into Italy and later Southern France with the T19 halftrack rather than the Sherman 105mm howitzer.

Others used the Priest 105mm howitzer and I think some of these landed at Normandy or soon afterwards.

 So while you got 186 Shermans some might actually be M7 Priest, or T19 halftracks.  And of course in North Africa the US started with Lee tanks which saw only limited combat before replacement.  Also in North Africa the Armored Division had a different organization above company level, so much was different there.

Tank Division Tank Organization

186 Sherman tanks in a US Army Armored Division as of September 14, 1943.  So by Normandy on June 6, 1944 most units were to this standard.

That's 5 tanks per platoon x 3 platoons + 2 platoon HQ + 1 105mm assault gun M4 = 18 tanks per company.

3 companies per battalion = 54 tanks + 2 HQ tanks + 3 105mm assault gum M4 = 59 tanks per battalion.

3 battalions per division = 177 tanks in the tank battalions +

3 HQ batteries of the Field Artillery Battalion with 3 M4 each = 9 M4 tanks + 177 in the tank battalions = 186 M4 Sherman tanks total.

That's the standard.  Most US Army tank battalions were at full strength when first committed to combat, and damaged tanks tended to be replaced or repaired fairly quickly.  When a unit suffered catastrophic losses it would often be pulled out of the line to be re-established.