TEXT:         When the US went to war in WWII, US tank destroyer battalions were organized as 
  two companies of 3” tank destroyers and one company of light tank destroyers, even though 
  purpose built vehicles did not exist for either of these two weapon types. After evaluating 
  dozens of proposals for a light tank destroyer, a design was finally accepted consisting of a 
  37mm AT gun mounted on a Fargo 1 1/2 ton light truck chassis.  This was placed into pro-
  duction and designated M-6 Gun Motor Carriage.  This vehicle went to war as part of the 701st, 801st 
  805th, and 843rd Tank Destroyer Battalions when the Americans landed in North Africa.  The M-6 did 
  not have a very useful service career as the gun was too small to be very effective as a tank killer by then 
  and the total lack of armor made this vehicle too vulnerable to small arms fire and artillery.  By the end 
  of the Tunisia campaign, the M-6 had been pulled from front line service and replaced by M-3 tank de-
  stroyers or M-10’s.  Many of the guns ended up mounted on halftracks to give the armored infantry 
  some extra firepower.  Some M-6’s soldiered on to the end of the war in the Pacific Theater where their 
  firepower was still effective against Japanese tanks. 
   
          In 1942, US Armored Divisions were organized with light and medium tank battalions.  
  The M-3 Light Tank (called Stuart by the British) was designed to fill the light tank need.  
  The M-3 was mechanically sound and very reliable in the field but too light to compete ef-
  fectively against the Panzer IV’s and Tigers it sometimes found itself facing.  The tank still 
  had a useful life scouting and probing flanks and an improved version (M-5) served the US 
  armored forces and recon units until the end of the war. 
   
          The M-3 Medium Tank was an interim design rushed into production with the goal of 
  getting a 75mm gun armed tank into the field as soon as possible.  To do this, a 75mm gun 
  was mounted in the hull while a 37mm gun was placed in a turret on top.  This tank was 
  quite effective in British service (in Lee and Grant versions) against Rommel’s severely de-
  pleted tank forces and equipped the initial US medium tank battalions which landed in 
  North Africa.  When the Sherman was finally available to the Americans  in early 1943 (the first batch 
  had gone to the British in late 1942), the M-3 was pulled from front line service and replaced.  Many of 
  the hulls were converted to other purposes such as the M-7 Priest and M-12 self-propelled artillery and 
  also a large number of tank-recovery vehicles were produced from these cast-offs. 
   
          Since 1941, the US had been experimenting with a number of designs for placing an 
  anti-aircraft gun mounting on a halftrack chassis.  The M-13 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage 
  was the first model to actually enter production and consisted of a Maxson power-operated 
  turret with two .50 cal machine guns mounted on an M-3 halftrack.  535 were produced and 
  the vehicle was ready for service when the North Africa landings occurred.  Within a year 
  an improved quad machine gun vehicle (the M-16) was being produced and the M-13 was phased out of 
  service. 
  New British Vehicles for North Africa
  New British Vehicles for North Africa
  New British Vehicles for North Africa
  New British Vehicles for North Africa    
   
          When the understrength British 2nd Armored Division was moved to the front in April 
  of 1941, it had a severe shortage of tanks and a number of captured Italian M-13/40 tanks 
  were pressed into service.  These were all destroyed or captured when the 2nd Armored was 
  overrun in Rommel’s first North African operation. 
   
          The Valentine was the result of a proposal to produce an infantry tank based on the 
  proven chassis of the A-10 cruiser.  A more heavily armored vehicle was designed, which 
  possessed most of the same characteristics as the Matilda tank but at much less cost and 
  many fewer man-hours to produce.  Though slow, the Valentine proved to be a very reliable 
  machine in the field and over 8000 of all marks were produced during the war. 
  New American Vehicles for North Africa
  New American Vehicles for North Africa
  New American Vehicles for North Africa
  New American Vehicles for North Africa    
  By Greg Moore 
  gregpanzerblitz.com 
  updated May, 2010 
  
          As the Allied forces under Montgomery prepared to attack the Axis defenses at El 
  Alamein, it was clear that clearing paths through the dense minefields would need to be a 
  priority in any assault.  As a field expedient, engineers attached rotating flails onto the front 
  of obsolete Matilda tanks.  The modification required the guns to be removed.  A British 
  officer dubbed this vehicle “Scorpion” due to its appearance.  25 of these vehicles were 
  ready for use in the battle and continued to be used until replaced by the superior Sherman Flail tank.  
  Note: a secret Matilda flail project called the Baron was also being developed in England at the same 
  time but it was not completed in time to be deployed in the field and the few Barons produced were used 
  only for training.  The Baron did retain the main gun. 
   
          Impressed by the effectiveness of German self-propelled artillery, the British devel-
  oped their own version consisting of a 25pdr mounted in an armored box on a Valentine 
  tank chassis.  The vehicle had many limitations and, just as it was being deployed, it was 
  replaced by the American produced M-7 Priest.  This vehicle mounted a 105mm howitzer 
  on either a M-3 or M-4 medium tank chassis.  The Priest served as the primary British self-
  propelled howitzer until just after D-Day, when it was replaced by the Canadian built Sexton. 
   
  New Axis Vehicles for North Africa
  New Axis Vehicles for North Africa
  New Axis Vehicles for North Africa
  New Axis Vehicles for North Africa    
      
          The Germans were looking for a way to have quicker artillery support for their lighten-
  ing armored assaults.  The solution was to mount artillery on its own self-propelled platform 
  so that no time was wasted deploying.  Also, an armored cover would protect the crew 
  against artillery and small arms, allowing the artillery to deploy closer to danger.  One of the 
  first attempts at this was to mount a 150mm howitzer on a French Lorraine armored tractor 
  chassis.  Several dozen of these were produced and 23 of them were sent to North Africa where they 
  served in Rommel’s panzer divisions. 
   
          The GW-I, consisting of a heavy infantry gun mounted on a Pz I chassis had been a 
  useful support weapon for the Germans in the assault on France.  They decided to improve 
  on the concept by building a vehicle with a much lower profile, more armor, and better 
  speed.  To accomplish this, a 150mm infantry gun was mounted low into a Pz II chassis.  
  The vehicle showed much promise but only 12 were produced.  All of them were sent to 
  North Africa where they served in the 707th and 708th Self-Propelled Infantry Gun companies which 
  served as assault guns attached to the Panzer divisions.  Each counter represents two such vehicles. 
   
          In late 1941, as self-propelled tank destroyer battalions were being added to the DAK, 
  there was an immediate need for more than had been provided so far.  An ad-hoc solution 
  that helped fill the gap until more could be provided was achieved by mounting a captured 
  Russian 76.2mm gun in a thinly armored box on top of an unarmored 5 ton halftrack tractor.  
  The end result was the 76.2mm FK 36(r) auf Panzerjager Selbsfahrlafette Zugkraftwagen 5t, 
  commonly called the “Diana”.  Only 9 of these were ever produced and they arrived in North Africa in 
  January and February of 1942.  They equipped part of the 605th Pzjgr Battalion (along with PzJgr I’s) 
  until the fall of 1942, when the few surviving vehicles were replaced with Marder III’s.  
   
          In an attempt to improve their mobile firepower in North Africa, the Italians experi-
  mented with mounting naval guns on large truck beds.  These were operated by Milizia 
  Marittima Artiglieria (MILMART) naval personnel. One such vehicle mounted a 102/35 
  mm naval gun onto a truck.  Several batteries of this type were attached to Ariete for this 
  battle and proved to be effective tank killers. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Panzer Leader & Panzer Blitz/1940-1943 North Africa/northafricanotes.pdf