![]() Lt Robert Boscawen, No.2 Troop commander, No.2 Squadron, 1st Armoured Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, Guards Armoured Division. The rockets were given the code name ‘Tulips’ because of their shape. It was like the equivalent of a Navy destroyer’s broadside. Sixteen rockets were successfully fired at once into a sandpit. On Wednesday, 28th March 1945, a demonstration of the rocket’s capabilities was organized for the General. (Light Aid Detachment) fitters, nearly all the tanks of No.2 Squadron had been fitted with double rockets on either side of the turrets. They were designed to saturate the immediate area, kill and shock any surviving enemy combatants into surrender.īy Friday 23rd March 1945, with the help of the Brigade’s L.A.D. ![]() It was not meant to be a highly accurate weapon that could hit moving targets. ![]() It was a short-range blunderbuss weapon that would deliver a very impressive loud explosive immediate response to being ambushed as tanks advanced along close-country roads and village streets in the Netherlands and Germany. If the communication was intercepted by the enemy they would think the Guardsmen were just eccentric English officers talking about flowers instead of concentrating on the battle. The rockets were given the code name ‘tulip’, because of the shape of the warhead, so they could be referred to over the radio or in regimental documents. The decision was then made to arm the whole squadron and later the battalion with rockets. Lt Boscawen welded rocket launching rails on his tank on the following day and conducted a successful test firing. The first Sherman tank was equipped with the two rockets on Friday 16th March 1945. Captain Musker had heard that the Canadians had fitted some Typhoon rockets to a tank as an experiment but had never developed the idea. The Rocket Launcher Rails Mk.I and RP-3 (Rocket Projectile 3-inch) rockets were obtained from an RAF Typhoon aerodrome near Nijmegen. Lieutenant Robert Boscawen, from the British 1st Armoured Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, Guards Armoured Division and his friend Captain Dermot Musker, were the first to add the 60lb rocket firing capability to a Sherman tank. The turret of this Canadian 12th Manitoba Dragoons Staghound Armored Car was fitted with four 60 lb RP-3 (Rocket Projectile 3-inch) air to ground aircraft rocket launcher rails in November 1944. No Staghounds fitted with rockets were used in action. The maximum range achieved was 3,000 yards (2750 meters). Some rockets failed to explode when fired at targets close to the vehicle. During tests, it was found that accuracy, especially in the terms of range, was poor. Rotating the turret moved the rockets left or right. This enabled them to be moved up and down. ![]() The rocket launcher rails were attached to the 37 mm gun’s mantlet. They were loaded with 60 lb RP-3 (Rocket Projectile 3-inch) air to ground aircraft rockets that were normally fitted to planes like the Hawker Typhoon, Hurricane, Republican Thunderbolt, Mosquito, Liberator, Swordfish, Fairey Firefly and Beaufort. On 19th November 1944, four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Rocket Launcher Rails Mk1 were attached to the turret of an HQ Company Staghound, two on each side. If they ran into enemy opposition they needed a more powerful weapon to help them get out of trouble and get back to the safety of their own lines. The Dragoons’ job on the battlefield was reconnaissance and to call in artillery support. They were only armed with a 37 mm (1.46 in) anti-tank gun. Rocket-Firing Medium Tanks The idea came from the Canadiansĭuring WW2, men of the Canadian 12th Manitoba Dragoons, part of the 18th Armoured Car Regiment, were looking for a way to increase the firepower on their American built Staghound Armored Cars.
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