Some questions on Canadian vehicles in Europe

[zizi666]

I've bought serveral boxes of PSC 15mm commonwealth vehicles at Crisis.
I'd like to base my force on the II Canadian Corps. Infanrty = RWR; shermans = Fort Garry Horse, Recce=12th Manitoba Dragoons (Staghounds)
I also bought Cromwells which will represent Polish 1st Armoured Division.
Now comes the difficult part :
M5A1 Stuarts and M5 halftracks.
I found a reference somewhere of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers fielding Stuarts and was wondering if any other units used them ?
As for the halftracks, I read that the command vehicle had the winch while all others carried the roller up front. The PSC kits come with .50 en .30 MG's but some sources indicate that Commonwealth troops removed those. If so, would these vehicles still have the pulpit ring ?

thanks for any help in advance.

[Calimero]

I haven’t had the time to search for specific replies to your questions but this site may be useful; http://www.armouredacorn.com/

Cheers!

[joroas]

Early Stuarts seem to have been issued to the 8th Princess Louise's (NB) Hussars.

[zizi666]

I haven’t had the time to search for specific replies to your questions but this site may be useful; http://www.armouredacorn.com/

Drat, googled for hours but somehow missed this site. very cool, but no intel on stuarts in Normandy

Early Stuarts seem to have been issued to the 8th Princess Louise's (NB) Hussars.

Could be, but they wouldn't have seen action in France and as said, I'd like them to be from unit that saw combat in Normandy (preferably near Caen, if they were already on the continent then ?)

[NTM]

Stuarts were used in the Recce troop of every UK & Commonwealth Armoured Regt which was 11 tanks.
The Canadians had Stuart V in Normandy (M3A3) but probably received Stuart VI as replacements later in the campaign

http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=112&art_id=399&kb_cat_id=36

[grant]

http://www.armouredacorn.com/Refs-%20Thumbprints%20&%20Images/Orbats/Canadian/WW2/Arm'd%20Recce%20Reg't-'44%20(WE%20unk).pdf

http://www.armouredacorn.com/Refs-%20Thumbprints%20&%20Images/Orbats/Canadian/WW2/Arm'd%20Reg't-Jan'44%20(II-151-3).pdf

[NTM]

Note of caution on that first link by Grant. Although that was the official War Establishment for Armoured Recce Regts none of those which went to Normandy used it they were all organised as Armoured Regts i.e. the 2nd link (with the squadrons usually reorganised into 4 troops of 4)

[FramFramson]

Recce=12th Manitoba Dragoons (Staghounds)

This was my granddad's outfit (he rode dispatch on Nortons before being assigned as a gunner on a Staghound), but I can only offer encouragement rather than hard info. Sorry!

[grant]

This was my granddad's outfit (he rode dispatch on Nortons before being assigned as a gunner on a Staghound), but I can only offer encouragement rather than hard info. Sorry!

The 12th Manitoba Dragoons are perpetuated by the Fort Garry Horse; if you have the ability to get down to the armoury, MWO Crossley at one time made an excellent museum and archives.

[FramFramson]

The 12th Manitoba Dragoons are perpetuated by the Fort Garry Horse; if you have the ability to get down to the armoury, MWO Crossley at one time made an excellent museum and archives.

I've been in Toronto for a long time and travel is expensive, but that's certainly another thing for me to do if I get out there on my own recognizance again.

[zizi666]

Thanks for al those answers.
I have to admit, I posees the excellent book : Le Canadian de la Liberation from Histoire & Collections.
It show complete graphical diagrams on how each regiment or brigade was built up.
However, being a scepticist, I'd like to see actual photographic evidence of Stuarts in Normandy and not just rely on how it should have been.
As NTM points out,  they didn't always follow War Establishment.

@ FramFramson : Must be cool to know your grandad was in a that unit.
I only know my grandfather took part in the 18 days of cross country running here in Belgium in 1940 and got transported to an Austrian prisoner camp for some months.
Only 2 weeks ago did my father mention that my great-grandfather is a veteran of the great war which was a first for me.