"Blitzkrieg honey Stuarts" Topic

I picked up a platoon of these great models

link

I think they are either a "Honey" or a Stuart.Never heard of them being mentioned both in the same phrase .You can have an M3 ,or M5, Stuart or an M3 "Honey".These terms seem to be bandied about with impunity.Do they sell them in troops as well as platoons.?

"Honey", so named because, according to Capt. R. Crisp, when the first British diver was asked how it handled in the desert the driver said it was a "Honey".

No difference in specification, just a nickname, so I guess that both names could be used. The Stuart tag is the proper name, the Honey tag denotes in British use. A search through tank records in the British army probably doesn't mention "Honeys" – officially, they were M3, later M5, Stuarts.

It would be nice to say I think that a great job was done on these models.

John

Great models. I am currently painting up some Valentines for North Africa. You will not go wrong with any castings from Blitzkrieg.

Your paint job looks wonderful. I've always liked the tan/blue desert camo of the British.

Talked with a veteran tanker at Bovington in 2000. He was in British tanks in North Africa and his unit changed over to the M3 Honey. He loved them.

His comment was that you rarely engaged enemy tanks, but ran into enemy infantry a great deal. The M3 had lots of machine guns that kept the infantry down and away.

Except in Crusader, when they fought toe to toe with the Afrika Korps tanks on several occasions – 4th Armoured Brigade was totally equipped with them and they were used as Cruiser tanks. If you are into "Honeys" R. Crisp's biog. "Brazen Chariots" is a must read book.

Brazen Chariots an excellent book..I think I first read it in the late 60s as a schoolboy.I was a little disappointed to later find out they were obsolete death traps,but then what wasn't most of the time in the desert? You have done them in a sort of sub Caunter colour scheme?

No difference in specification, just a nickname, so I guess that both names could be used. The Stuart tag is the proper name, the Honey tag denotes in British use.

Not quite. Stuart is only the "proper name" in British use and "Honey" is, as you say, a British nickname.

this is particularly useful for M3 Stuarts of the period
link

You have done them in a sort of sub Caunter colour scheme?

The scheme used by cbaxter is absolutely correct for Operation Crusader (Nov – Dec 1941) and I congratulate him on his choice of 'sub-period' – he is obviously a man of discernment. The tanks had really only arrived just in time, so the paint jobs were very basic. The Honeys of 4th Armoured only got the blue Caunter stripe and the 'Crusader Stripes (red and white)'. 22nd Armoured Brigade's tanks (A15 Crusaders) arrived even later and didn't even get the blue and fought the operation painted plain sand with 'Crusader Stripes'.

Cardinal, I don't know if you remember this, but an interesting fact is that interior paintwork was removed with sand paper (see Crisp) to stop 'flaking' when the tank was hit. I wonder if this went for the hatches – shiny white metal colour? I'm thinking of doing mine like this – weird but with some backing, I think.

The tank used by Brigadier Gatehouse (4th Armoured) for this operation is an interesting addition. I've just modelled this as the Brigade command tank in my own formation (comprises 31 Honeys in 15mm – I play unit games so 9 squadrons of three tanks with three Btn command tanks plus one Brigade command tank) with Gatehouse (having lost his HQ) riding in an armchair strapped to the engine deck.

As yet they are unpainted but the organisation will be similar to 22nd Armoured Brigade which is finished – the organisation looks like this:

Excellent work! Reminds me of one of my favourite books of all time, Sands of Valour, which if you have not read you should

Did US forces use tank names for Stuarts and Grants or was that only British practice? I know US forces didn't use the name Sherman until after the war. During WWII Shermans were just called M4s by GIs.

That Honey was shot up bad. Wonder what crew casualties were?

Just platoons is think

Nicely done. I like that scheme.

Thank you Frederick! I read that book years ago as a kid, periodically ever since I've wondered 'what was that excellent book on desert warfare?" That was it!