"Decals for Irish Guards at Market Garden" Topic

So I got the Battlefront Pack O'Decals.
My first Flames of War LW British contingent is the Armoured Reconaissance Company of the Irish Guards.
Cromwells and Challengers.
Which numbers do I need to apply?
Where?

And if I do Shermans and Fireflies, which numbers?

This thread covers it nicely – especially Jemima Fawr's post – RMD knows his stuff on WW2 Brits…. :-)

TMP link

Perfect. Thank you.

I admit I don't know that much about the period, but weren't regimental recce companies, even in the Guards, equipped with Stuarts? The divisional armoured reconnaissance regiment (2nd Welsh Guards in this case) would have the Cromwells and Challengers.

I could be wrong.

LT

According to my Flames of War Market Garden supplement…
The so-called Armoured Reconissance Platoon is not a recce unit. I like that, and pass it off as typical whimsical Limey nomenclature. I look at it as fast Shermans with awesome Challengers.
What can I say. I'm a FoW guy.

For recce I do have a Stuart platoon and some Dingos who et my babby.

I think they mean Troop and Squadron

I was sidetracked by your reference to the Irish Guards. The 2nd Irish Guards didn't have an armoured reconnaissance squadron equipped with Cromwells and Challengers. That would be part of the 2nd Welsh Guards Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment and should have markings for that unit.

Then again, it's FOW.

LT

And, as far as decals, I have placed several orders from here in the States to Dom for my Guards Armored Division, northwest Europe 44-45, and to use his own praise "Dom knows his stuff on WW2 Brits" when it comes to decals.

Not so much in the way of whimsy for the unit title-it was originally intended to perform the recce role, but equipping them with Cromwells, without providing Firefly support, gave them the worst of both worlds.
In effect they were used as the fourth armoured regiment of the division, and suffered from not having any 17 pdrs. The Challengers only start coming in after Normandy.

But I like Cromwells so I don't care.

Oh yeah.
Cromwells have those big honking rivets.

Would the Cromwells have Armoured Squadron markings, or Recoinassance markings?

I believe the regimental marking would be green over blue with a white "45". As to the squadron markings, I bow to anyone whose knowledge is greater than mine, i.e. pretty much everybody.

LT

Yep, Arm Of Service number 45 on green and blue for the Welsh Guards in their Cromwells.

Squadron markings were in the usual white for non-brigaded unit. The Guards were odd and usually had small squadron markings on the hull (usually filled in with black) instead of the more common big ones on the turret though. There's a thread with a couple of good Guards Cromwell photos here:

TMP link

PS – Thanks Marc. :-)

Dom's two links have it pretty much covered.

As has been said, the Recce TROOP of the 2nd Irish Guards had Stuart (a mix of Mk V & Mk VI iirc), not Cromwell/Challenger. They didn't have a Recce SQUADRON, though some accounts do sometimes refer to a 'Recce Squadron' when they mean 'Recce Troop' – it was a very big Troop.

The Armoured Recce Regt (2nd Welsh Guards) were originally intended to perform the divisional formation recce role (having replace armoured cars in 1943). However, while they were fast, Cromwell didn't have the necessary sneakiness of armoured cars and as a consequence, the Armoured Car Regiments (which had become corps formation recce units in 1943) were returned to the Armoured Divisions on a semi-official basis after Normandy.