"25-Pounders - Getting the most out of the PSC Box" Topic

As I play Bolt Action in 15mm (just to be awkward), I find that I rarely have need for more than one of any particularly tank or gun, but having learnt that the PSC 25-pdr set comes with a variety of options and different crews, I'm tempted to grab a box.

As I understand it, there are four options available in the kit:
18/25pdr
25pdr – Early/Mid War
25pdr – Late War
17/25pdr Pheasant

My questions are:

Were any 18/25pdrs used in action in North Africa?
Were any Pheasants used outside of North Africa/Tunisia? Maybe in Sicily?
At what point was the "Late War" narrow gunshield and turntable introduced?

Greetings

1. There are references to 18/25pdr early in the North African campaign but this is complicated by the fact that the equipment was technically the 25pdr Mk I so may be referred to as a 25pdr (as opposed to the 18pdr and 4.5in howitzer) in accounts and histories. As an example it sounds (Farndale and other references) as if C and F Batteries of 4 RHA used 18/25pdr until 29 October 1940.

2. I have seen a photo of a 17/25pdr Pheasant in Sicily (IWM library, taken by an officer of the CLY). I have not seen concrete references to its use in Italy though it might be possible in late 1943.

3. The Mk III carriage and narrow turntable were, I think, 1944 – and intended for jungle use – but allegedly not widely used and Mk I carriages were used in parallel.

Regards

Edward

Brilliant. Thanks very much!

You can't make an accurate 18/25pdr using the PSC box – wrong carriage:

TMP link

Ah, that's a shame.

Also according to those instructions, the Pheasant should have the narrower carriage. Is that correct?

Using the narrow carriage you could get a good approximation of the 18/25pdr on MkIV carriage. Unlike the 25pdr Mk I the carriage has straight sides and doesn't bow out.
link

As for the pheasant pics suggest standard 25pdr carriage so I would use that not the narrow one.

If you really want to get the most out of that PSC set, please notice that there are so many bits that you might be able to build two guns per sprue, if you nick the wheels from the limber and scratch-build an extra hanger.

I think the 2/2nd Field Regiment (Australia) used them in Greece

By coincidence this was just posted:

link

You can't make a 25pdr – Early/Mid War out of it either, unless you file, scrape or sand off the huge rectangular counterweight bolted in top of the breech. The only purpose of this is to counterbalance the weight of the muzzle brake added at the end of 1942

The 17 pdr Pheasant was first deployed to Tunisia, in February 1943. First fired in action against the enemy at the Battle of Medenine, Tunisia, 11 March 1943 It was a stop gap arrangement and guns were were converted to regular 17pdrs as soon as carriages became available.

"The Coldstream Guards" (Howard & Sparrow):

"At once the battalion had to dig positions a few miles south of Sbiba, to the right of the Sbitla road. American troops held the other side of the valley and the grenadiers were on the high ground to the right. The valley was wide, sandy and dotted with tent dwellings and clumps of cactus. As an approach for the tanks it was perfect and the Lord Levinson sited his anti-tank guns with great care. The 12th R.H.A was in support and a few 17-pndrs had also appeared. These however were still on the secret list; they were only to be fired in an emergency."

"No attack came of the 21st so in the evening Lt Hyde's platoon rode out on Churchill tanks- the first occasion on which these were used in action- to see what had happened to the enemy. They were met by heavy fire from strong German positions and quickly returned to their own lines. Although three Churchills were destroyed, only one guardsman was hurt."