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"Weapons of War" Series; The Sexton SP Gun in Canadian
Service by Doug Knight; Service Publications, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, 2006
The Sexton SP Gun in Canadian Service
Reviewed by Cookie Sewell
Summary
Title and Publisher:
"Weapons of War" Series; The Sexton SP Gun
in Canadian Service by Doug Knight; Service Publications, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, 2006
ISBN:
1-894581-32-6
Media and Contents:
24 pp. with B&W photos
Price:
CDN$9.95
Review Type:
FirstRead
Advantages:
Good, clearcut description of how the
Sexton came to be and its developmental history, along with some
information on organization and details
Disadvantages:
Modelers may regret not having more detail
information on regiments and markings
Recommendation:
Highly Recommended for all "gonners" and
Commonwealth fans
FirstRead
One
of the myths of the Second World War which has unfortunately come
down to us is that the Canadians copied many US designs, when the
fact of the matter is exactly the opposite. The Ram tank was an
original idea, and not a copy of the Sherman; likewise, the Sexton
was an original design and not a copy of the M7 Priest.
In March 1942 the Canadians, who
were then primarily modeled on the British Commonwealth pattern of
equipment and unit organization, decided to create self-propelled
artillery to support their own forces and if needed to provide
support to the British Army. Having the mechanically reliable and
flexible M3 Medium Tank chassis available, they experimented with
fitting the then standard 25-pdr field gun to it as a self-propelled
weapons system. Three months later Montreal Locomotive Works (the
Canadian subsidiary of the famous ALCO locomotive company in the US)
produced a wooden mockup followed by a prototype in July. After
testing and getting the kinks out of the design, it was shipped to
the UK for trials.
Even while it was under testing, the Canadian government ordered 84
of the new guns for their own artillery units. Fitted with a tank
compass so the driver could get a rough bearing alignment of the gun
for firing, the system was shown to work well. Tests at Larkhill in
the UK showed the gun to be amazingly easy to deploy and operate,
coming into action in 20 seconds and being able to change firing
positions in less than 90 seconds. The comparative tests were such
that the British decided to stop use of the American M7, now dubbed
the "Priest" and opt for the ammunition-compatible 25-pdr SP gun. In
May, the new weapon was given the formal designation "Sexton"
(following the Priest, the British gave all of their SP guns
clerical names, such as the Valentine based "Bishop" and the postwar
105mm "Abbot.")
Sextons were organized into three-battery regiments of eight guns
per battery (two sections of four each) or 24 guns total. Later, Ram
OP Tanks were provided along with "defrocked" Sextons as Gun
Position Officer's vehicles for battery level fire control. On
occasion these regiments were refitted with M7 Priests, such as for
D-Day, but the preferred vehicle was the Sexton. The British and
Canadians preferred the 25-pdr as it outranged the M2 series 105mm
howitzers, and the 25-pdr shell was considered nearly as effective
on target as the larger 36-pound projectile thrown by the 105mm
howitzer. Also the vehicle could carry 105 rounds of ammunition
(normally 87 rounds HE-FRAG and 18 rounds AP.)
A number of details are covered, such as most of the Sextons came
from the factory fitted with Canadian pattern dry-pin tracks.
However, most of the photos show that they were not kept long in the
field and were replaced by one or another of the standard M3/M4
medium series twin-pin track sets. Just about every major type is
shown in this book, so the modeler can rest easy about building a
model of the Sexton.
Conclusion
In summary, this is a handy
little book about one of the more popular – and long-lived, with
some serving as late as 1964 in Commonwealth forces – self-propelled
weapons. A set of 1/35 plans by George Bradford are provided as a
centerfold, but no markings or coloring data is included. (Also see
their books on the Ram - Parts I and II – and the 25-pdr for
additional details.)