Shortly before takeoff, British Paratroopers receive last minute instruction. These Paratroopers would rely on the success of the Glider troops landing just ahead of them on D-Day. (scanned by HOS Bandit)

British Paras

Sherman Fireflys with tank-killing 17 pounder guns, lie in wait for any German Panzers attempting to strike the long, vulnerable British column barreling down the road. The 21st Panzer Division was twice bested on D-Day by a combination of Fireflys, M-10 tank destroyers with 3 inch guns, and towed 17 pounders, like the one in the foreground. (scanned by HOS Bandit)

Sherman Fireflys

In 1941, the British General Staff began examining the feasibility of mounting a high velocity gun into infantry and cruiser tanks. The need arose from experiences against the Afrika Corp during the campaign in the Western Desert and the requirement for a gun capable of knocking out any known German armoured fighting vehicle.

First attempts in fitting the 17pdr gun to an A27 chassis proved unsuccessful, as the width of the hull proved too narrow to accommodate a turret big enough to house the 17pdr gun. This led to the development of the A30, which closely resembled the A27 but with an increase in chassis length and a widening of the hull. An extra road wheel was also added to compensate for the increase in weight.

The A30 was based as many Cromwell components as possible and mechanically it was almost identical, featuring the same Rolls-Royce Meteor engine as the Cromwell and was developed by BRCW. The development of the turret to house the 17pdr was entrusted to Stothert & Pitt, a firm that normally specialised in the manufacturing of large cranes and was derived from the turret they had tested on the TOG 2.

The turret was enormous as it not only had to mount the 17pdr gun but also meet the depression and elevation requirements as stated by the War Office. The first prototype was completed in August 1942 and initial trials showed up serveral deficiencies including suspension trouble due to excess weight and a slow turret traverse. To improve performance, an electronic transverse gear was fitted and a decrease in armour thickness was ordered to reduce the overall weight. In addition, the size of the 17pdr rounds restricted ammunition stowage which led to the removal of the hull machine gun position.	

By February 1943 the A30 was accepted for production with an order for 200 being place with BRCW.  However, it wasn’t until March 1944 that the first production vehicles were ready.