- Yes
- No
25pdr SP, tracked, Sexton MK II
Design and service history:
The 25pdr SP, tracked, Sexton was a Canadian-designed self-propelled artillery vehicle of the second world war, that was based on the Candian-built derivatives of the M3 Lee (Ram) and M4 Sherman (Grizzly) with the intent of giving the British Army a mobile artillery gun using their 87.6 mm (3.45 in) Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun-howitzer, to allow for commonality between the towed guns currently in service. The conception of the Sexton came from the British army’s desire to provide better Artillery support in the highly mobile desert warfare of the North African Campaign. The initial remedy for this desire was the rapid adaption of a number of obsolete Valentine tanks to house the 25-pounder in what would be known as the Bishop. This design possessed many issues, including lack of elevation, and the Bishop was soon replaced by the US-built M7 Priest.
This came with its own problems though, as the Priest was equipt with the US 105 mm gun, which didn’t share ammunition with any British field gun in service at the time. Regardless the British ordered two orders of the M7, with 2,500 in 1942 and another 3,000 in 1943, with the first Priests reaching Egypt just in time for the Second Battle of El Alamein where they played an important part. The presence of the American 105 mm howitzer remained an issue though, due to its different ammunition complicating British army supply lines, and they put out a requirement for a vehicle with identical mobility and characteristics of the M7 Priest, but instead armed with the 25-pounder gun-howitzer.
Unfortunately, US resources were insufficient to produce a vehicle solely for British use, resulting in the British turning their attention to possible Canadian production. Because of this, the Canadian Army Engineering Design Branch was asked to design a vehicle similar to the Priest on the chassis of the American Medium Tank M3. In Canadian production, the Lee had been modified into the Ram cruiser tank, but this vehicle had been sidelined due to the British decision to standardize on the Sherman tank for British units. The Canadians were quick to produce a prototype, which was completed on June 23rd 1942 and quickly passed trials. Confident in the design the Canadian’s ordered 124 additional vehicles in three batches, with the first prototype being shipped to the UK in early 1943. Here again it underwent trials, with the British deeming the vehicle highly satisfactory to their needs, and it was christened with the name Sexton in May of 1943.
Happy with the design, the British wasted no time in ordering 300 Sextons in the summer of 1943, though these tanks would be built on the hull of Grizzly tanks instead of the Ram of the MK I. This change resulted in the differentiation in designation, with the MKI being based on Ram chassis, and the MK II based on Grizzly chassis. The design was well received regardless though, and total British orders for the Sexton II would eventually total 2,026 vehicles, of the 2,150 vehicles manufactured by the Montreal Locomotive Works.
The vehicles would then go on to see service, with their operational combat debut taking place in Italy with the British Eighth Army. Later Sextons would take place in the invasion of France and the subsequent Battle of Normandy and the campaign in north-western Europe. The SPG’s service would continue after the cessation of hostilities and would serve as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). The Sexton would then soldier on until 1956, when the last units were removed from service. The following British units are known to have been equipped with the Sexton I and II :
1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, Italy 1944-45, post-war (Sexton withdrawn in 1956)
2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, Italy 1944-45, post-war (Sexton withdrawn in 1957)
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, post-war
5th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, North West Europe 1944–45; post-war
6th Field (Self-Propelled) Regiment, Royal Artillery, post-war
10th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, post-war
13th (HAC) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, North West Europe 1944-45
86th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, North West Europe 1944-45
90th(City of London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, North West Europe 1944-45
98th Field Regiment (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary’s), Royal Artillery, North west Europe 1945
147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, North West Europe 1944-45
153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, North West Europe 1944-45
Vehicle specification
Mass 25 tons (25.86 tonnes)
Length 20 ft 1 in (6.12 m)
Width 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m))
Height 8 ft (2.4 m)
Crew 6 (Commander, driver, gunner, gun-Layer, loader, wireless operator)
Elevation +40° to -9°
Traverse 25° left 15° right
Armour 15–65 mm (0.59–1.26 in)
Main armament Ordnance QF 25-pounder (87.6 mm) Mk II
105 rounds carried on board
Shell types: High explosive
Anti-tank AP shot
APBC
Smoke
HESH
Secondary armament Two 0.303 (7.7 mm) Bren light machine guns for anti-aircraft defence
50 30-round magazines
Engine Continental R-975 9-cylinder Radial gasoline 400 hp (298 kW)
Suspension Vertical volute spring
Operational range 125 miles+ (200 km)
Maximum speed 25 mph (40 km/h)
Additional historical photos:
Sexton Mk.II In service with the Desert Rats:
Sexton Mk.II (early) from 11st Division crossing the Seine River - August - 1944:
Sexton Mk.II 25-pdr self-propelled gun, carriers and jeeps move forward
south of Caen - Normandy, 1 August 1944:
Sexton Mk.II (early) with gun in max elevation:
Sexton Mk.II moving up towards Escoville during Operation ‘Goodwood’, 18 July 1944:
Sources:
- Sexton (artillery) - Wikipedia (Wiki page for the sexton)
- Ordnance QF 25-pounder - Wikipedia (Information for the 25 pounder and ammunition)
- Surviving British WW2 Sexton II Self Propelled Gun SPG ( preserved example and additional info)
- Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: Sexton Mk.I - 25 pounder SPG - case report (Nice overview of the history of the sexton and a large number of historical photos)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dfg_mjizV0&ab_channel=MarcosSerra (film showing sextons in action)
