- Yes
- No
Hello, I’m suggesting the Hispano armed Skink. Well, looking into the one with the cast turret, I found this one with a welded turret that was made.
History:
The Skink would be greenlit for development in March of 1942, as Project 47. As part of a tradition of giving Canadian armed vehicles names based on animals, it would receive the name Skink. The turret would be designed in-house by the Canadian Ministry of Munitions and Supply’s Army Engineering Design Branch, which would have help from the Inspection Board. The task of building a preliminary wooden mock-up would be given to the Waterloo Manufacturing Co., which was based in Waterloo, Ontario. The mock-up turret would be completed on the 18th of September 1943, with the construction of two welded armour turrets authorized right away. The first welded turret would be ready and demonstrated in mid-December, and in January of 1944, it would be mounted and successfully tested on a Grizzly chassis. Due to the welded turret’s complex shape, it was difficult to make out of rolled homogeneous armour. This would lead to Dominion Foundries of Hamilton to be contracted to produce a cast turret for the SPAA, which would be one of the largest armour castings to ever be made in Canada.
The guns on the Skink were originally planned to be four 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannons, and in turn, the first two turrets were built with this in mind, including being armed with them. However, at the request of the 21st Army Group in Europe, they were changed to Polstens. However, this change wouldn’t come cheap as it needed the turret redesigned, and this redesign would be completed in April. This delay in the project would slowly doom the Skink as the number of AA needed lessened as the Luftwaffe became nonexistent, and by mid-August, the production of the Skink would be cancelled, with only three vehicles made to completion and eight kits for the turrets finished.
Specs:
Dimensions L-W-H: 20’4” x 8’9” x 9’4” (6.19 x 2.66 x 2.84 m)
Total weight, battle ready: 28 tonnes (63,100 lbs)
Crew: 5 (commander, driver, co-driver/machine-gunner, gunner, loader)
Propulsion: Continental R-975 9-cyl radial petrol/gasoline, 400 hp (298 kW)
Maximum road speed: 39 km/h (24 mph)
Suspension: Vertical Volute Springs (VVSS)
Range: 193 km (122 miles)
Armament:
4x 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons
.303 cal. (7.69 mm) Browning machine gun
Upper Hull Armour:
Front 3 inch
Rear 1-1/4 inch
Sides 1-1/3 inch
Top 1-1/2 inch
Lower Hull Armour
Front 1/2-1 inch
Rear 1-1/2 inch
Sides 1-1/2 inch