T17 Staghound, Natal Mounted Rifles, Italy 1944

At the end of World War 2, the South African 6th Armoured Division listed 15 Staghound T17E armoured cars amongst their equipment. It was not recorded how these were allocated within the Division, and according to Marshall's Camouflage and Markings of the 6th SA Armoured Division, there is only one (poor) photograph known to depict a South African Staghound, and unhelpfully, the AoS number is obscured. The logical allocation would either be to divisional and brigade HQ squadrons, or to the regimental HQ of the dedicated reconnaissance units - the Natal Mounted Rifles. Given that we know the divisional HQ used M8 Greyhounds, the idea that the Staghounds were then rather allocated to frontline regiments is not implausible. The photograph also doesn't provide any clues as to the colour or patterns used - as the vehicle is appears extremely dirty. So this is, again, a speculative representation, and I will be happy to be proved incorrect if anyone can bring to light more complete information on their use in the SA 6th.

The Staghound was a big beast of an armoured car - 14 tonnes worth - with armour as thick as a light tank, and with some innovative drivetrain features. They arrived on the frontline just in time for the Italian campaign, and saw service until the end of the war. In fact, they continued to serve with many commonwealth forces well after World War 2 - the Rhodesians, for example, kept their's going until 1976.

This miniature was built from the Die Waffenkamer resin kit - pretty much out of the box with the exception of the replacement of pintle-mounted .30 Browning with one that came from a Rubicon Models stowage set. One of the crew figures is the kit offering, the other is from Warlord Games. Stowage is either scratch built, or from Die Waffenkamer and Rubicon Models, and decals are from a variety of suppliers: Warlord, Dom's Decals, and Starmer.

I really enjoyed the process and the result of this build. While unashamedly a wargames miniature, it has piqued my interest in building a good scale model of one - who knows, the Staghound might end up being my first 1/35 build in decades...