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British Archer Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun


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Good morning,

Why was the British Archer (SPAT) omitted from the Battle for Normandy and Commonwealth Forces? I realize that it went into production in October, 1944 so it would not have been available during the invasion or even during the Battle of Arnhem, but it did see action in NW Europe from October of '44 until the end of the war. It also saw action in Italy in 1945, so it would have been nice to have it available in Fortress Italy/Gustav Line as well, but I didn't want to double post. I just think that it is an interesting design and should be among those units that might be added to the Commonwealth Forces in some future update.

**Chris**

Edited by WhiteWolf65
Punctuation and didn't end my thought.
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Just a text..

To avoid the gun colliding with every obstacle encountered, the Vickers engineers chose to place the gun in a rear-facing configuration, this way, the only possible tactical use of the vehicles was for defensive or ambush purposes. The driver and commander were seated in the front part of the casemate, which had a hinged armored flap and vision slit.

The set-up lasted for quite a long time, and training and other post-production issues prevented the vehicle from entering service before October 1944. By that time, the Achilles, Firefly, Challenger and the up-gunned versions of the Cromwell had also entered service, some for quite a long time.

This rearward firing capability was seen as an advantage, since the vehicle did not need to turn around to retreat, and the low profile made it perfect for ambushes. When attacking, the Archer would back into a position, fire at it’s target, then retreat at full speed.

The Allies went on the offensive constantly at that stage, and the only role the Archer could perform by then was to secure the flanks against any counter-attacks, and provide fire support.

 

...this could be why the Archer was not used in Normandy because the Allied was used the Achille and Firefly and were constantly "normaly" on "offensive"...

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@WhiteWolf65 the answer is actually in your own post. CMBN covers the war in NW Europe from June 6 to September 30 1944. Since the Archer did not see service until October, it is beyond the scope of CMBN. CMFB is going cover the war from October 44 to May 45 and should have the Archer when Commonwealth forces are added. As has already been mentioned, it will be showing up in the next CMFI module.

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9 hours ago, user1000 said:

The archer, just another sitting duck for granatwerfer 34...

Open-top vehicles are actually absurdly sturdy against mortar fire. I've had a barrage land 20m next to M3 halftracks full with Armored Infantry and not a single scratch to be found.

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17 minutes ago, Frenchy56 said:

Open-top vehicles are actually absurdly sturdy against mortar fire. I've had a barrage land 20m next to M3 halftracks full with Armored Infantry and not a single scratch to be found.

I have taken out stuff with WP or smoke rounds before...

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