An Alternative History of the Royal Australian RegimentThe Australian Infantry Australia was proud of it's military record. World War I and World War II had stood it's infantry forces as it's prime military arm. Korea was a repeat of both those previous conflicts. Korea had been fought on the Korean Peninsular, criss-crossed by narrow steep ridges. The use of anti-tank guns was limited as a consequence. 17 Pdr guns hauled initially by Universal Carriers and then later by large American trucks, the ridges basically defeated the use of the guns.
The infantry began to seek alternatives. The self-propelled gun was one obvious one. However, Australia didn't posses any. They tried recoilless rifles as another. Mounted on initially M3 Scout Cars and then later Landrovers, they seem to be a potential answer. However, they still lacked armour protection, particularly against artillery fire. Missiles were still in their infancy and expensive (and unreliable in the eyes of the Infantry)
When the RAAC abandoned the use of the M47, the infantry started to think about using them as a sort of self-propelled gun. The RAAC kyboshed the idea. They weren't going to allow a bunch of footsloggers to have tanks! So the infantry went looking for alternatives.
In West Germany, they found one. The Jagdpanzerkanone was just appearing. Created using old M47 guns, placed on a new, smaller, lighter chassis it seemed to answer the needs of the Infantry. They took a proposal to Canberra. They intended to purchase Jagdpanzerkanone chassis and take the guns from the scrapped M47s and put them on them. After some humming and harrahing, the RAAC agreed, as long as they were used as SPGs and not tanks. The Infantry finally had mobile anti-tank guns! Equipping the AT Platoon of each Infantry Battalion, the Jagdpanzerkanones went into action. Nicknamed “Jagd's” they proved popular and lasted in service from 1967 until 1989.
In 1989, the opportunity became available to replace the Jagd's with something new the Strv 103 or “S” Tank from Sweden. While originally conceived as an MBT it was in the form of an SPG with a gun fixed into the hull. Modern and well equipped, it was at least two generations ahead of the Jagd's. They were also cheap with the end of the Cold War in Europe. After a few years of humming and harring from the RAAC the OK was received. The Infantry ordered 50 vehicles, which because of the time spent debating the acquisition had become even cheaper. The Swedes were happy, Treasury was happy, the Infantry was happy and the RAAC was happy. The Indonesians weren't. The “S” Tank served for over 25 years. The RAAC found it a difficult vehicle to combat. It was equipped with sand shields in Australian service and it's extremely low silhouette made it a hard vehicle to detect or destroy on exercises. They served from approximately 1993 until today.
The KitsRevell and Trumpeter. Painted with the a hairy stick using Vallejo acylics, Mouse House enamels. Decal by Kit Speckman.
