Unit Reveal - Airborne Troopers I

Hello again, today we reveal the first US Airborne soldiers:

The first US Airborne operation was during Operation Torch in North Africa. 2-509th PIR flew all the way from England to the African coast. But only 10 out of 39 aircraft actually dropped troops, and 28 more landed almost out of fuel on a dried lake. Nevertheless, the 509th successfully occupied their objective.

The famous 82nd Airborne Division (All American) performed their first combat jumps on Sicily in July 1943 and at Salerno in September 1943. One regiment was involved in the Anzio landings, before the unit redeployed for D-Day.

The 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles) saw their first action during the Normandy landings. Their pathfinders were the first to jump over occupied France the night before D-Day. The rest of the division followed soon and was tasked to secure the four exit points from Utah beach.

These are the only first 20 of our total of over 60 Airborne troops!
But next time we will have a look at some transports.

Unit Reveal - M10 Wolverine

Here is the next finished unit for our "little" army - the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10!

The M10 was the most important US tank destroyer in WW2 and over 6000 units were built. It sports the 3" (76mm ) M7 gun, which was developed from a Great War era AA gun. The weapon was installed in an open turret and out on a M4A2 Sherman chassis. The weapon was so heavy they had to install over 1100 kg of counterweights at the rear of the turret!

Although of limited use against heavier German tanks like Panthers and Tigers, the M10 combined reasonable, sloped armor with the reliable inner workings of the Sherman. It was outperformed by the newer M18 and M36 tank destroyers, but nevertheless the number of M10s used in combat was 1.5 times higher than that of the later models combined!

The 3" gun was very versatile. Beside the armor-piercing capped ballistic capped (APCBC) and high-velocity armor-piercing (HVAP) ammunition it could also fire high explosive and smoke shells for infantry support. It was even used for indirect fire, although the maximum gun elevation of 19° limited its ability to do so.

Fun fact: nobody knows where the name Wolverine comes from. It is disputed if it was ever used while the tank was in service, and US soldiers would just refer to it as the M10 or TD for tank destroyer.

Our Wolverine has markings loosely based on a vehicle used in Normandy by the 703rd tank destroyer battalion.

Next time we will have more Shermans, followed by some paratroopers - Stay tuned!

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Unit Reveal: M4 Sherman

Another tank today! The Medium Tank M4 Sherman is easily the most iconic tank of the Western Allies, and one of the most commonly known armored vehicle in the world. Almost 50.000 M4s and variants were built and production only ceased in 1957. After that, it remained in active service until 2018, when Paraguay retired its last 3 vehicles!

The M4 was used by all Allies, including the Soviet Union, who received about 4000 through the Lend-Lease program, and some were even provided to Brazil after it entered the war.

Our Sherman in painted in the same muddy style as the M5 Stuart we showed a couple of days ago. It's easy to imagine it repulsing the German attack in the Battle of the Bulge or advancing through French or German countryside.

Next time, we will have some more specimen of the Sherman family!

Unit Reveal: US Army HQ

Another unit reveal, this time the US Army HQ miniatures!

First, we have a Warlord Games HQ team, with officer, medic and a guy who can be used as batman or FAO:

I used one of the heads with field cap from the plastic set to give some variety.

The other set is a US Communications Team from Black Tree Design:

These guys can also be used as officers, FAO team or even NCOs for the squads.

Unit Reveal: US Army Specialists

Our second unit reveal, this time the US Army specialists!

Of course we have a whole range of miniatures with additional weapons to support our humble riflemen.

First, the ubiquitous BAR gunners. We have 4 of those, and one of them seems to prefer the brown woolen trousers over his HBT pants :)

Next, two soldiers with Thompson SMGs. Perfect to be used as NCOs!

And in case you encounter some pesky German armor, two Bazooka teams:

The sniper team will hunt down any enemy officers on the field:

And then there are these two guys:

Maybe I got a bit carried away... Anyway, as you can see, the Airborne kit mixes perfectly with the US Army!

Next time we will have a look at the first finished armor - Stay tuned!

And in case you wonder how you can get your chance to win, please check out this post!

Unit Reveal: US Army Riflemen

Today we have our first finished troops - the humble GI.

There are 16 of these folks with rifles and carbines in the force. Let's have a look!

Tomorrow we will have a look at the US Army support weapons!

Review - Warlord Games Sherman V

I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.
- William Tecumseh Sherman

Today we will have a closer look at the first tank for our army, a mighty M4A4 Sherman tank. This kit was generously provided by Warlord Games!

As the designation would let you guess, the Sherman V is actually a British / Land Lease version. The M4A4 was armed with a 75 mm M3 L/40 gun and had the Chrysler A57 multibank 30-cylinder "cloverleaf" petrol engine in a longer rear hull with more widely spaced bogies. It therefore looks slightly different from "true American" Shermans, but a bit of artistic license should be allowed even in historical games.

The kit contains 3 sprues, with all the parts needed to build the vehicle. Additionally, you get some stowage and 2 crew members in British gear. About 80% of the over 7000 Sherman Vs were used by Commonwealth troops, so taht's a logical choice. Nevertheless, a miniature in American uniform could have been included to represent the Polish and Free French units who also used this model and wore US uniforms.

The quality is great, as expected from Warlord Games. The details are all sharp and gates are positioned smartly. The kit has separate two-part tracks which makes painting them much easier.

Assembly is straight forward and offers no surprises. The instructions are very clear, and it took only a couple of minutes to complete the task:

The kit offers several different options for closed or open hatches, track guards and hedge cutter.

As with all new Warlord Games models you get a unit card and some material for damage markers, too:

Here is a picture of the finished vehicle with a base coat of paint:

In summary, this is a great kit that is easy to assemble, with more options than usual. And it will look great once it's painted!

PS: Don't forget that we are having a bonus give-away at the moment!