Somaliland Camel Corps

[keith A]

They were re-equipped as an armoured car regiment in the early war years. Does anyone know whay vehicles were used? I assume Rolls Royce but maybe Marmon-Herringtons or Morris CS9?

[Sid Guttridge]

It appears that the Somaliland Camel Corps was still partly "what it says on the tin" - a camel corps raised in British Somaliland. (I see from your other post that you are aware of its affiliation with the KAR).

A quick internet search gives the following: "The Somaliland Camel Corps' four companies were split among five different locations in the colony. Only "A" Company retained its camels. The other companies had become infantry units."

Cheers,

Sid.

[keith A]

Cheers again Sid,

oem sources indicate a partly-mechanised unit.... but I can't find details.

K

[Ironmachine]

They were re-equipped as an armoured car regiment in the early war years.

Where they?
According to Fighting for Britain - African Soldiers in the Second World War, by D. Killingray:

On the night of 5-6 June 1944, 'massed rioting' occurred among soldiers of the Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) stationed at Burao in British Somaliland. Unrest had been stimulated by proposals to move the SCC to Kenya for re-equipping as an armoured-car regiment...

which apparently means that their transformation into an armoured car regiment had still not taken place.
Given that

...Various punishments were handed out to the mutineers and the SCC was disbanded. In Gen Platt's view 'there is no truly dependable and loyal core on which the SCC can be re-built'.

it may be that the re-equipping never took place.

Additionally, in these TO&Es from mid-1943
http://www.warestablishments.net/SomailialandInf.html
the unit is not shown as an armored car regiment (there are only two armored cars in the headquarters).

Maybe the reference to a SCC as armored car unit in the early war years is a mistake with this:

in January 1941 a "Somaliland Camel Corps Armoured Car Detachment" was in the order of battle of the 25th (East African) Infantry Brigade. The Somaliland Camel Corps had been disbanded in the final days of the retreat from British Somaliland; possibly this unit was made up of SCC members that were evacuated or otherwise reached Kenya?
[...]
4) The Somaliland Camel Corps was VERY rapidly reformed after the recapture of British Somaliland. The British landed on March 16, linked up with the forces attacking from Kenya on March 20th and the SCC was reformed at 80% strength on April 18.

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=144586

Regards.

[keith A]

yep. So absence of evidence indicates evidence of absence? By the sound of it they were very disorganised and couldn't realistically form a unit that required mechanical expertise, certainly not in this time frame. So were there British armoured car units in Eritrea in 1941?

cheers

Keith

[HFK]

Hello,
I read a long time ago that a trooper of the Somaliland Camel Corps found a beached submarine, while on patrol and captured the sub and crew, which was unable to refloat the sub.
Has anyone else ever seen this story, or is it a product of someone's imagination ?

Regards, Harry

[Ironmachine]

I read a long time ago that a trooper of the Somaliland Camel Corps found a beached submarine, while on patrol and captured the sub and crew, which was unable to refloat the sub.

You may mean the infamous U-852. In which case, the real story is far less romantic and heroic:

It was just after dawn. U-852 was cruising on the surface and Leutnant Hoffmann was the watch officer when the British bombers caught the U-boat completely by surprise. Coming out of the sun, the British planes strafed and bombed the doomed boat. Six depth charges straddled her, one of them damaging the 37mm antiaircraft gun on platform II. As tons of water crashed down on U-852, Hoffmann frantically ordered the U-boat to dive.
U-852 managed to submerge before the Wellingtons could make a second run, but the situation was serious. In addition to flooding, deadly chlorine gas, caused by burst battery cells, was filling the boat. Fifteen minutes after she went under, U-852 shot to the surface at a 60° angle. The steep slant caused the batteries to spill even more acid, increasing the levels of chlorine gas inside the boat.
As U-852 broke the surface her gun crews swarmed out and manned the antiaircraft guns. Even as the crewmen were reaching their battle stations, the Wellingtons were starting their second strafing run. The planes roared overhead and smothered the boat with fire. Oberleutnant Gerhard Colditz and Matrosenobergefreiter Josef Hofer both died on the bridge.
U-852 was down by the stern, unable to dive and under attack. By this time it was clear to Eck that his boat was finished. While he could not save his boat, he was determined to save his crew, and his only hope of accomplishing that was to beach U-852 on the Somaliland coast before the British sank her.
Although doomed the U-boat managed to hold off the British throughout much of the day, her gunners beating off each aerial attack. Several of the crewmen were killed or wounded during the repeated strafing runs, but casualties were surprising light given the circumstances. That afternoon, while still under attack, Eck managed to save the bulk of his crew by beaching his battered boat off the Somaliland coast at Ras Hafun.
After grinding to a halt, Eck ordered the crew to abandon ship and set about to destroy U-852. Exactly what happened next is not clear, but two things are certain. First, Eck's attempt to destroy his boat with demolition charges was only partially successful, and one crewman was killed in the process. Second and more important to the events that would follow, Eck somehow failed to destroy the boat's war diary-the Kriegstagebuch. The oversight would cost him and two of his officers their lives.
Beached, listing heavily to port, her bow a twisted mass of junk, U-852 was obviously finished. But the British aircraft continued to attack, shifting their attention to U-852's crewmen who were coming out of the hatches and leaping into the water. Many were already swimming toward shore, and a few were clinging to rubber rafts filled with wounded that bobbed near the hulk. August Hoffmann was helping a badly wounded sailor into a raft when the Wellington's made their pass. Machine gun bullets frothed the sea around him, hitting men in the water and puncturing the raft. Hoffmann was hit in the leg by one of the rounds. Despite his wound, the young officer continued to help the wounded sailor toward shore. British aircraft continued to strafe the Germans who were struggling through the surf toward the beach.
Exhausted and with several crewmen wounded and some dying, U-852's crew lay on the beach and waited for whatever was going to happen next. It was not long in coming. The following day, a British naval landing party, supported by a unit of the Somaliland Camel Corps, took the surviving members of U-852's crew prisoner.

http://uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=18&page=2

[Desert-Erik]

Hi!

Im new here but hopefully I can contribute.

No RRs at least, there were not many around anymore and those still around (mostly converted into Fordssons nut a few 1920 patterns) were used by RAF and a few 1920 patterns for homedefence in GB. A few (1940 patterns) were also used by 11th Hussars in NA but these were soon used up. At least two RRs were also used for training in ME by the poles, these had strange turrets btw.
Morris ACs were definatly not used, not many were made and they wwere used in France 1940 (most if not all there were lost) and by 11th Hussars in NA to complement the 1940 RRs (the RRs dident have any radios).

Other AC units in this area used locally designed but serieproduced ACs like the EAAC who used "Eydes", "Suzies" and "Fortress" ACs, these were made in Nairobi it is belived.
Sudan Defence Force used Fordbased ACs of a local design as well.

Later on these locally produced ACs were substituted with M-H Mk II and III and I supose this is what happened here as well.

Hth

Desert-Erik
Sweden

CU@C4

www.c4-open.se