Kangaroo was the nickname given to armoured personnel carriers used by British and Canadian forces during the Second World War. They were created by converting the chassis of other vehicles.
Kangaroos carried infantrymen into battle in their armoured ‘pouch.’ They offered protection from German fire and mobility across difficult ground. This meant the infantry suffered fewer killed and wounded and were not tired out before the battle had even begun.
The first Kangaroos were surplus M7 Priest artillery pieces with their guns removed. They were first used in Normandy in August 1944. By October they were worn out and replaced with converted Ram tanks. By 1945 Kangaroos were in constant demand. They were used by one British and one Canadian regiment until the end of the war. These regiments moved around constantly, carrying dozens of different infantry battalions into many battles.
The Tank Museum’s Ram Kangaroo
The Tank Museum’s Ram Kangaroo was built as a tank in 1942. Its wartime service as a tank and a Kangaroo is unknown. The serial number painted on it, CT160141, is not correct. It was recovered from a firing range near Imber on Salisbury Plain by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, then restored and donated to The Tank Museum by a team from 27 District Workshop REME in 1985.
