Tanks

3CLY Sherman leaving the port area of Taranto, Italy, 23 Sept 1943

During  WW2 both regiments of Sharpshooters were armoured regiments and equipped with a variety of  Cruiser tanks that were not all that good.  It was only towards the end of the war that their tanks started to become more effective than those of the enemy.  The three main problems  for armoured regiments were:

Firepower.  Right up until the end of the war British tanks were generally out-ranged by the Germans and our guns were not effective except at to close range. By contrast German were typically of higher calibre and with effective ranges.

Mobility.  British Infantry tanks were very slow and were designed to act as close support for the infantry.  The Cruiser tanks were faster and designed for manoeuvre warfare.  Both were not that reliable during in the early stages of the war. In the latter part of the war reliability and speed had improved whilst the Germans became slower as their tanks became heavier.

Protection.  British Infantry  tanks were well protected and sacrificed speed for protection whilst Cruiser tanks sacrificed protection for speed.  British tanks remained vulnerable  to German tanks and anti tank guns right up until the end of the war whilst German tanks remained well protected  but became increasingly less mobile as they became heavier.