As the first guns were being produced news of the appearance of the German Tiger Tank, so about 100 17-pdr barrels were fitted to 25-pdr carriages, as the proper 17-pdr split-trail carriages were not ready, and flown to North Africa, in 1943, to counter this new threat. The guns were code named "Pheasant" (officially known as 17-pdr MK2) and proved remarkably stable and robust in use.
