Superior Weapon

Canada's Antitank Gun Interests Britain, U.S.

Ottawa Citizen, 29 September 1955
By the Canadian Press

Britain and the United States are showing a lively interest in the Heller, the Canadian Army's new tank-killing weapon for infantrymen.

The Heller has been demonstrated for senior American officers and a number have been lent to the U.S. Army for trials. The British Army also is putting the weapon through tests.

There is a good chance, it was learned Wednesday, that the U.S Army, if it does not adopt the weapon itself, will employ the new propulsion principle embodied in the Heller.

Twin secrets of the success of the Heller are the high velocity of the projectile fired from the launcher and the telescopic sight. The weapon has a muzzle velocity of 710 feet per second compared to 340 feet per second for the American bazooka, Second World War anti-tank weapon.

Maximum penetration of the Heller has not been disclosed but in a demonstration here last spring it cut through three inches of steel plate at 300 yards like a sword through cream cheese. Tange and accuracy are far advanced over the bazooka.

The Canadian Army has said that the Heller fires a projectile which burns through heavy armor and generates such intense heat "that a hit almost anywhere on a tank will ensure its destruction."

The Heller is the first weapon ever designed, developed and manufactured in Canada. The army claims there is no equal to it anywhere in the world. It has been on production for 1 ½ years.

The new weapon is mostly the work of Earl Guy, 39, of St. Catharines and Quebec City, who spent four years on its development at the Canadian armament and development establishment at Valcartier, Que.

The launcher part of the Heller is 54 inches long and weighs 32 pounds. The rocket itself is 26 ½ inches long and weighs 8 ½ pounds. It can be carried by one soldier and be fired from the shoulder while sitting, kneeling or standing. There is no recoil.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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The Woods Recognition Cards; The Tens

Playing cards marked with silhouettes to practice recognition of armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft were a novelty given or sold to soldiers during the Cold War. A late edition of such cards was produced by Woods Manufacturing, of Ottawa, Ontario, (now Guthrie Woods).

The four tens for this deck, pictured above, featured the following:

• A-10 Thunderbolt
• SU-25 FROGFOOT
• 2S3 Self-Propelled Howitzer
• M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer

See also, the Jokers, the Aces, and the Kings.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 8 June 2016 6:46 PM EDT

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The Woods Recognition Cards; The Jacks

Playing cards marked with silhouettes to practice recognition of armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft were a novelty given or sold to soldiers during the Cold War. A late edition of such cards was produced by Woods Manufacturing, of Ottawa, Ontario, (now Guthrie Woods).

The four jacks for this deck, pictured above, featured the following:

• MIRAGE III
• MIG-25 FOXBAT
• T54-55 Main Battle Tank
• Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank

See also, the Jokers, the Aces, and the Kings.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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The Woods Recogniton Cards; The Queens

Playing cards marked with silhouettes to practice recognition of armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft were a novelty given or sold to soldiers during the Cold War. A late edition of such cards was produced by Woods Manufacturing, of Ottawa, Ontario, (now Guthrie Woods).

The four queens for this deck, pictured above, featured the following:

• F-15 EAGLE
• Su-20 FITTER
• T-62 Main Battle Tank
• Challenger Main Battle Tank

See also, the Jokers, the Aces, and the Kings.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Characteristics of the Soviet Soldier in Battle

The Soviet Army, Tactics and Organization, 1949 (Reprinted with Amendments (No. 1), 1951)

The Russian soldier is extremely brave in the attach, stubborn in defence, and sets little value upon his own life. In addition to this, he is very tough and is an adept at field-craft, having all of the cunning of a hunter. His up-bringing has taught him to be self-reliant and resourceful, to live on the country, and to improvise anything from a sledge to a bridge capable of bearing tanks. Propaganda teaches him to regard an enemy soldier as a personal enemy, rather than the representative of a warring state, and on the strength of this he fights bitterly and ruthlessly.

Despite this natural courage, he is liable to become flustered, and alarmed when he first encounters something that he does not understand such as a tank attack, bombing and strafing, or an artillery concentration. But he learns how to deal with such situations after a little experience, and then they have less effect upon him than upon more civilized races.

There is a great shortage of technicians in the Soviet Army, and those available are mainly drafted into technical units, such as armour, artillery, engineers, and signals.

There are very few amenities in the Soviet Army, and consequently the administrative tail is considerably less than in most other armies. The Russian soldier is used to frugality and accepts it without complaining, as he has never known better conditions.

Officers have been brought up under similar conditions to the men, though a new officer class, specially trained and selected, is now beginning to appear. The majority of officers are painstakingly thorough, but are inclined to be slow, and lacking in initiative. As a result, all authority is centralized, and senior officers, such as corps and army commanders take too great a share in actual manoeuvre of sub-units. But a proportion of officers, particularly at the highest levels, are both thorough and brilliant, and this proportion will increase as time goes on. Most officers at present have battle experience, and have proved themselves adequate; no good officers have been demobilized, apart from some industrial specialists.

Examples of Russian bravery and toughness , quoted from German sources, are as follows:—

(a) Physical toughness. A Red Army rifle battalion attacked the outskirts of Medin at dawn in January 1942, in a temperature of minus 43 degrees Fahrenheit. After heavy casualties, the attack came to a standstill on a snowfield, no further movement being possible. The survivors remained lying motionless in the snow for 10 hours, without any special protection from the cold, and then renewed the attack at dusk with shouts of 'Hurrah!'

(b) Fighting despite privation. A Red Army task force, which had broken through the German line in wooded country, avoided all German attempts to destroy it for 12 days, and made seven attempts to break out. On the thirteenth day, the task force, consisting of 60 men, was surrounded and annihilated. It had, without any supplies, and without facilities for keeping a fire going, fed itself on only the bark of trees, fir shoots, and snow.

(c) Effect of propaganda. A reconnaissance pilot shot down at Yukknov in the spring of 1942, landed by parachute in the street. He immediately opened up vigorous tommy-gun fire on German soldiers running towards him, and forced them to attack in a regular manner, employing mortars. After wounding six Germans, he shot himself through the head with one of his last bullets, to avoid capture.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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Principles of Survival Operations

Extracted from the Canadian Army Manual of Training; Survival Operations (1961), (Revised May 1962); CAMT 2-91

The following principles have been established for planning survival operations:

(1)     Speed in executing rescue operations is of paramount importance to the saving of life.

(2)     All forces not committed to active operations against enemy forces must be available for survival operations.

(3)     Maximum manpower must be brought to bear on rescue operations in time to be effective.

(4)     Survival plans must be flexible to take account of various wind and weather conditions and various attack patterns.

(5)     Surviva1 plans must be simple and must have been rehearsed so that effective operations may start on minimum orders, or in the absence of orders.

(6)     Equipment and commodities essential to survival operations must be located outside of probable target areas. Despite the vulnerability of units located inside target areas, plans must aim at their maximum use and must provide far their rapid outward movement to assembly areas.

(7)     Basic information needed to carry out re-entry operations must be collected beforehand and must be kept up to date.

(8)     Authority must be decentralized so that local commanders have the necessary powers to execute their assigned responsibilities in case of interrupted communication with higher headquarters.

(9)     Forces engaged in survival operations should be self-sufficient in essential commodities for the period of such operations. National reserves of equipment needed for survival operations must be decentralized because of expected transportation difficulties.

(10)     Forces engaged in survival operations may have to be relieved at an early stage in order to participate in active operations against the enemy or to conduct survival operations elsewhere in Canada.

(11)     Efforts will be directed towards ensuring that maximum warning of the likelihood of an attack is provided to elements of government and the civilian population. Similarly, dissemination of the TAKE COVER and FALLOUT warnings must be provided far on the highest possible priority.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 29 June 2014 8:24 PM EDT

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The Heller Antitank Missile, the AVRO Arrow fighter, The Bra d'Or hydrofoil and the Bobcat armoured personnal carrier: all Canadian miltary programs that were cancelled.

Canada's Defence Needs

The Evening Citizen (editorial); 1 March 1946

Because Canada's permanent peacetime defence forces are modest in size, the criticism is heard that they are inadequate for a country that aspires to be a leader among the smaller nations. The criticism fails to take into account of the revolution which new weapons invented during the late war has effected in strategy and tactics as well as in industrial potential.

The Canadian army, as has been officially announced, is to consist of 25,000 permanent force and 180,000 reserve—partly trained reinforcements. The navy is to have a permanent force of 10,000 officers and men with 18,000 reserve and sixteen ships, including two light aircraft-carriers. The air force will be composed of approximately 20,500 men, active and auxiliary, with 10,000 reserve.

Admittedly, this is a small force. But the issue is not its size but its adequacy to present defence needs and to Canada's obligations under the United Nations charter.

Despite upheavals and violence in so many regions of the globe today, there is no threat of a major war in either hemisphere. The twin menaces of Germany and Japan have vanished and cannot reappear for another thirty or forty years in any circumstances. Russia, as Stalin has just emphasized, wants a long period of peace.

All that this Dominion, therefore, needs is the minimum force and equipment required for essential training and for participation in the international police force yet to be organized to sustain world peace. Size, after all, in modern armies is less important than it ever was. With only the one hundred thousand men permitted by the Versailles treaty, Hitler and the Nazi war-makers were able to discretely build up the mightiest army in the world. With only a few hundred fighter-pilots, the Royal Air Force was able to win the Battle of Britain against four times its numbers and so change the course of history.

It is not the size but highly developed technical skill and scientifically-designed equipment and armaments that will win future wars if the nations are insane enough to undertake them. In this age of mechanism, victory is likely to rest not with the big battalions but with the most powerful machines and the most deadly arms and those best trained to use them.

Consequently, rather than concentrating on numerically large defence forces, this Dominion ought to concentrate on research into modern weapons, how best to develop them and how best to counter them; on the scientific study of warfare as invention has changed it; and on the production of a small elite force of fighting specialists who keep the closest liaison with all parallel developments in Great Britain and the United States.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 14 June 2014 8:54 PM EDT

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Sgts George Genge, Marc Bouchard and Peter Anderson compare mock-ups of the TOW missile (background) and the SS-11, which TOW replaced. Canadian Armed Forces Sentinel magazine 1977, Vol. 13, Number 2.

French Weapon Ordered (1959)

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Notes on the Fantasian Army

These notes, from the 1960s, provided the organization of the Fantasian Army, the enemy force used in Staff Colleges, Army schools, and for training exercises in the UK and Canada during much of the Cold War.

Notes on the Fantasian Army, 1964

Introduction

1.     These notes are intended to provide order of battle information on the ground forces of an exercise enemy known as Fantasia.

2.     The Fantasian Army is organised and equipped on the model of the Soviet Army, and is trained by Soviet advisers. The information on the Soviet Army given in "Tactics of the Soviet Army, Notes for Regimental Officers 1964", (WO Code No. 9939) therefore applies to the Fantasian Army.

Background Information on Fantasia

3.     Fantasia is a leading world power with considerable industrial resources. It has developed strategic nuclear missiles in the inter-continental range, and tactical free flight and guided nuclear weapons with ranges up to 300 miles.

4.     The Fantasian Army is a modern and well equipped force with a high preponderance of tanks. Particular emphasis is placed on nuclear and chemical warfare, night operations, and the crossing of water obstacles. Military commanders are well trained in high speed offensive operations and, provided everything goes according to their plans, they can be expected to acquit themselves well. Morale is high and it is unlikely that desertion or surrender on on a large scale would occur unless the Fantasians sustained a series of reverses. The Army is backed by large trained reserves and a disciplined population.

Order of Battle

5.     Order of battle tables for the First Fantasian Front (Army Group) are at annexes A to F.

6.     In the Fantasian Army, the "unit" in motor rifle and tank troops is the regiment. These regiments are given individual numbers. Their sub-units, such as motor rifle battalions, are designated under a system illustrated at Annex G. Individual numbers are also given to certain battalion and company type units of supporting arms and services in division and higher formations, as shown in Annexes A to E.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 27 May 2014 8:35 PM EDT

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Civil Defence Order 1959

Extracted ftom the Canadian Army Manual of Training; Survival Operations (1961), (Revised May 1962); CAMT 2-91

1.     This Order may be cited as the Civil Defence Order, 1959.

2.     In this Order, the expression "civil defence powers, duties and functions includes powers, duties and functions relating to the matter of "preparation for civil defence against enemy action" mentioned in section 4 of the National Defence Act.

4.     The Minister of National Health and Welfare shall have and exercise the following civil defence powers, duties and functions:

a.      assistance to provincial and municipal governments and to others in connection with the organization, preparation and operation of:

(1)     medical, nursing, hospital and public health services, and

(2)     services to provide emergency accommodation, emergency feeding, emergency supplies, guidance and welfare assistance for persons who have lost or left their homes because of acts of war or apprehended acts of war; and

b.     maintenance and operation of the Civil Defence School at Arnprior, Ontario.

5.     The Minister of Justice shall have, and through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, shall exercise the civil defence power, duty and function to assist provincial governments and municipalities and their police forces, except as provided in section 3 above, in

a.     maintaining law and order; and

b.     controlling and directing traffic in connection with civil defence exercises and operations.

6.     The Prime Minister shall have, and through the Emergency Measures Organization, shall exercise the following civil defence powers, duties and functions:

a.     the ca-ordination of civil defence planning by departments and agencies of the Government of Canada;

b.     the preparation of civil defence plans in relation to matters that are not the responsibility of any other department or agency of the Government of Canada;

c.     assistance to provincial governments and municipalities in respect of preparation for civil defence where assistance is not the responsibility of any other department or agency of the Government of Canada; and

d.     general liaison with other countries, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and with provincial governments on matters relating to civil defence.

7.     Where any matters in sections 3, 4, 5 or 6 would, but for this Order, be a power, duty or Function of a Minister other than the one referred to therein, that power, duty or function is hereby transferred to the Minister referred to in the section in which that matter is mentioned.

8.      This Order does not have the effect of transferring the control or supervision of any members of the public service from one Minister of the Crown to any other Minister of the Crown, or from one department or portion of the public service to any other department or portion of the public service."

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Canadian Army Journal, Vol. XIV, No. 4, Fall 1960

All Canadian Forces To Feel Some Effect of Austerity Program

The Montreal Gazette, 21 August 1962

Ottawa—(CP)—The Canadian defence buildup announced 11 months ago as part of NATO's response to the Berlin crisis will be only partially implemented because of the government's austerity program, officials said yesterday.

The planned manpower increase in the Army to 59,000 from 48,000 will be halted at the current level of about 52,000 men.

Other belt-tightening measures in the defence department:

1. Disbandment of the four CF-100 jet night fighter squadrons in Europe beginning early next year.

2. Disbandment of the Navy's Banshee jet fighter squadron next month. This squadron, when not at seas aboard the carrier Bonaventure, formed art of the North American Air Defence Command, the planes were armed with Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

3. Disbandment of the radar unit which controlled operations of the planes of the RCAF Air Division in Europe. This job will be taken over by other NATO radars.

4. Disbandment of the North Star transport squadron at St. Hubert, Que.

5. Cancellation or deferment of construction of some gap-filler radars in Canada. Role of these radars is detection of low-flying planes.

6. Reduction of postings and travel in the three services.

7. At least temporary deferment of purchase of three submarines from Britain because Britain so far has not agreed to place and order for equipment in Canada. Canada tries hard to sell the Bobcat armoured personnel carrier to the British Army but the British government announced last week it will go ahead with production of its own carrier, the Trojan.

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They enemy they prepared for: The armies of the Warsaw Pact.
In this photo Russian T54-2 tanks advance across open ground. (Source)

Ottawa Citizen; 17 April 1956

Army Games will Stress Atomic War

More than 10,500 troops of the Canadian Army will be exercised under simulated conditions of nuclear warfare from July 26 to August 3 at Camp Gagetown, N,B., Army Headquarters announced today.

Exercise "Morning Star" will culminate a six-week training concentration for troops of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. It will be the second peacetime divisional exercise in the history of the Canadian Army, and the first to emphasize aspects of nuclear battle as they would affect a fighting infantryman.

Director of the exercise will be Maj.-Gen. E.C. Plow, CBE, DSO, CD, General Officer Commanding Eastern Command. Deputy Director will be the General Officer Commanding 1st Canadian Infantry Division, Maj.-Gen. J.M. Rockingham, CB, CBE, DSO, CD.
(1911-1987)

The Royal Canadian Air Force will provide air support for 1st Division and for "enemy forces."

Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph; 26 July, 1956

Canadian Soldiers in Mythical Combat

Camp Gagetown, N.B. (CP)—Two groups of Canadian soldiers separated by a 10-mile neutral zone while mythical war clouds blackened overhead, declared a simulated atomic war Wednesday night in the rugged hills of this central new Brunswick training camp.

The declaration of war between more than 10,000 members of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division climaxes weeks of almost-real tension building on both sides of the neutral strip which separates the two hypothetical countries.

Both sides have simulated atomic weapons and, theoretically, if one side stages all-out atomic warfare the first day the battle could end. But this is unlikely. The exercise is not scheduled to end until Aug 2.

Almost Real

As part of the pre-war tension building the army has documented a situation that pits two small countries against each other in a bitter cold war. Apart from the fact that all soldiers belong to the same army and dead ammunition (sic) will be used the situation is remarkably real.

Soldiers and officers have been instructed against discussing manoeuvres in messes. "Spies" from the other side have been apprehended by both groups. All movements are top secret. Positions of men are guarded with amazing seriousness. Both sides are outwardly determined to win. Generally the tenseness has reached its peak.

To give this Exercise Morning Star an apparent purpose the army has given the two involved countries a bit of history—one bad, the other good. "Blueland" is a small friendly country seeking peace. "Fantasia" is run by a "slick crowd" of aggressors.

Cold War Due to Break

In theory the whole structure of New Brunswick has been changed and the Atlantic Ocean now comes to the border of the 427-square mile camp. The cold was is smoldering on the sub-continent of Atlanta, about 1000 miles from Canada where Blueland and other democratic nations are trying to get along with the aggressive Fantasians. In 1952 when Fantasia's aggressive policy reached a peak, 14 free countries, including Canada, formed a pact, the Federation of Free Countries, which means collective defence against an aggressor.

The Fantasians are the aggressor and they will be met today by troops of the FFC. Then for a week they will push and withdraw along a 20-mile front as a group of officers from the Canadian Army Staff College assess casualties and rule on eventual victory.

It's the biggest exercise of its type ever carried out in Canada, and until it ends, all personnel will live under actual wartime conditions. They will sleep near the roar of huge Sherman tanks and the screams of air force and navy jet aircraft. Helmets will be worn continuously and prisoners will be marched back behind friendly lines. "Dead" soldiers will be tagged by umpires and taken out of action.

A-Bombs Too

The exercise is under the direction of Maj.-Gen. E.C. Plow, chief of the army's eastern command. and Maj.-Gen. J.M. Rockingham, commander of the 1st Division will be assistant director. Other positions will be taken by a large group of senior officers.

Before the exercise started tents of intelligence officers hummed with activity in both camp. There were reports of small infiltrations, new positions, camp movements and light manoeuvres. Everything was filed.

When either side sets off an atomic bomb they will use an indicator of smoke and gunpowders. The smoke will mushroom to the sky and umpires will study wind conditions to see how many men die from radiation. The umpiring staff from the army college include a group of exchange officers from such countries as France, Pakistan and the United States.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EST

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The Douglas DC-3 Dakota (CC-129) was a workhorse for the Royal Canadian Ar Force from the Second World War until it was finally retired in 1988. Unofficially called the "Gooney Bird" by US flyers, it was nicknamed the "Dak" in Canada.

The 1960s recruting card above (image cropped) included the following text on the reverse:

"Often caled "old faithful", the Dakota has been part of the air fleet for more than 20 years. Cruising at 150 mph it can carry a maximum of 21 passengers a distance of 500 miles. Today, Dakotas are still providing transport for all commands of the service."

More on the Dakota:

• Douglas DC-3 (CC-129) Dakota (RCAF)
• Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Wikipedia)
• Douglas CC-129 DAKOTA (Canadian Wings)
• Douglas DC-3 Dakota (Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum)

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 13 September 2013 9:45 AM EDT

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Playing cards marked with silhouettes to practice recognition of armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft were a novelty given or sold to soldiers during the Cold War. A late edition of such cards was produced by Woods Manufacturing, of Ottawa, Ontario, (now Guthrie Woods).

The four aces for this deck, pictured above, featured the following:

• Tornado (UK/FRL/IT)
• MiG-27 FLOGGER (Russia)
• T-72 (Russia) MBT
• Leopard 2 (NATO) MBT

See also, the Jokers, and the Aces.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 16 July 2013 10:14 PM EDT

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The Heller Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher was a 3.2 inch calibre rocket launcher. It was developed as a Canadian project to upgrade the original 2.36 inch Bazooka. The projectile rocket was inserted in the rear of the tube, and two wires were uncoiled from the rocket's tail section and connected to terminals to complete an electric firing circuit when the trigger was pulled.

The Heller was replaced by the U.S. 3.5 inch Rocket Launcher, which broke down into two sections and only required the flipping of a lever to engage the power source and projectile. This was eventually replaced in turn by the 84 mm Anti-Tank Gun, the "Carl Gustav."

From a now apparently defunct page published by the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV):

Heller : An Anti-Tank Rocket

In August 1950, at the height of the Korean War, the Army sought to accelerate the Heller project in order to equip its troops with an anti-tank rocket. The work of the Canadian Army Research and Development Establishment (CARDE) scientists led to the emergence of the first complete weapon, ammunition and fire control system to have been designed, developed and manufactured in Canada. In 1951, the Minister of National Defence, Brooke Claxton, announced a major rearmament program for the Canadian Armed Forces. For him, there was a real threat of general war, and it was imperative that the nation be rearmed as quickly as possible. This meant that most of the effort of CARDE's scientific wings was focussed on the Velvet Glove and Heller projects. In February 1952, Heller reached the engineering test final design stage. In April 1955, in a formal press release, the Department described it as "an anti-tank missile with a unique recoilless propulsion system utilizing a Canadian breakthrough in propulsion engineering and design."

These photos and stats are from the Canadian Army Manual of Training Infantry Platoon Weapons Launcher Rocket A-Tk 3.2inch CDN. 1956.

• Launcher - 54 inches long (137.2cm)
• Launcher with tripod - 28.5lbs (12.9kg)
• Rangefinder Sight - 5lbs (2.3kg)
• HE A tk rocket - penetrate 11 inches of homogeneous armour at 90 degrees and approximately 5 inches at 64 degrees
• Maximum Range - 2860 yards (2615m)
• Operating Range - 300 yards (274m)
• Maximum Effective Range - 450 yards (411m)
• Maximum Rate of Fire - 5 rounds/minute

In Memoriam

In January 1957, two soldiers of The Royal Canadian Regiment were killed in a training accident involving the Heller anti-tank rocket launcher. Privates J.I. Doucette and F.E. Duff, both of the 2nd Battalion, The RCR, were attached to the Royal Canadian School of Infantry at the rime of the acident. The following memorial notes were published in the regimental journal, The Connecting File, dated Summer, 1957:

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 5 July 2013 10:23 AM EDT

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This 1960s Recruiting information card produced by the Canadian Armed Forces shows an early Canadian variant of the M109 self propelled howitzer. The back of the card reads as follows:—

"The M109 self-propelled 155-mm howitzer increases the firepower and mechanization of the artillery. The 25-ton, tracked, amphibious gun with aluminum armour, carries a crew of six, has a range of 11 miles and can travel at 20 mph across rough terrain and for a stream at foutr mph."

For more information on the M109:

• The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
• M109 155mm Self-propelled Howitzer; at artillery.net
• M109 howitzer; at Wikipedia
• M109 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer 1960-2005; Google Books
• Self Propelled Guns; at canadiansoldiers.com

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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ENTAC Anti-Tank Guided Missile

Recruiters' Info Card

The ENTAC anti-tank guided missile (Engin Téléguidé Antichar) provides reconnaissance units ad infantry with a capacity of destroying enemy armour at ranges up to 2000 metres. It is a self-propelled roll stabilized, wire guided missile with solid propellant propulsion. The 27-pound Missile is guided to its target by a "pilot" using a "joystick."

Canada's early use of anti-tank guided missiles included the French designed and manufactured ENTAC. Developed in the 1950s, Canada placed an order in 1959, with delivery from 1960 to 1963 of approximately 2000 missiles.

The ENTAC missile system was deployed by Canada mounted on the Ferret Scout Car and the M38A1 Canadian Jeep. The ENTAC was deployed in combination with 106 mm recoilless rifles and SS11B anti-tank guided missiles.

• Cutaway model – Smithsonian; National Air and Space Museum
• Flight International, Nov 1962, article AntiTank

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Derived from the M113 armoured personnel carrier, the M113½ LYNX, with its cut down hull, rear-positioned engine and lighter weight, was a speedy and highly manoeuverable recce varuiant of its big brother. The high degree of parts compatibility with the M113 also meant that the logistic burden to maintain the vehicles did not require a fully separate set of spares.

The Canadianized variant of the M113½ placed the observer behind the driver and located the Commander's staion to the right of the center line. The vehicle was armed with a medium machine gun for the observeer and a pintle mounted .50-cal machine gun for the crew commander.

Canada purchased 174 of these vehicles starting in 1968 for the Regular Force. They were issued to the Recce Squadrons of the Army's armoured regiments and to the infantry battalion Recce Platoons. The Lynx was withdrawn from Canadian service in 1993, replaced by the Coyote recce vehicle.

A few dozen Lynx remain as gate guards, and another half dozen running examples are known. A listing of these can be found on Wikipedia.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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The photo and text above are taken from a Canadian Armed Forces Recruiting handout card. A series of these cards were produced showing the variety of weapon systems and vehicles used by the Canadian Army in the 1960s.

The "B" model of the French SS11 anti-tank missile entered production in 1962 and fielded by Canada in 1965. Mounted in a triple launcher on the robust 3/4-tonne truck, the launcher was rotated to fire off the side of the stationary vehicle by a controller positioned to the side of the launch site with a wired control unit. The SS11B was deployed in Germany with 3 R22eR (roled as an anti-tank battalion) in combination with 106 mm recoilless rifles and ENTAC anti-tank guided missiles.

The 6.8 Kg shaped charge warhead of the SS11B was capable of penetrating 600 mm of steel plate angled at 30 degrees. At that level of capability it was already limited in the angles of attack it could effectively use to destroy the newest Soviet Main Mattle Tank, the T-64, which was protected by 20-450 mm (0.79-18 in) of glass-reinforced plastic sandwiched between layers of steel.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 23 March 2013 3:09 PM EDT

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Playing cards marked with silhouettes to practice recognition of armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft were a novelty given or sold to soldiers during the Cold War. A late edition of such cards was produced by Woods Manufacturing, of Ottawa, Ontario, (now Guthrie Woods.

The four aces for this deck, pictured above, featured the following:

• M1A2 Abram Main Battle Tank (MBT) (US)
• T80 Main Battle Tank (MBT) (Russian)
• MIG-29 FULCRUM (Russia)
• CF-18 HORNET (Canada/US)

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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