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73-838: The corps was formed as the Canadian Armoured Corps in 1940, within the Canadian Army (Active). In August 1945, it was given its "royal" designation, and following the Second World War, several Reserve Force units were incorporated into the corps. From 1968 until 2013, it was officially named the Armoured Branch . Originally formed as the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1910, Canada's first tank units were not raised until late in 1918. Initially these units were considered to be part of

146-410: A 105mm M68A1E4 rifled cannon with a fume extractor and an autoloader . The vehicle is primarily outfitted to support infantry combat operations. While it could take on some of the roles of a tank, it is not primarily intended or designed to engage in combat with main battle tanks . The MGS can store 18 rounds of main gun ammunition: 8 in the autoloader's carousel and 10 in a replenisher located at

219-646: A LAV III in January 1999. The turret was an updated version of the one used on the GD– Teledyne Expeditionary Tank , which was entered into the Armored Gun System competition in the 1980s. In October 1999, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki laid out his vision for a lighter, more transportable force. He called for mid-weight brigades that would strike a balance between heavy armor and infantry. The Army subsequently launched

292-740: A contract to produce 300 partially fitted out Valentine tanks for the British; this was followed later with one for 488 complete tanks for Canada. However, the Valentine was an infantry tank and Canada required a cruiser tank for its recently formed armoured division. In the end 1,940 Valentines were produced by CPR most of which were supplied to the USSR. Although the Valentine used a number of American produced parts, its reliance on British components, difficulties in adapting its manufacture to North American methods, and other problems such as limitations to

365-578: A formation mounted reconnaissance capability. Units on the Supplementary Order of Battle legally exist, but have no personnel or matériel. List of current vehicles operated by the RCAC include: RCHA on parade without guns: (See note below) RCHA on parade with guns: (See note below) Note: The honour of "The Right of the Line" (precedence over other units), on an army parade, is held by

438-573: A main battle tank (MBT) and related heavier equipment for warfighting. However, by the mid-1990s elements of the Canadian army were envisioning the ACV replacing both the AVGP Cougar and Canada's obsolescent Leopard 1 MBTs as part of a move to a medium-weight wheeled army. In 2003, Canada announced that it would replace its Leopard 1s with lightweight M1128 mobile gun systems . This decision

511-729: A quick air transportable fighting vehicle by the CAST Brigade for Cold War service in Norway and later with the 1st Canadian Division in NATO's CENTAG . They were too light to be effective against MBTs however the end of the Cold War allowed their deployment on stability operations in Serbia and Somalia, tank crew training in Canada, and limited service alongside Leopard tanks brought back from

584-477: A quick air transportable fighting vehicles and used by the CAST Brigade for service in Norway and later with the 1st Canadian Division committed to NATO's CENTAG . They were too light to be effective against MBTs however the end of the Cold War meant they were used in stability operations in Bosnia and Somalia and relegated to training the tank crews in Canada that later received repatriated Leopard C1 tanks from

657-541: A requirement. By 2000, the Army found its existing ammunition stockpile of 105 mm rounds to be in poor condition, with more than half determined to be either unusable or obsolete. The Army solicited industry to produce new ammunition to replenish the stockpile. L3 Communications completed low rate production of M393 high-explosive plastic HEP-T and M467 training rounds in 2004. 10,000 combat and 18,400 training rounds were ultimately produced by L3. The coaxial weapon

730-496: A tank arsenal was set up under the management of a subsidiary of a US firm engaged in tank production in order to build the Ram and Grizzly tanks and their variants in Canada. Events of the Second World War thrust Canada into large scale tank production with thousands of Valentine, Ram, and Grizzly (Sherman) tanks and their armoured variants being produced. Canada also went on to build modern armoured fighting vehicles that served during

803-575: Is an 7.62 mm caliber M240 machine gun . The commander's weapon is a M2 Browning 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher can be mounted. Because the vehicle was originally designed without air conditioning (A/C), crews were given cooling vests that circulate cooled water from outside the vehicle to the garment. Vehicle computers still overheated regularly. All MGS Stryker platforms have since been upgraded with A/C units. The large weapon station and relatively smaller hatch can make emergency exits difficult. The main cannon

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876-486: Is separate from the crew compartment. A gun stoppage during combat can be cleared only by exiting the vehicle. M1128 suffered of lack of reliability, excessive dead space, gun size, and gun control issues, taking its development to a limited production in 2010 with 142 units in service. As originally projected the U.S. Army allocated nine mobile gun systems (3 per infantry company) to a battalion , making for 27 mobile gun systems per " Stryker brigade" in 2013, but later

949-454: Is to educate and train army junior officers in the integration of combat functions at the combat team level on the tactical battlefield. A doctrinal Canadian armoured regiment consists of four squadrons of medium to heavy tanks , as well as a close reconnaissance troop equipped with light tanks and/or armoured cars . When required an armoured regiment will be tasked to provide an armoured squadron to its higher formation to provide it with

1022-804: The 82nd Airborne Division and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment . Four competitive bids emerged. In June 1992, the Army selected the FMC Close Combat Vehicle, Light proposal. This was later type-classified as the M8 armored gun system . In 1996, the Army canceled the AGS due to the service's budgetary constraints. Following the end of the Cold War some theorists believed that the existing suite of U.S. armored vehicles, designed largely to fight Soviet mechanized forces in Europe, were not well suited to

1095-578: The Canadian Forces in Germany that were disbanded in 1994. The experience gained by the Cougar and AVGP program evolved into the highly successful, made in Canada, LAV-25 and LAV III armoured vehicles that have been deployed by armies around the world. The Coyote Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle is a Canadian produced eight-wheeled armoured reconnaissance vehicle based on and upgraded version of

1168-518: The IDF as variants. Overall, the Canadian Centurion tanks served for 25 years, from January 1952 to January 1977 when they were replaced by Leopard 1. Originally intended to be used as a tank trainer in Canada and as a light armoured vehicle in peace keeping missions Cougars entered service in the late 1970s in Canadian based regular and reserve Armoured Recce Regiments. They were also used as

1241-588: The Interim Armored Vehicle acquisition program. One of the required vehicles was the MGS. According to Shinseki, the MGS's mission differed greatly from the AGS. the AGS was also intended to be used in the anti-armor role, whereas primary targets for the MGS included bunkers, buildings, weapon positions and troops. A team of GM Defense of Canada and GDLS submitted a variant of the LPT assault gun to meet

1314-652: The Machine Gun Corps and the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion, 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion and the 3 Bataillon de chars d'assaut were all too late to join the fighting in the First World War. However, the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion was still training in Mark V tanks in the U.K. when the Canadian Tank Corps was finally authorized two days after the armistice. It seems like tanks were forgotten by

1387-679: The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps can be broken down into smaller categories: their origin during World War I ; the interwar period; World War II ; the Cold War ; and the modern era. Originally formed as the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1910, Canada's first tank units were not raised until late in 1918. Initially, these units were considered to be part of the Machine Gun Corps and the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion; 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion and

1460-545: The bases in Germany when the bases were closed in 1994. [REDACTED] Media related to Tanks of Canada at Wikimedia Commons Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , Tanks in World War I Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , interwar period Background: History of the tank , Tank classification , Tanks in the Cold War Background: History of

1533-425: The cavalry corps, from which many armoured regiments were created and in fact the first "armoured" regiments were titled "mechanized cavalry" regiments, and the second being the tank corps (which formerly belonged to first the infantry and then the machine gun corps). This began in 1936 with the creation of tank battalions and continued on from 1940 when many other types of regiment were mobilized as armoured units for

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1606-589: The 1,400 Valentines they built as they were supplied under lend-lease to the Soviet Union. In early 1941 the 1st Tank Brigade was sent to Britain and equipped with the Matilda infantry tank . For the formation of two armoured divisions it was expected that 1,200 cruiser tanks were needed. The United Kingdom was not in a position to supply them, as it had shortfalls in supply for its own needs. This meant that Canada had to develop its own production. To this end

1679-472: The 1st Army Tank Brigade, Valentine tanks were ordered. This British design was to be built in Canada. Aside from the necessary adjustments to the design to incorporate local engineering standards and available components, the Canadian Valentines used a GMC engine. This engine, being an improvement over the original, was later applied to British production. In practice, Canada never used most of

1752-400: The 1st Army Tank Brigade, Valentine tanks were ordered. This British design was to be built in Canada. Aside from the necessary adjustments to the design to incorporate local engineering standards and available components, the Canadian Valentines used a GMC engine. This engine, being an improvement over the original, was later applied to British production. Even before the loss of the majority of

1825-585: The 3e Bataillon de chars d'assaut were all too late to join the fighting in the First World War. However, the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion was still training in Mark V tanks in the U.K. when the Canadian Tank Corps was finally authorized two days after the armistice. The first tanks since the First World War did not arrive until a few Vickers Mark VI light tanks appeared the year before Canada went to war with Germany again. From these modest beginnings,

1898-603: The ACV MBT-like firepower but still left it unable to manoeuvre in the presence of a capable enemy. Operational research also highlighted an additional, unintended consequence of removing MBTs from the Canadian army. Their loss would also remove the tank-based armoured engineering vehicles and bridgelayers as well as the MBT-mounted mine rollers, mine ploughs, and dozer blades which were all needed to deal with enemy obstacles under fire. The study recommended that none of

1971-509: The ACV's planned weak armour and firepower meant that it could not manoeuvre in the presence of a modern enemy and that it could only use ambush tactics against modern MBTs and AFVs, becoming in effect a death trap if it tried, at all, to fulfil the MBT role. Operational research also looked at the benefits of giving the ACV a through-the-barrel (TBM) as well as the equivalent of 400mm of additional armour. The research found that such improvements gave

2044-608: The Armoured Corps, as well as anti-armour responsibilities from the Artillery Corps. Towards the close of the Second World War, the corps was subsequently bestowed the honour of the 'royal' designation by King George VI in 1945. Initially its equipment was 219 US M1917 tanks  – a First World War design – obtained at scrap prices. They were sufficient for some training and familiarisation, but otherwise of very limited combat use. To form

2117-469: The Army approved the transfer of four AGS production vehicles to the 82nd Airborne Division to be used in Iraq. In June 2004, this plan was put on hold while the Army determined whether the MGS could meet the 82nd's requirements. In August, the Army conducted an air-drop test of a Stryker M1132 engineer squad vehicle weighted to simulate the load of the MGS. Around the same time, the Army identified issues with

2190-446: The Army cut the number per brigade to 10. As of May 2017, a Stryker brigade combat team is equipped with three platoons of MGS Strykers and three platoons of ATGM Strykers in its weapons troop. The Army purchased 142 mobile gun systems in total. Three were lost in combat. The Army planned to authorize 32 mobile gun systems to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (BCT). However due to the low numbers produced, only nine were allocated to

2263-529: The Badger did see action as a flame thrower tank in NW Europe, and former gun tanks as Command tanks. From 1969 to 1970 the Canadian Army lists 77 tanks in Germany (mostly Mk 5 and Mk 11's). The remainder in Canada (60 at CFB Wainwright AB, 59 at CFSD Longpointe PQ, 46 at CFB Gagetown NB, 30 at CFB Borden, 29 at CFB Meaford ON, 27 at CFB Calgary AB, 12 at CFB Petawawa ON, 6 at RCEME School Kingston ON and 1 at

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2336-537: The Canadian Army. Crewmen and officers are trained on the Leopard 2A4 MBT , Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle , LAV-6 , and Textron Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle . The Tactics School at CFB Gagetown develops, conducts and monitors combined-arms operations . Within a battle group context, the Tactics School focusses on tactics, techniques, and procedures at the combat team level. The Tactics School's mission

2409-589: The Canadian Army. Often there were revisions to the original specification driven by Canadian requirements. It wasn't until the late 1970s that an armoured vehicle was fielded by Canadian Armoured Regiments that was developed and built in Canada. Although not a Main Battle Tank, the Cougar AVGP - manufactured at GM Diesel Division in London, ON (now part of General Dynamics Land Systems) was envisioned. The AVGP

2482-567: The Cavalry after the war. Although, in the 1930s there were some small attempts at mechanization with motorcycles, experimental armoured cars and the purchase of a few tracked Carden-Loyd machine gun carriers for training. However, the first tanks since the First World War did not arrive until a few machine gun armed Vickers Mark VI light tanks appeared just one year before Canada went to war with Germany again. Canadian armoured regiments split their heritage between two primary sources. The first being

2555-785: The Cold War, the War in Afghanistan and global peacekeeping operations. In 1955, the corps was given an official French title ( Corps blindé royal canadien ) in addition to the English title. In 1968, with the unification of the Canadian Army into the Canadian Armed Forces , the name of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps was changed to simply the Armour Branch . Despite the change however,

2628-638: The Corps continued to use its traditional title. In 2003, Canada planned to replace all its tanks with lightweight M1128 mobile gun systems . In 2007, due to experience gained during Afghanistan , Leopard tanks were purchased. As of April 2013, the traditional designation of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps has been restored for official use. The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School at CFB Gagetown , New Brunswick, designs and conducts tactical and technical training for armoured crewmen and officers, in addition to maintaining specialized qualifications on behalf of

2701-562: The LAV-25, 203 entered Canadian service by 1996. As originally conceived in the early 1990s, the armoured combat vehicle (ACV) was intended to replace the AVGP Cougar for the types of missions that it had been called upon to carry out during operations other than war (OOTW) in Somalia and Bosnia. Such a purchase was seen as part of a two-tier equipping strategy – the wheeled 105 mm-armed ACV and some other lighter-weight equipment for OOTW and

2774-640: The LETE Test Establishment Orleans, CFB Ottawa ON) for a total of 347 Tanks, including 120 Mk. 5's, three Mk. 5 Recovery tanks and some Mk. 11's fitted with IR and coaxial ranging guns. Replaced by Leopard C1 MBT, and to a limited extent AVGP Cougars which were intended as a cost saving measure to replace the Centurions that had been used for the training role in Canada. Many of the tanks were sold to Israel which converted them to diesel engines. Some of these hulls are still in use in

2847-467: The M1128 had not been upgraded with a double V-hull. It was more efficient to eliminate the platform and focus on firepower improvements such as equipping Strykers with 30 mm cannons ( M1296 Dragoon ) and CROWS-J mounts, providing better distributed lethality capabilities that will not be lost from removing the MGS. Canada had liquidated about half of its fleet of Leopard 1 main battle tanks in

2920-466: The M393A3 high-explosive squash head plastic round to destroy bunkers, machine gun and sniper positions, and create openings in walls for infantry to access; and M1040 canister shot for use against dismounted infantry in open terrain. In 2001, Rheinmetall announced that it was seeking to incorporate its 105 mm smoothbore low recoil gun on the MGS around 2004. The Army had not articulated such

2993-621: The M4 used 13 tooth drive sprockets. The CDP track was lighter and simpler than the standard US tracks and did not require rubber , which was scarce since the Japanese advance into Southeast Asia. The Canadian Grizzly tank production halted when it became apparent US production would be sufficient. Instead, MLW produced the Sexton self-propelled gun Mk II . The Sexton Mk II used the Grizzly chassis, with

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3066-404: The MGS requirement. General Dynamics was responsible for most of the MGS. United Defense LP proposed an M8 armored gun system (AGS) and two variants of the mobile tactical vehicle light (MTVL), one with the AGS turret and 105mm gun, and another with a 90mm gun. Two other competing contractors submitted bids for infantry carriers, but declined to submit offers for the MGS requirement. Unlike

3139-500: The MGS. The Army deferred full-rate production in 2010. In 2010, GDLS began incorporating explosive reactive armor on MGS production units. In late 2013, the U.S. Army began seeking to reintroduce an airdroppable mobile airborne protected firepower platform to provide fire support for air assault forces, a capability that had been absent since the retirement of the Sheridan in 1997. General Dynamics initially considered modifying

3212-461: The Pentagon approved an Army request to move the vehicle into low-rate production, for a total of 72 vehicles. In August 2008, the Army awarded GDLS a $ 326.5 million contract for the production of 62 MGS. In February 2008, the Pentagon approved full-rate production of the MGS after a Defense Acquisition Review. The Army chose to defer full-rate production while it waited to validate fixes made to

3285-441: The Pentagon approved limited low-rate production of the MGS after a Defense Acquisition Board review. In December 2004, the Army awarded GDLS a $ 206 million contract for the production of 95 Strykers, including the first 14 limited production MGS systems. During limited production, 14 vehicles were produced. During this time, General Dynamics implemented fixes to the ammunition handling system to improve reliability. In November 2004,

3358-533: The Ram tank and other variants that were in action in NW Europe, the Ram tank did not go to war with the Canadian Armoured Divisions. The decision was made to use the new Sherman tank as standard equipment. The Ram's main contribution to the war effort was to fully equip large armoured units formed in Canada and the U.K. with a modern tank it could use to conduct essential tactical training prior to

3431-490: The Second World War later thrust Canada into large scale tank production with thousands of Valentine, Ram, and Grizzly tanks and their armoured variants being produced. Canada would also go on to build modern armoured fighting vehicles that served during the Cold War and the War in Afghanistan . After the fall of France , it was decided the nascent Canadian armoured divisions would be equipped by tanks produced in Canada. To form

3504-440: The Second World War. From these modest beginnings the modern Canadian Armoured Corps began on 13 August 1940 with Major-General (then Colonel) F. F. Worthington as its first colonel-commandant. Over the course of the war from 1939 to 1944, the Armoured Corps gradually took over responsibilities from other corps, such as tank regiments all being converted to armoured regiments, the transition of infantry reconnaissance battalions to

3577-460: The US design. In early 1941 the 1st Tank Brigade was sent to Britain and equipped with the Matilda infantry tank . For the formation of two armoured divisions it was expected that 1,200 cavalry tanks were needed. The United Kingdom was not in a position to supply them, as it had shortfalls in supply for its own needs. This meant that Canada had to develop its own production. To this end a tank arsenal

3650-740: The United Kingdom's tank force in France in 1940 after Dunkirk , it was recognised that tank production in the UK at the start of the war was insufficient and capacity in the US was taken for British needs. So it was necessary that if Canada was to equip with tanks they would have to be manufactured locally. In June 1940 the Canadian Pacific Railway 's Angus Shops in Montreal, as the only large firm with spare capacity, had received

3723-490: The air-dropability of the MGS, among the heavier of the Stryker family. Still more pervasive problems persisted with the autoloader. In January 2005, the Army said it had ruled out fielding the AGS, saying the system lacked a sufficient inventory of spare parts that would be required to maintain the vehicle. The Army doubled down on its support for the MGS, which it said it could begin fielding in summer 2006. In October 2004,

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3796-596: The army to borrow modern Leopard 2 MBTs from Germany for deployment to Kandahar until Canada could buy used Netherlands' Leopard 2s to replace its Leopard 1s . In 2007, Canada abandoned its plan to buy the Mobile Gun System . In the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War, by 24 February 2023 Canada had announced that it would provide Ukraine with eight Leopard II tanks and a Leopard II-based Armoured Recovery Vehicle. The Ram's main contribution

3869-505: The availability of the right type of armour plate affected Valentine production. In practice, Canada never used most of the 1,400 Valentines they built as they were supplied under lend-lease to the Soviet Union. The Canadian Joint Committee on Tank Development concluded in September 1940 that its cruiser tank should be based on a US rather than a British design. This would be quicker and allow it to use components already in production for

3942-628: The contract was awarded, the MGS IOC date slipped two years from December 2001 to November 2003. The Army allowed GM–GDLS to substitute the Stryker ATGM variant for the MGS in the interim. In its protest, UDLP alleged that the Army had known about the schedule slippage before awarding the contract, and unfairly disregarded this in their decision making. GDLS delivered the first of eight pre-production mobile gun systems in July 2002. In March 2004,

4015-412: The early 2000s. The Canadian Army planned to replace the MBTs with 66 mobile gun systems. However in 2007, the Canadian Army reversed itself and decided instead to procure Leopard 2 . The Stryker mobile gun system saw service in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan . The MGS has integral all-around armor protection against 14.5×114mm AP rounds. The MGS commander and gunner are located in

4088-427: The envisioned LAV-based armoured engineer vehicles should be procured, as they were inferior to the Leopard tank-based engineering vehicles then in service. Conventional fighting against the Taliban by the Canadian Army in the Panwayi district of Afghanistan in September 2006 led to a rethinking of the ACV plan. A squadron of Leopard 1s was rushed out to Kandahar Province in Afghanistan and arrangements were made for

4161-413: The infantry carrier variant, MGS prototypes were not evaluated on the Army's proving grounds. This resulted in protests from lawmakers and industry officials. The service maintained that bid samples would be unnecessary and complicate the competition. In September 2000, the Army told bidders it was considering plans to increase by 200 the number of MGS units purchased. Though the service did not say why it

4234-409: The invasions in Italy and Normandy. The Ram was produced in numerous variants, the most notable being the Kangaroo Armoured Personnel Carrier . The M3 was succeeded by the superior M4 Sherman . The Allies agreed to standardise on the M4, and MLW began producing the Canadian version, the Grizzly tanks in August 1943. The Grizzly's suspension used 17-tooth drive sprockets and CDP tracks. In comparison,

4307-436: The lower-intensity missions U.S. military would be tasked with. This led to the development of a new armored fighting vehicle designed for lower-intensity combat, rather than large-scale battle. The General Dynamics mobile gun system originated from the Canadian armoured combat vehicle requirement. In partnership with General Motors , General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS)–Canada integrated its low profile turret (LPT) onto

4380-524: The modern Canadian Armoured Corps began on 13 August 1940. Initially, the Canadian Armoured forces brokered a deal to obtain scrap iron on behalf of the Canadian Government because isolationist laws prohibited the U.S. from foreign arm sales. At the time, there were no tanks available to be acquired from Britain. Therefore, 219 US M1917 tanks , a First World War design, were obtained at scrap prices. They were sufficient to begin some tank training and familiarisation, but were of very limited combat use. Events of

4453-402: The muzzle brake and the hull caused blast overpressures to develop. A solution was found where the "pepper pot" could be covered by a sheet of metal. The MGS's 105 mm cannon can fire four types of ammunition: the M900 kinetic energy penetrator to destroy armored vehicles; the M456A2 high-explosive anti-tank round to destroy thin-skinned vehicles and provide anti-personnel fragmentation;

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4526-469: The rear of the vehicle. It has a rate of fire of ten rounds per minute. The MGS was originally developed for the Canadian Army, which did not have a requirement for transporting the vehicle via C-130. The U.S. Army did have this requirement, and so a design change was required to lower the MGS's height so that the vehicle could fit inside the aircraft. The turret was lowered within the hull. This change caused problems of its own. The reduced distance between

4599-446: The service's planned replacement for the M551 Sheridan light tank . The MGS was procured in limited numbers. It has been retired since the end of 2022 due to design and operational deficiencies. By 1992, the armored gun system (AGS) emerged as a top priority procurement program for the Army. The Army requested proposals for a 20-ton air-droppable light tank to replace the M551 Sheridan . The Army sought 300 AGS systems to go to

4672-410: The tank , Tank classification M1128 mobile gun system The M1128 mobile gun system (MGS) is an eight-wheeled assault gun of the Stryker family, mounting a 105 mm tank gun , based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems for the U.S. Army . The MGS program emerged after the 1996 cancelation of the Army's M8 armored gun system ,

4745-410: The turret basket, which provides the crew some separation from the ammunition in the event of an explosion. According to a Government Accounting Office report released in May 2001, the Army had expressed doubt that this arrangement would provide "any protection from secondary explosions and fires from the main gun ammunition." The MGS's low profile turret has a small silhouette, is stabilized and mounts

4818-407: The units of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery when on parade with their guns. On dismounted parades, RCHA units take precedence over all other land force units except formed bodies of Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College representing their college. RCA units parade to the left of units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Tanks of Canada The history and development of tanks in

4891-435: The upper hull modified to carry the Commonwealth standard QF 25 pounder gun . The Sexton was the Commonwealth counterpart to the US M7 Priest . A small batch of Grizzly medium tank was fitted with an Ordnance QF 17-pounder for training but none saw action. Starting with the introduction of the U.S.-designed and built Sherman tank, Canada began a tradition of acquiring U.S., British and then later German made armour to equip

4964-479: The wheeled Stryker MGS to meet the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program requirement, but the company instead entered a variant of the Griffin light tank . As of May 2016, 3 mobile gun systems had been written off during combat operations out of 142 produced. In May 2021, the Army announced they would divest all mobile gun systems by the end of 2022. The decision was made following an analysis that found its autoloader had become expensive to maintain and that

5037-437: Was interested in more MGS units, however Defense Daily speculated that the Army could equip light divisions with the MGS. In November 2000, GM–GDLS won the contract for both the infantry carrier and MGS. The MGS was later type classified as the M1128. GM–GDLS was forced to suspend work on the IAV while the Government Accounting Office evaluated UDLP's protest of the award. GAO denied the protest in April 2001. Soon after

5110-494: Was made although the MGS met neither some of the key capabilities sought in the conceptual Canadian ACV nor the futuristic, high technology (and still-not achieved) requirements for a future ACV that had been highlighted only the year before by the Commander of the Canadian Army to a Canadian Parliamentary committee. Canadian research-wargaming-based operational research studies and other professional public commentators all argued against this move. The biggest concerns were that

5183-422: Was set up under the management of a subsidiary of a US firm engaged in tank production. This Canadian indigenous tank design would become the standard armoured vehicle for the Canadian army. The result was the Ram cruiser tank, based on the chassis and running gear of the US M3 Lee ; Rams were produced by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) from 1941 to 1943. Except for the Badger flame thrower tank conversion of

5256-558: Was the first Canadian built AFV in service since the Second World War. The amphibious Cougar was a direct Fire Support Vehicle (Wheeled) FSV(W) variant of the AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose). It was based on the Swiss MOWAG 6X6 Piranha hull with a 76 mm main gun mounted in a British FV101 Scorpion Tank turret. Cougars entered service in the late 1970s in Canadian based regular and reserve Armoured Regiments. They were intended as

5329-519: Was to give armoured units in Canada and the U.K. a modern tank to conduct essential tactical training and build organizational knowledge prior to re-equipping with Sherman tanks for the invasions in Italy and Normandy. Ram tanks without their turrets known as Kangaroos were operated by the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment , formed from RCAC personnel overseas, and provided lifesaving battlefield mobility to Canadian and British infantry. Variants like

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