Second World War War in Afghanistan
50-537: The Ontario Regiment ( RCAC ) is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Army . The unit is based in downtown Oshawa , Ontario, and is named after Ontario County (1852–1974). Formed in 1866, and more commonly known as the 'Ontarios', 'black cats' or 'ONT R' (pronounced "ON-tar"), the regiment ranks among the oldest continuously serving Reserve ( Militia ) regiments in Canada and
100-612: A Command Team Coin of Excellence was presented. The coin is gold in colour and shows the regimental cap badge in full colour, ringed with the words 'For Excellence'. The reverse in gold shows the ranks of the CO and RSM, along with the flag of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. A complete historical list of the unit's key appointments is maintained at the Regimental Museum's official website. Since 1866,
150-536: A bandshell at Oshawa's Memorial Park to provide the bandsmen with their own venue to entertain Oshawa's citizens. The Regiment maintained its band until 1968 when, due to a reorganization of the Canadian Forces, the unit's band establishment was eliminated by the federal government of the day. Lt (N) Bill Askew, a naval veteran of World War II and officer with the 1913 Ontario Regiment Cadet Corps refused to let
200-578: 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
250-763: A further reorganization of the British Army, the RRW was amalgamated with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (RWF) to form the Royal Welsh Regiment (RWR). Several exchange visits have taken place over the years. In 1969, officers and men of the Ontarios performed 'groundskeeping' duties on the occasion of the Welsh’s amalgamation parade at Cardiff Castle, and Capt Russell Baird represented the Ontarios at
300-621: A guard for a parade at Iroquois Park in Whitby, Ontario to mark the Ontarios’ 125th anniversary. More recently, in September 2004, the Welsh band toured many of its War of 1812 battlefields near Niagara and encampments throughout Ontario including Kingston, Ontario . The band also visited Oshawa to perform at the Ontarios' annual Parkwood Promenade, held at the home of Colonel R.S. McLaughlin,
350-723: A more heavily armed, but unarmoured Technical vehicle. In 2008, the Uruguayan Army bought 44 surplus Cougars from the Canadian Army. They were rebuilt without the turret by the Chilean MOWAG-Piranha builder FAMAE, as they will act as armoured personnel carriers for the UN deployment in the Republic of Congo ( MONUC ), and domestically. In 2009, Uruguay bought 98 Grizzlys and 5 Huskys that were on loan with
400-556: A remembrance of those Ontarios who have fallen in the line of duty. The coin is produced in pewter colour and shows the regimental cap badge on the front side, and the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Cap badge on the reverse, along with a serial number. A year later, the unit's CO and RSM perceived some gaps in the official honours and awards process, particularly at the unit level. As such, in November 2010,
450-616: 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
500-644: Is one of the senior armoured regiments in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps . The 116th Battalion (Ontario County), CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 24 July 1916. From October to December 1916 it provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field, and on 11 February 1917 it disembarked in France, where it fought with the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until
550-455: 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
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#1732772714959600-800: The Golan Heights , Cambodia , the former Yugoslavia and, most recently, the NATO-led engagement with ISAF in Afghanistan . The Ontario Regiment exercised the Freedom of the City of Oshawa and the County of Ontario in 1966, and the Freedom of the Region of Durham in 1979. A regimental "challenge" coin was issued in late 2009 by LCol R Brown and CWO DJ Munroe to the members and officers serving, as
650-605: The LAV I , is a series of three amphibious armoured fighting vehicles ordered by the Canadian military in the 1970s. The vehicles, named Grizzly , Cougar and Husky respectively, were based on the six-wheeled version of the Swiss Mowag Piranha I , and became the first generation Light Armoured Vehicle produced by General Motors Diesel (later General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada). The AVGP program led to
700-425: 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
750-590: 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
800-544: The 11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment), RCAC, CASF, on 2 August 1945. On 21 June 1941 it embarked for Britain. The regiment landed in Sicily on 13 July 1943, as part of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade , and in Italy on 3 September 1943 in support of 17th Brigade, 5th British Division. On 8 March 1945 the regiment moved with the I Canadian Corps to North-West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake , where it fought until
850-537: 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
900-472: 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
950-588: 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 the Cavalry after the war. Although, in
1000-580: The 34th Battalion and its successor units including the 116th Battalion, 182nd Battalion, and the Ontarios, maintained an award-winning brass marching band. The Regimental band earned top national honours in 1948 at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. The band's patron, Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin (Colonel Sam), funded the purchase of the band's instruments and uniforms for several decades, having gone so far as to build
1050-581: The AVGP at GM's plant in London, Ontario. In March 1976, the Piranha was selected. The AVGP variants were introduced into Canadian service in the late 1970s. The AVGP had propellers and trim vanes for amphibious use, like the eight-wheeled Bison , which was the vehicle family's immediate successor. The Cougar was used for training in Canada as a reconnaissance vehicle. During the 1980s and 1990s, it
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#17327727149591100-608: 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
1150-538: 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
1200-536: The Canadian military launched an acquisition program to procure a light vehicle for the Army reserves. The Army desired a flexible vehicle that could be adapted to serve in many different styles of conflict. The military drafted requirements for four different variants. Cadillac-Gage seemed primed to win this contract. The Swiss firm Mowag pitched its Piranha . Mowag partnered with General Motors Diesel to manufacture
1250-758: 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,
1300-641: 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
1350-567: The Ford F-550. In June 2005, the Canadian government announced plans to loan 105 AVGPs (100 Grizzlys and 5 Huskys) to African peacekeepers in the Darfur region of Sudan . The AVGP was considered sufficiently modern to be useful in this low-intensity conflict. Canada planned to arrange for civilian contractors to maintain these vehicles. As the vehicles contained some U.S.-manufactured or licensed parts, U.S. permission would be required to loan
1400-661: The Investiture in Caernarvon. In September 1983, a small group of Welsh officers and soldiers were on parade in Oshawa on the occasion of the Ontarios’ change of command. In July 1989, the Ontarios sent a 35-man guard to Wales for the RRW’s Tercentenary parade at Cardiff Castle. HRH Charles, Prince of Wales the longtime Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh, inspected the Regiment. The Welsh reciprocated in 1991 by providing
1450-542: The Northwest European theatre where it fought with distinction in the Dutch Campaign winning honours at Arnhem . Upon demobilization, The Ontarios continued as a reserve armoured regiment using Mark IV Sherman Tanks. In fact, the regiment was one of the last Canadian militia units to give up their Shermans in 1972. Some of these actual tanks can be seen as monuments or gate guards at [CFB Kingston] and
1500-440: 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
1550-638: The armoured reconnaissance vehicle in this role. In 1980, the Ontarios were re-designated an armoured regiment, this time employing the Cougar armoured vehicle. During many of the subsequent years, the regiment maintained a wheeled armoured reconnaissance squadron (later downsized to an RHQ recce troop) employing the Iltis jeep. Many of the regiment's soldiers, NCOs and officers enjoy the unique distinction among their peers in reserve armoured regiments of having been trained in both armoured and reconnaissance roles. With
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1600-593: The band of the 1913 Ontario Regiment Cadet Corps has provided the Regiment with much of its marching music at public events and official regimental functions. Since 1928, The Ontarios have maintained a strong friendship and alliance with its allied British regiment, the Royal Welsh (Formerly The Welch Regiment (41st of Foot) which amalgamated with the South Wales Borderers (24th of Foot) to form The Royal Regiment Of Wales (RRW) in 1969.) In 2006, under
1650-558: The band wither. Under his leadership, the band was transformed into the present-day Oshawa Civic Band . Many of the former regimental bandsmen continue to play with the Civic Band today. The Civic Band regularly performs in a summer concert series at Oshawa's Memorial Park and, from to time, at military functions including the Regimental Ball (held each May) and the Regiment's annual Parkwood Promenade. For almost forty years,
1700-841: The department of National Defence donated a Cougar AVGP to the Windsor Police Service in Windsor, Ontario and another to the New Glasgow Regional Police in Nova Scotia. The New Glasgow Regional Police ended use of the AVGP in 2017 with plans to donate it to another Police Service, citing difficulty in driving and lack of regular use. In 2020 the Windsor Police replaced their AVGP with the Ontario built Terradyne Armored Vehicles Gurkha based on
1750-526: The development of the 8×8 LAV II , variants of which were adopted as direct replacements for the AVGP. These were the Bison and Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle , which replaced the Grizzly and Cougar respectively. The Canadian Army retired all AVGP variants beginning in 2005; however, a number of the retired vehicles were transferred to other militaries and police forces, where they continue in use. In 1974
1800-463: The end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. The 182nd Battalion (Ontario County), CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Britain on 3 May 1917, where its personnel were absorbed by the 18th Reserve Battalion, CEF on 16 May 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on 1 September 1917. The regiment mobilized The Ontario Regiment (Tank), CASF, on 1 September 1939. It
1850-642: The end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 15 December 1945. Within six days of mobilization, 594 men had enlisted for active service. In June 1941, the regiment sailed from Halifax on the Pasteur , arriving in Greenock , Scotland, on 1 July, and headed south to Headley Down , England. The Ontarios were the first Canadians to be issued the Churchill tank, with which it trained in exercises in its experimental period of 1941–1942. On 21 December 1941,
1900-458: The former Denison Armoury on Dufferin Street in Toronto. There were two more name changes for the regiment after World War II. In 1946, the regiment was designated the 11th Armoured Regiment (Ontario Regiment) and in 1958, the regiment assumed the title by which it is known today: The Ontario Regiment (RCAC). The regiment's role was changed to armoured reconnaissance and the unit employed jeeps in
1950-482: The project was cancelled in 2005, and the vehicles retired. The AVGP was passed on to several United Nations missions, including UNPROFOR and the mission to Somalia. One Grizzly was captured by Serb forces in the late 1990s, where it was present on a peace keeping mission. In May 2007, the Edmonton Police Service accepted the donation of a disarmed Grizzly from the Canadian Army. In 2020 it
2000-577: The regiment moved to Brighton , alternating between there and Shermanbury park in operational roles in the defence of the English coast. The unit fought with distinction in several theatres during the war, beginning with the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, through the Italian Campaign seeing action in the fierce Liri Valley , Monte Cassino , and on to Ortona . In 1945, the unit entered
2050-431: The regimental guidon . Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps ( RCAC ; French: Corps blindé royal canadien ) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army , including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regiments, as well as the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School . The corps was formed as the Canadian Armoured Corps in 1940, within the Canadian Army (Active). In August 1945, it
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2100-438: The retirement of the Cougar in the 2004, the regiment was again re-designated an armoured reconnaissance unit, briefly employing and conducting trials on all terrain vehicles. Today, the regiment continues its reconnaissance tasking and has adopted the Mercedes-built LUVW G-Wagon. A significant number of the regiment's soldiers have volunteered for active duty with NATO in Germany , United Nations missions in Cyprus , Bosnia,
2150-592: The unit's former patron and long-serving honorary colonel. The Ontario Regiment received the Freedom of the city of Oshawa and the County of Ontario in 1966 and the Freedom of the Regional Municipality of Durham in 1979. A complete historical list of the unit's key appointments is available online at the Regimental Museum's official website. In the list below, battle honours in small capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns, while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles. Those battle honours in bold are emblazoned on
2200-414: 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. AVGP The AVGP ( Armoured Vehicle General Purpose ), later known as
2250-445: The vehicles. Initially, the vehicles were to be shipped without their Cadillac-Gage turrets . The vehicles arrived in Senegal in the late summer of 2005. The Sudanese government required various kinds of assurances before they would allow peacekeepers to use the vehicles in Sudan. On November 18, 2005, the vehicles started arriving in Sudan, in white livery, with their turrets. The loan of vehicles for peace-keeping service in Sudan
2300-407: 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 the Machine Gun Corps and
2350-402: Was originally for one year. However, the loan was extended, and transferred from the African Union to the United Nations. According to Amnesty International , the soldiers who used the loaned vehicles served in Sudan for too short a term to be properly trained and become experienced. One of the vehicles was destroyed by a rocket-propelled grenade . A second vehicle was damaged when it rammed
2400-451: Was redesignated as The Ontario Regiment (Tank), CASF, on 13 August 1940. It was converted to armour on 23 November 1940, and an army tank battalion on 11 February 1941, under the designation 11th Army Tank Battalion (The Ontario Regiment (Tank)), CAC, CASF. It was redesignated the 11th Army Tank Regiment (The Ontario Regiment (Tank)), CAC, CASF, on 15 May 1942 and the 11th Armoured Regiment (The Ontario Regiment), CAC, CASF, on 26 August 1943 and
2450-413: Was retired and replaced with the Quebec-made Camblie BlackWolf based on the Ford F-550 . In March 2010, the Canadian Army donated two disarmed Cougar AVGPs to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia for use by the Emergency Response Team . They were retrofitted to transport ERT assault teams into hazardous areas where transport in unarmoured vehicles would not be safe. In April 2013,
2500-526: Was used by armoured units as a fire support vehicle, for those units not equipped with the Leopard tank. The Grizzly was used as an armoured personnel carrier in regular force infantry battalions not equipped with the M113 APC, and also by reserve units. The majority of vehicles had their marine propulsion systems removed. Under the Wheeled LAV Life Extension project, the Canadian Forces planned to convert Grizzly and Husky vehicles to support variants, such as Command Post and Mobile Repair Team Vehicle. However,
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