[Gunner]

Hi Guys:

Back in the 70's the Equipment Wing of the Artillery School had a series of large photos on the wall depicting the Bobcat with both the 25 pounder and the 105 C1 (M114 in US talk) mounted. The 25 pounder was likely to drum up sales in Africa as we were hoping to sell the Bobcat to the Tanzanians or Tanganyikans (I'm working off old memories here).

The radar equipped version was also depicted and was a Cymbaline counter mortar radar (at one time Canada had a very robust "over the horizon" target acquisition capability that was eroded away in the 70s and 80s).

The big flat nose not withstanding, the Bobcat was very avant-guarde for its day... it was seen as a truly 'universal carrier' that could fill a multitude of roles. The Ram tank style machine gun cupola was an interesting anachronism that time and experience has re-confirmed... we are armouring all our exposed machine guns nowadays!

As a kid, one of my favourite toys was a huge (to my small eyes) GI Joe/Action Man APC model that came with a removable artillery piece and a mine roller for the front. It was about 20 inches long and, you guessed it, it was a model of the Bobcat! It is still available on the antique GI Joe collectors' market but fetches several hundred dollors if you can find one in good order with all the accessories.

I've often wondered if there was a connection between the Bobcat, the XA-20 and the Cambridge Carrier we have at the Swords and Ploughshares Museum.

Cheers, Mike