3.7" ? at Macaulay Plain, Esquimalt, Victoria, BC 1943

[Jon McGrath]

From my father's photographs, labelled as McCaulay Plain, Esquimalt, BC in 1943. I assume it's a 3.7" but perhaps it's a 90mm HAA. It appears the gun crew are wearing US-style helmets. My dad was a gun sergeant at the time and location. Don't know the battery number or whether an operational or training battery. Maybe someone here will know the type of gun and the battery.

[rob love]

The support legs give it away as a 3.7". The 90 does not have the levellers on the ends.

[Jon McGrath]

Going through my dad's notes, I think the gun is being fired by the 23 HAA Bty which might have converted from the 4th Searchlight Bty, both stationed in Victoria. Jon

[chris vickery]

Theres a beauty 3.7" for sale on Milweb currently, priced very nicely.
Made in canada by General Electric.
Also a nice pair of GE searchlights with generator. Would make an excellent display...

[alamotex]

Originally Posted by Jon McGrath

From my father's photographs, labelled as McCaulay Plain, Esquimalt, BC in 1943. I assume it's a 3.7" but perhaps it's a 90mm HAA. It appears the gun crew are wearing US-style helmets. My dad was a gun sergeant at the time and location. Don't know the battery number or whether an operational or training battery. Maybe someone here will know the type of gun and the battery.

Jon You may find this document useful if you are looking for information relating to your Dad's wartime service on the West Coast.... Brian


http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-...rqga/AHQ_2.pdf

[Jon McGrath]

Many thanks Brian! I had a quick look at the document and will read it more closely later this week. As you say, it provides a wealth of information on the BC AA defences. I know my dad was stationed in Tofino, Point Grey (Vancouver), Ambleside (West Vacnouver), Little Mounttain (Vancouver), Sea Island (Vancouver/ Richmond) and, of course, MacCaulay (Esquimalt) - all mentioned in the document. A lot of movement. As the Japanese threat disappeared, he was sent to the UK for infantry training. Then back to AA post-war.

[maple_leaf_eh]

By coincidence I was working on a lesson plan about Mapping and Charting Establishment's 110 yrs of history. One point was that mappers in Canada had surveyed 59 coastal defence artillery positions during the war. They were quite proud they had 2' contour lines around the batteries. The rule of thumb is that the horizontal accuracy of a map is 1/2 the contour interval.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

By coincidence I was working on a lesson plan about Mapping and Charting Establishment's 110 yrs of history. One point was that mappers in Canada had surveyed 59 coastal defence artillery positions during the war. They were quite proud they had 2' contour lines around the batteries. The rule of thumb is that the horizontal accuracy of a map is 1/2 the contour interval.

I guess I have been out of the military and away from the maps too long cause I have no idea what the heck that last sentence said.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Rob, that means everything drawn on the map was supposed to be within 1' of its "real" location. Most 1:50,000 maps are only a 20m interval, so things are more or less within 10m of reality.

[chris vickery]

So, in other words, 1' is pretty darn accurate...