Canadian Cold War re-enactment information

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

Chris,

Yes, the Iltis came into service during 1984, 1985 and 1986. By the end of 1986, the entire Iltis fleet was in Canadian service.
Cheers!
Stuart

I thought the M151A2 was still in service into 1987 in the Tow missile role with the Cdn airborne, waiting for an Iltis platform. Did there end up being an Iltis Tow launcher?

Re the best before date of the Iltis, I was in Cypress in 89, and the Iltis was pulled from service then and replaced with the Pajero. It was already passing it's best before date, or so the LCMMs thought.

[rob love]

So looking at that, I would say the Iltis were not fully implemented until 1988. The Iltis you show the history for appears to have sat in a supply depot until it went to a work center for conversion. It was then issued for the first time to the Airborne in May of 88.

I take it this means the M151A2 remained in that role until about that date as well. I recall the parts still being actively in the supply system around 88.

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by rob love

So looking at that, I would say the Iltis were not fully implemented until 1988. The Iltis you show the history for appears to have sat in a supply depot until it went to a work center for conversion. It was then issued for the first time to the Airborne in May of 88.

I take it this means the M151A2 remained in that role until about that date as well. I recall the parts still being actively in the supply system around 88.

Hopefully Steve Hawken chimes in. His 151 was a Missile Launcher Carrier, and IIRC was still in the system until 1990.

EDIT, I don't have it handy but I actually found the publication that showed how to prep the TOW M151A2 for parachute operations which features none other than Steve Hawken's M151A2. It was dated for the early 90s as well. As a side note, most of us dream of finding an in service pic of our rigs and here Hawken gets a whole publication showcasing his.... some guy's luck eh.

[Harry Moon]

There was a small Cold War event this past weekend at Fort Rodd Hill in Victoria BC. Hosted by the Victoria Esquimalt Military Re-enactors Association. I'll look for pics.

[Perry Kitson]

Scott,
You mentioned the FN rifle, as a reservist I know we used it up to 1987, and we still had 2, 3.5" rocket launchers in our weapons lock up until 1979.

Perry

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by Perry Kitson

Scott,
You mentioned the FN rifle, as a reservist I know we used it up to 1987, and we still had 2, 3.5" rocket launchers in our weapons lock up until 1979.

Perry

In my neck of the woods, the switch was happening 1989ish. I was in BC mind you, so they may have implemented the new small arms from east to west. 3.5" Rocket... Now thats Old School

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

I was searching on the web and came across a few sources for the 82 Pattern webbing kit, which would be of interest to those interested in Cold War re-enactment.

Ref : http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/...rn_webbing.pdf

I am still looking for a hard copy of the original users manual that was in a handbook format.

I came across the following web page that has all sorts of training manuals from the Canadian Cold War period.

Ref. : http://www.operationeastwind.com/wik...cific_Training


The following web page has some details on various kit, such as clothing...

Ref : http://www.operationeastwind.com/wiki/Main_Page

Scroll down to the Canadian kit.....

Ref : http://www.operationeastwind.com/wiki/Canadian_Forces

Another link. Ref: http://mpmuseum.org/securequip2.html

Of course, this is just for re-enactors, and may not really apply to what actually happened in-the-day, but it seems a good starting point.

Your thoughts?

Cheers!

Stuart

One of the founders of this group also posts on one of the M151 specific forums I belong to. I gave a rather long dissertation over there regarding their Canadian "kit list".

Short answer, and i'm sure Ed Story could probably expand even better, the one thing these guys have completely correct is that they are at least not wearing CADPAT. Beyond that, there are many holes.

The Cold War completed its final thaw in 1991. In 1991, we did not have Gortex Jackets (1995) or Elcan Scopes on the C7 (late 1992). This was in the Regular Army. Reservists, which is what they portray, didn't get these items at the Unit level until much later.

The jist of what I got was essentially that some items were chosen based on comfort (Gortex) and availability (airsoft M16A2 vs FN). Frankly, if you're carrying the wrong rifle, and wearing the wrong jacket, there is little else to redeem it in my eyes. Most of the time i'm really not into this stuff, but in this case they sort of branded themselves as providing the period correct experience, and if you've never lived dismounted in a four seasons jacket in the early spring or late fall rains, your missing out on the "experience"