Canadian Ferrets 1975 CFB Meaford

[Mike Cecil]

Thanks, Gents, so the CDN Army went from the M1919A4 in .30 cal to the C1/C1A1 in 7.62mm.

Interesting and a contrast to the Aust Army that opted to retain the .30 cal round up until the withdrawal of the L3A3/L3A4 (ie modified M1919A4) in about 2005 when the T50(Aust) turret was removed from the M113A1 APC/LRV fleet during the upgrade to M113(AS)4.

Thanks

Mike

[Ed Storey]

Mike, as Rob listed early in this string the lineage was as follows - .30 cal M1919A4 - 7.62mm C1 GPMG - 7.62mm C5A1 GPMG.

[45jim]

If the Centurion is crewed (as it seems here) then the 75/76 time frame is most likely more correct, right at the very end of the Centurion in Canada. I had read somewhere the last use of the Centurion at Meaford was Gun camp, spring 76. I believe the 5/4 ton entered service in late 75/early 76.

The modification to the Ferret engine door for the GPMG tripod is not coincident with the issue of the weapon to replace the Bren. As usual, the change in weapon was made and over time modifications were introduced to assist in kit stowage or solve problems that cropped up with service use. One of the Strathcona Ferret monuments was never so modified, perhaps because this mod was only completed during depot overhauls which tend to slow down as the vehicle is nearing retirement. Looking for an exact date of the change and believing it actually occurred on that date is dubious at best.