MLU FORUM  

Go Back   MLU FORUM > GENERAL WW2 TOPICS > WW2 Military History & Equipment

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 20-01-19, 00:44
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 3,384
Default Canadian Army Central Ordnance Depots

I know of two such facilities in Canada: London, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. I believe the one in Montreal was No. 25. Not sure about the one in Ontario.

Were there/are there any such depots in Western Canada or the Maritimes?

David
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 20-01-19, 05:07
Edwin Wand Edwin Wand is offline
Ed Wand
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Niagara
Posts: 52
Default Regional Ordnance Depots

I assume you are talking about the post war 1946 to the 1968 preunification period of the Canadian Armed Forces.

I am not familiar with Central Ordnance Depots but there were Regional Ordnance Depots (ROD) during this post war period. They were part of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps.

There was 26 ROD at Cobourg Ontario and at Ortona Barracks in Oakville, there was also a ROD, I think it was either 15 or 17 ROD. I don't recall if Hagersville Ont was designated as a ROD but it was a large RCOC installation.

As you mentioned there were RODs at London and Montreal.

During the National Survival Phase of the post war period, the Government established storage facilities at various locations across Canada. I think you will find there were such facilities at Welland Ont., Coburg, Hagersville etc.

The theory was that major cities such as Toronto and Hamilton (steel) and Niagara Falls (power) would be destroyed. In these circumstances equipment and troops from outlying areas would ride to the rescue.

In retrospect and indeed at the time, there seemed little hope that these arrangements would be of much help should a nuclear attack occur.

Fortunately, these supplies were never needed and much of this equipment was surplused. Items such as Deuce and a halfs still in boxes were later sold from Levy's Auto Parts in Toronto.

To my knowledge the National Survival phase of Canada's history has never been adequately documented. Part of the reason might be that the conversion of Canada's army from soldiers to National Survivalists was very unpopular with the Army. Nevertheless our Militia trained for the worst all the while knowing there was very little they could do in the event of a nuclear attack. For example, in the early stages there weren't even dosimeters available, let alone adequate transport and trained military personnel.

The RCOC History would probably be a helpful source of information about our RODs.

Hope this helps.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 20-01-19, 10:52
Jon Skagfeld's Avatar
Jon Skagfeld Jon Skagfeld is offline
M38A1 CDN3
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Owen Sound ON
Posts: 2,190
Default 15 rod

15 ROD was located in Lakeview very close to the Small Arms site.

There was a 43 COR at Base Borden.
__________________
PRONTO SENDS
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 20-01-19, 15:14
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
GM Fox I
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,606
Default

Here are pics of the London Ordnance Depot on Highbury Road in London, Ontario being demolished a couple of years ago. Nothing there now but the concrete floor and weeds. The last pic is the tank repairing facility across the street. I recall going by there when I was a kid and seeing hundreds of what I now know were M series Dodges parked nose to tail.
Attached Thumbnails
P1070415.JPG   P1070419.JPG   P1070424.JPG   P1070425.JPG   P1070418.JPG  

Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 20-01-19, 17:52
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 3,384
Default

Thanks for posting the photos, Bruce.

I remember Peter Ford once telling me that on a trip down to Ottawa one year in the early 1980’s he bumped into one of the staff from the London Depot at a nearby diner. The chap told Peter that a couple of years earlier he had been tasked with disposal of a huge allotment of boxes full of unissued WW2 Military Vehicle Manuals. They had done a number of truck loads to the local dump and then word got out a few manuals had turned up at a used book store for sale. The higher ups decided all remaining manuals had to be burned and they did so somewhere on the Depot grounds. The chap told Peter it took three days of near continuous burning to finish the job.

David
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 20-01-19, 21:46
BCA BCA is offline
Brian Asbury
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 658
Default

From packing slips with surplus vehicle parts:
27 Central Ordnance Depot London, Ontario (March 1955 & Mar.1953)
I'll dig for more slips. … Brian
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 20-01-19, 23:04
BCA BCA is offline
Brian Asbury
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 658
Default

Nearly all of the automotive parts packing slips in my collection originate from the 27 Central Ordnance Depot, London Ontario. I think this because there must have been a major packaging or inspection and re-packing facility there. The packaged part was usually accompanied by a circular inspector tag with a inspector number. A 1969 engine test log indicates an engine rebuilt by "27 CFSD WKSP BR" so London also had a workshop facility.
Workshop numbers have been discussed in other MLU threads.
Interestingly I have one shipping document for an order going from "27 C.O.D. Hagersville Ont. SPSS" to "No. 27 Central Ordnance Depot, Highbury Ave., London, Ontario" so Hagerville had a connection to 27 C.O.D.
Several WW2 packing slips from Ford and GM refer to Longue Point Ordnance Depot or simply Longue Pointe Depot. No number is assigned.
CFB Downsview (Toronto area) had a very large supply depot which I recall being referred to as No. 1 Supply Depot. It was phased out in the late 1980's to early 1990's (?) and excess probably shipped to Montreal (Longue Point?). The huge Supply Depot building at Downsview is now used primarily as a film studio.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 20-01-19, 23:26
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
GM Fox I
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,606
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BCA View Post
CFB Downsview (Toronto area) had a very large supply depot which I recall being referred to as No. 1 Supply Depot. It was phased out in the late 1980's to early 1990's (?) and excess probably shipped to Montreal (Longue Point?). The huge Supply Depot building at Downsview is now used primarily as a film studio.
As a young reservist I was kitted out at No. 1 Supply Depot at Downsview. We drove there in the back of a deuce and spent several hours out in the rain, at night, by a back door wondering if we were even at the right place. Then the door opened and we went in to get a mysterious tangle of '51 pattern web gear, WW2 era mess tins, a melmac plate and cup (I still have the cup) and an M1 helmet with a reversible green/brown cover. Most of us assembled the '51 pattern web, wore it once and went to a surplus store to buy ourselves a set of '64 pattern web. Most of the kit, weapons and vehicles we were issued was made before we were born.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 21-01-19, 00:20
Dan Martel's Avatar
Dan Martel Dan Martel is offline
Centurion nut
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mississauga
Posts: 224
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
I know of two such facilities in Canada: London, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. I believe the one in Montreal was No. 25. Not sure about the one in Ontario.

Were there/are there any such depots in Western Canada or the Maritimes?
As of July 31, 1964, the following existed:

9 Ammunition Ordnance Depot, St. John's, Nfld.

12 Regional Ordnance Depot, Halifax, NS.

40 Camp Ordnance Railhead, Camp Gagetown, NB.

16 Regional Ordnance Depot, Winnipeg, Man.

28 Central Ordnance Depot, Shilo, Man.

7 Ammunition Ordnance Depot, Regina, Sask.

17 Regional Ordnance Depot, Edmonton, Alta.

Doesn't seem to have been any kind of Ordnance facility in BC, either at Vancouver, Victoria or Esquimalt.

Cheers,
Dan.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 21-01-19, 17:45
BCA BCA is offline
Brian Asbury
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 658
Default

Check out Militarybruce.com All sorts of good info on Canadian military bases.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 21-01-19, 19:17
rob love rob love is offline
carrier mech
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Posts: 7,517
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Martel View Post
28 Central Ordnance Depot, Shilo, Man.
I think this was primarily for the para school here or later in Rivers. It moved in May 1970, to Griesbach from CFB Shilo. to support the jump school there.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 21-03-23, 00:47
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 3,384
Default

Just revisiting this thread as another question came to mind.

Back in the 1970's, when restoring several CMP's and early M-Series vehicles, I agree with Brian Asbury that the bulk, if not all vehicle related parts in NOS status seemed to come out of COD London, Ontario.

At the same point in time, while trying to complete small arms displays for the various vehicles, spare STEN and Enfield parts seemed to be coming from stocks formerly held at a COD in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Today, while working on wartime wireless sets and related signals equipment, most NOS packaging shows up coming from 25 COD in Montreal.

So the new question is whether each COD across Canada was specialized in the ordnance for which they held stock, or did each hold a standard supply of all available items that might be required by the Military Districts/areas they supported?

If the latter situation was the original norm within the supply system, then perhaps the three situations noted above are merely a reflection of the overall supply system shrinking over time with surviving CODs becoming 'specialized' as a result.


David
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
For Sale: Canadian 25 pdr Ordnance rnixartillery For Sale Or Wanted 2 28-08-15 12:50
WW2 Map Central Canada jeff davis For Sale Or Wanted 1 25-02-11 07:32
Canadian Ordnance Catalogue BCA For Sale Or Wanted 4 15-03-10 20:28
4th Canadian Armored Div Signals. (4th Canadian Army Overseas - 9th Light Aid Detachm chris vowles WW2 Military History & Equipment 4 11-02-10 00:14
Central Queensland Finds grant fincher The Softskin Forum 22 29-06-06 11:54


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 11:24.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © Maple Leaf Up, 2003-2016