Tanks of Canada
Originally formed as the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1910,[1] Canada's first tank units were not raised until late in 1918.
After the fall of France, it was decided the nascent Canadian armoured divisions would be equipped by tanks produced in Canada.
The Ram's main contribution to the war effort was to fully equip large armoured units formed in Canada and the U.K. with a modern tank it could use to conduct essential tactical training prior to the invasions in Italy and Normandy.
The Allies agreed to standardise on the M4, and MLW began producing the Canadian version, the Grizzly tanks in August 1943.
The Sexton Mk II used the Grizzly chassis, with the upper hull modified to carry the Commonwealth standard QF 25 pounder gun.
[5] Starting with the introduction of the U.S.-designed and built Sherman tank, Canada began a tradition of acquiring U.S., British and then later German made armour to equip the Canadian Army.
Although not a Main Battle Tank, the Cougar AVGP - manufactured at GM Diesel Division in London, ON (now part of General Dynamics Land Systems) was envisioned.
It was based on the Swiss MOWAG 6X6 Piranha hull with a 76 mm main gun mounted in a British FV101 Scorpion Tank turret.
Cougars entered service in the late 1970s in Canadian based regular and reserve Armoured Regiments.
They were intended as a quick air transportable fighting vehicles and used by the CAST Brigade for service in Norway and later with the 1st Canadian Division committed to NATO's CENTAG.
The experience gained by the Cougar and AVGP program evolved into the highly successful, made in Canada, LAV-25 and LAV III armoured vehicles that have been deployed by armies around the world.
[citation needed] As originally conceived in the early 1990s, the armoured combat vehicle (ACV) was intended to replace the AVGP Cougar for the types of missions that it had been called upon to carry out during operations other than war (OOTW) in Somalia and Bosnia.
[9] Canadian research-wargaming-based operational research studies[10] and other professional public commentators all argued against this move.
Operational research also looked at the benefits of giving the ACV a through-the-barrel (TBM) as well as the equivalent of 400mm of additional armour.
The research found that such improvements gave the ACV MBT-like firepower but still left it unable to manoeuvre in the presence of a capable enemy.
[13] Conventional fighting against the Taliban by the Canadian Army in the Panwayi district of Afghanistan in September 2006 led to a rethinking of the ACV plan.
They were also used as a quick air transportable fighting vehicle by the CAST Brigade for Cold War service in Norway and later with the 1st Canadian Division in NATO's CENTAG.
They were too light to be effective against MBTs however the end of the Cold War allowed their deployment on stability operations in Serbia and Somalia, tank crew training in Canada, and limited service alongside Leopard tanks brought back from the bases in Germany when the bases were closed in 1994.
