Artillery in Canada (1) British Columbia: Nanaimo, Naramata, North Saanich, North Vancouver, Richmond, Rogers Pass, Sidney, Trail, Ucluelet, Valemont, Vernon and White Rock
Artillery preserved in British Columbia, Nanaimo, Naramata, North Saanich, North Vancouver, Richmond, Rogers Pass, Sidney, Trail, Ucluelet, Valemont, Vernon and White Rock
The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical piece of artillery preserved in Canada. Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these guns to provide and update the data found on these web pages. Photos are by the author unless otherwise credited. Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Guns and Artillery in Canada would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.
For all official data concerning the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, please click on the link to their website:
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Website
Note: Back in the day, artillery in Canada was referred to by its radio call sign "Sheldrake". It is now referred to by its "Golf" call sign. (Acorn sends)
British Columbia
Nanaimo
(Maxwell Toms Photo)
(Al R. Dadds Photos)
(Jim Stanton Photos)
Blomefield 6-pounder 9-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun, weight 9-1-23, (1,059 lbs), above No. 7, (Serial No. 484) on the left trunnion, 6-pdr on the right trunnion. B.P. & C. on the barrel (Bailey Pegg and Co- London and Staffordshire iron manufacturers. early 19th century to the 1960s, casting guns for commercial interests and foreign governments). This gun is mounted on a wooden naval gun carriage, No. 1 of 2 in front of the Nanaimo Bastion. One is used for firing demonstrations.
(Maxwell Toms Photo)
(Al R. Dadds Photos)
(Jim Stanton Photo)
Blomefield 6-pounder 9-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun, weight 9-1-23, (1,059 lbs), over No. 2, (Serial No. 476) on the left trunnion, 6-pdr on the right trunnion. B.P. & C. on the barrel. This gun is also mounted on a wooden naval gun carriage, No. 2 of 2 in front of the Nanaimo Bastion.
(Al R. Dadds Photo)
Cast Iron 12-pounder 6-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Carronade with a Blomefield pattern breeching ring, weight TBC, mounted on a wood naval gun carriage, inside the Nanaimo Bastion, 98 Front Street. The carronade is a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, which was used by the Royal Navy and first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon. While considered very successful early on, carronades eventually disappeared as rifled naval artillery changed the shape of the shell and led to fewer and fewer close-range engagements.
One of two on display at the old Hudson’s Bay Company bastion in downtown Nanaimo. They are reputed to have been part of the original armament of the bastion. During the summer months one of these guns is fired daily at noon.
(Al Dadds Photos)
105-mm C1 Howitzer, Brigadier Sargent Armoury.
Naramata
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08/15 heavy machine gun, (Serial Nr. 7784). Captured by the 52nd Battalion on 28 August 1918 at Boiry, France, this machine gun was officially allocated to Naramata.
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 heavy machine gun (Serial Nr. 3720), 1917, mounted on a Schlitten stand. This machine gun was captured by the 19th Battalion (Central Ontario) 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). (Photo courtesy of the Naramata Museum)
North Saanich
(Author Photos, 28 Jan 2019)
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun, British Columbia Aviation Museum, 1910 Norseman Road.
North Vancouver
(John Eckersley Photos)
(Colin Parkinson Photos)
12-pounder 12-cwt QF Mk. V (3-inch/40) Breechloading Naval Gun with shield and stand (Ogden 3-inch Naval gun) mounted on a (probably) Mk. IX naval mounting, (Serial No. S69107), breech block (Serial No, 6907), 1941, standing in front of the Navy League of Canada, 1555 Forbes Ave.
Richmond
(Colin Parkinson Photos)
4-inch/50 caliber (102-mm) standard low-angle, quick-firing gun used by the US Navy. Stamped into the steel is "4 IN CARRIAGE. Stamped on a plate riveted to the steel is "4-50 carriage". The stamping includes "Walter Scott & Co Inc Plainfield NJ", 1943. The plate bears "Serial Number 5038". The gun is mounted on a wet mount, used by US Navy submarines. John Eckersley.
(John Eckersley Photo)
This gun is located at 7411 River Rd., Richmond, in front of the Navy League building. During the Second World War, ten US Coast Guard Cutters were transferred to Britain as part of the Lend-Lease program. This gun may have come from one of those ships. The gun was rapid firing (US term) or quick firing (British term). Fixed ammunition (case and projectile handled as a single assembled unit) with a 14.5-pound (6.6 kg) charge of smokeless powder gave a 33-pound (15 kg) projectile a velocity of 2,900 ft/s (880 m/s). Range was 9 mi (14 km) at the maximum elevation of 20 degrees. Useful life expectancy was 400–500 effective full charges (EFC) for a non-chrome plated barrel, while a chrome plated barrel was listed at 600 rounds.
4-inch/50 caliber guns were mounted on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS).
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3201273)
Gunnery training with a 4-inch/50 caliber gun on board HMCS Hamilton, Deep Brook, Nova Scotia, 10 August 1944.
Rogers Pass
(The A-Team Photos)
105-mm C1A1 M2A2 Howitzer, CDN 34042, No. 1 of 3 RCA monuments. This Howitzer carries the suffix AVCON denoting its usage in avalanche control. 34042 is mounted on a 1955-built M2A2 carriage. At the time it was disposed by the Canadian Armed Forces, the gun was under the custody of 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot in Montreal, Quebec.
A plaque mounted on top of eight spent 105-mm shell casings stands between these two guns. It reads: "To commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Glacier National Park, the 100th Anniversary of Parks Canada and the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian Forces' partnership with Parks Canada in the operation of avalanche control by artillery fire at Rogers Pass, this gun has been presented by The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery and Canada Command to honour all those who have served to keep Canadians, the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway safe." Presented on the 10th of September 2011.
(The A-Team Photo)
(The A-Team Photo)
105-mm C1A1 M2A2 Howitzer, CDN 34134, No. 2 of 3 RCA monuments. This Howitzer carries the suffix AVCON denoting its usage in avalanche control. 34134 is mounted on a 1955-built M2A2 carriage. At the time it was disposed by the Canadian Armed Forces, the gun was under the custody of 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot in Montreal, Quebec.
105-mm C1A1 M2A2 Howitzer, CDN 34040, No. 3 of 3 RCA monuments. This gun is located on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway near the summit of Rogers Pass.
These 105-mm C1A1 Howitzers were used as part of Operation PALACI, the Canadian Armed Forces' contribution to Parks Canada's avalanche-control program in Rogers Pass. Every winter, Howitzers like this are used to trigger controlled avalanches high in the surrounding mountains in an effort to prevent potentially-deadly uncontrolled avalanches from coming down on the Trans-Canada Highway. These guns are located on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway near the Rogers Pass monument, at the summit of Rogers Pass in British Columbia.
Sidney
(John Eckersley Photos)
(Author Photos, 28 Jan 2019)
4-inch/45 QF Mk. IV Gun, on a single mount, (Serial No. 985), from HMCS Aurora. This naval gun is located in front of the Merchant Navy, Army, Navy & Air Force (ANAF) Hall, 9831 4th St.
"Considering that both her 6-inch guns and at least five out of six of her 4-inch guns eventually joined the Army, HMCS Aurora should be considered an honorary member of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery." (Doug Knight)
(Author Photo, 28 Jan 2019)
M4A2(76)W HVSS Sherman "Easy 8" tank (Serial No. 69087), built by Fisher, Reg. No. 30129566, “Cheetah”, Army, Navy & Air Force (ANAF) Hall, Unit No. 302, 9831 4th St.
(John Eckersley Photo)
German First World War 7.92-mm Spandau MG 08/15 heavy machine gun (Serial Nr. TBC). This machine-gun is located inside the Merchant Navy, Army, Navy & Air Force (ANAF) Hall, 9831 4th St.
Trail, 24th Field Artillery Regiment
The 24th Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery was a Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) regiment based in Trail, British Columbia. The regiment currently exists on the Supplementary Order of Battle.
Ucluelet
(John Eckersley Photo)
12-pounder 12-cwt QF Mk. V (3-inch/40) Breechloading Naval Gun (Ogden 3-inch Naval gun), from HMCS Thiepval, located at the harbour shore near the dock. HMCS Thiepval was one of twelve Battle-class naval trawlers used by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). After seeing service on Canada's east coast at the end of the First World War, HMCS Thiepval was transferred to the west coast, where she spent the remainder of her career. In 1924, Thiepval visited the Soviet Union and Japan as part of the support efforts for a round-the-world flight attempt. HMCS Thiepval struck a rock and sank off the British Columbia coast in 1930, and her wreck has since become a popular attraction for divers. The channel is now named for the ship in the Broken Group Islands. The gun has no shield and is deeply pitted from its long submersion in salt water.
Valemont
C1A1 105-mm M2A2 Howitzer, CDN No. unknown, 1950. This gun stands in front of the Royal Canadian Legion, 907 Main Street.
Canoe River Memorial. On 21 November 1950, 17 soldiers of 2 RCHA were killed in a train wreck while en route to the West Coast and embarkation for Korea. The wreck occurred near Canoe River, a remote settlement in the Rocky Mountains. The Canoe River Memorial marks this tragedy.
Vancouver Artillery is listed on a separate page on this web site.
Vernon
(Bob Spring Photo)
(John Eckersley Photo)
76-mm QF Naval Gun N211945, 1898. This British-made gun was in service with the Japanese as a Type 41 3-inch Naval Gun. The Japanese characters stamped above the breech translate to "No. 328". This gun is currently on display at the Army Cadet Camp, Vernon, British Columbia. It was originally captured by the Japanese at Singapore in 1941. The Japanese Army's No. 3 Special Landing Party and 500 Marines went ashore at Kiska, Alaska on 6 June 1942 capturing the ten-man US Navy Weather Detachment based there. The gun was then set up in a coastal defence position on the beach at Kiska. The Japanese became aware of a large Allied invasion force headed their way after the loss of the island of Attu. They successfully withdrew their troops under the cover of severe fog on 28 July without being detected. On 15 August 1943, an Allied invasion of 34,426 troops including 5,300 Canadians landed on the island and discovered it had been completely abandoned. In spite of this, there were casualties, with 17 Americans and four Canadians dying as a result of preparatory suppression fire and, booby traps.
The Naval gun was collected and brought to Vernon in 1944 by Canadian Engineers. It was set up in front of their mess hall where it stood for a few years until being moved to its present display location in front of the headquarters of the Vernon Army Cadet Summer Camp. The gun serves as a memorial to the four Canadian fatalities from the Winnipeg Grenadiers, the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal and the Rocky Mountain Rangers.
Type 41 3-inch (76.2 mm)/40 QF Naval Gun
The 12 pounder 12 cwt QF Naval Gun was a common 3-inch (76.2-mm) calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries. In British service, “12-pounder” was a rounded reference to the projectile weight and “12 cwt” referred to the weight of the barrel and breech: 12 hundredweight = 12 x 112 pounds = 1,344 pounds, to differentiate it from other “12 pounder” guns. As the Type 41 3-inch (76.2 mm)/40 naval Gun it was used on most early battleships and cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, though it was commonly referred to by its UK designation as a “12-pounder” gun.
White Rock
(Maxwell Toms Photo)
(John Eckersley Photo)
25-pounder QF Field Gun C Mk. II/I. Breech housing S.I.C. -9-42, barrel CFL-5647 SIC 44, C. V.I. R.X., C.of C. 10975 (?). On Mk. I carriage, S.I.C. 1942, Reg. No. CA10439, with No. 9 circular firing platform. The 25-pounder stands in the Veterans Memorial Park, near the SW corner of White Rock city hall, 15322 Buena Vista Ave. and SE of the Veterans Memorial Monument.
(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM54-S4-: Mil P141.6)
Gatling Gun being used by a National Guard Unit visiting Vancouver, British Columbia for an international competition in 1906.
SHELLDRAKE
I would imagine that many of you who are reading this book are very likely familiar with the standard routine of military training exercises and the rigours of being in the field in all seasons, not to mention the conditions found on deployment these days. Whether or not you have experienced it, I am sure you can well imagine what it is like to train and work in the heat, the dust and the mosquitoes in summer, the wind, the rain and the mud in the spring and fall, the snow and the cold in the winter and of course the routine day-to-day challenges of combat exercises in the training areas of the Canadian Forces. For most in the Army, this includes CFB Gagetown, CFB Valcartier, CFB Petawawa, CFB Kingston, CFB Shilo, CFB Edmonton, CFB Wainwright, CFB Suffield and all the fields and exercise areas of LFAATC Aldershot and LFCATC Meaford and their environs.
As an Army Officer in the Canadian Forces, it has been my privilege to have served alongside a tremendous number of highly professional military men and women of our nation while taking part in training in Germany, the UK and the USA and while on operational deployments to Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Afghanistan. During my training and military professional development, I have learned much about our long military history. My interest in our multi-faceted historical record has led me to write about it and to seek out the stories about Canada's military servicemen and women and the tools and equipment they used to preserve our security when warclouds darkened our horizons.
As a military history enthusiast, I have learned over the years that there are many with similar interests in preserving our story. We have all seen the odd old gun or retired tank placed on display outside a Militia Drill Hall, War Memorial, city park site or Royal Canadian Legion Hall, and many will have enjoyed visiting a number of our military Museums. The vast majority of retired wartime combat equipment used by members of the CF have dwindled in number, many being scrapped, others being shot up as targets, while a few have been sold to overseas operators and collectors. Fortunately, a handful of important examples of retired CF guns and war machines have been preserved and may be found in a wide variety of locations throughout Canada.
Curators, docents and volunteers working in Canada's military museums have been successful in preserving a good number of retired military weapons of war and many are still being sought after and in some cases, being restored to running condition again. As an artist, photographer and military history enthusiast, I have attempted to keep track of where historic Canadian military equipment has survived and is presently located and to make that information available to others with the same interest. For those of like mind, the purpose of this handbook is to provide a simple checklist of the classic Great War and WWII artillery that is part of our military heritage and a location guide to where they can be found in Canada. The book includes a number of photographs to illustrate an example of each gun wherever possible, and lists the locations of the survivors by province.
The numbers of restored Canadian guns is actually increasing as a few rare examples are being recovered from scrapyards and monument sites and salvaged for restoration. (Ultra rare items such as Skink AA gun turrets come to mind). One of the aims of this book is to help an enthusiast track down these monuments and museum artefacts and to have a simple reference book on hand with more detailed information about them such as a serial number, a Museum location and contact information which might be helpful in learning a bit of the history of a particular vehicle. The guns detailed in this handbook are listed alphabetically by manufacturer, number and type in the order that they came into service with the CF. The data is also appended with a list of most of the current guns found in the various collections and Museums in Canada. The book is also meant to serve as a companion volume to "Ironsides", Canadian Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicle Museums and Monuments, also available online.
It is my sincere hope that more of the guns and artillery found in this list will one day be added to the record of historically important military armament survivors that have been recovered and restored.
Shelldrake can be ordered online in softcover or e-book at these bookstores:
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000542288/Shelldrake.aspx
