Artillery in Canada (2) Alberta: Peace River, Provost, Redcliffe, Red Deer, Sangudo, Sedgewick, Stavely, Taber, Thorhild, Two Hills, Vauxhall, Vermilion and Wainwright
Artillery in Alberta, Peace River, Provost, Redcliffe, Red Deer, Sangudo, Sedgewick, Stavely, Taber, Thorhild, Two Hills, Vauxhall, Vermilion and Wainwright
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 [email protected].
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)
Peace River
(wildwoodke Photo)
German First World War 7.7cm Infanteriegeschütze L/27 (7.7-cm IG L/27), (Infantry Gun), (Serial Nr. 9366), no data, mounted on an iron wheeled carriage. This gun stands beside the Memorial Cairn.
The 7.7cm IG (Infanteriegeschutz) L/27 was Krupp's third attempt at building an infantry support gun which could closely follow the infantry in attack and provide close support and anti-tank fire in defence. The gun was extensively modified compared to the standard field gun. From observation some of the changes are: 1. the wheel diameter was reduced to about 1m. 2. the wheel track was reduced by about 30cm. 3. the axle was moved back about 30cm. 4. no axle tree seats were fitted. 5. the gun shield was designed so it could be removed easily and was narrower. 6. the cover over the recuperator spring adjuster was enlarged and hinged (the barrel could be removed by unlocking the spur under the barrel from the recoil assembly). 7. the gunner's and loader's seat brackets were a different design so they could be quickly removed. 8. there are brackets at the end of trail which originally held a counterweight required because the gun unbalanced because the axle had been moved back. 9. the spade is a different profile. Charlie Clelland.
Provost
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, No. 1 of 2, placed beside the Royal Canadian Legion, Royal Canadian Legion, 5024-48th Street.
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, No. 2 of 2, placed beside the Royal Canadian Legion.
Redcliffe
(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)
German First World War 10.5-cm leichtes Feldhaubitze 16 (10.5-cm leFH 16), (Serial Nr. 12626). This gun was captured by the 31st Battalion (Alberta), 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). The gun is located beside the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 6 at 302 Broadway St E.
Red Deer, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA, 78th Field Battery, Cormack Armoury
(Maxwell Toms Photos)
(Terry Honour Photo)
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun, mounted in front of the Cormack Armoury, 4402 55 St. Home to 78 Field Battery, 20 Field Regiment, RCA.
Red Deer
155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235871)
(Maxwell Toms Photos)
(Terry Honour Photo)
155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher. CFR 34445. The carriage plate reads: CARR. HOW. 155MM M1A2 CDN. SOREL INDUSTRIES LTD. CANADA (year TBC). REG. NO. CDN 159, INSP (symbol). Korea Veterans Unit No. 67, Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 35, 2810 Bremner Ave.
20-pounder gun barrel from a Centurion Main Battle Tank mounted on a concrete stand with a NATO plaque.
Sangudo
(wildwoodke Photos)
American 90-mm M1A1 Anti-Aircraft (Serial No. 2879). This gun was obtained in 1967 from the West Coast Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 123, cenotaph on 50th Street.
Sedgewick
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun (Serial Nr. 846). This gun was captured by the 10th Battalion (Canadians), 1st Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 2 Sep 1918 at Villers-lez-Cagnicourt, France.
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun (Serial Nr. unknown).
Stavely
(Clayton Gillespie Photos)
German First World War 17-cm mittlerer Minenwerfer (17-cm mMW), (Serial Nr. 1966). This Trench Mortar was captured by the 2nd Battalion, Eastern Ontario Regiment, 1st Canadian Brigade, 1st Canadian Division. No date, no location, no allocation listed.
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun (Serial Nr. unknown).
Taber
(Colin MacGregor Stevens Photo)
(Ed Martin Photos)
German First World War 7.7cm Infanteriegeschütze L/27 (7.7-cm IG L/27), (Infantry Gun), (Serial Nr. 9383), no data. This gun stands beside the town cenotaph, opposite the Royal Hotel.
The 7.7cm IG (Infanteriegeschutz) L/27 was Krupp's third attempt at building an infantry support gun which could closely follow the infantry in attack and provide close support and anti-tank fire in defence. The gun was extensively modified compared to the standard field gun. From observation some of the changes are: 1. the wheel diameter was reduced to about 1m. 2. the wheel track was reduced by about 30cm. 3. the axle was moved back about 30cm. 4. no axle tree seats were fitted. 5. the gun shield was designed so it could be removed easily and was narrower. 6. the cover over the recuperator spring adjuster was enlarged and hinged (the barrel could be removed by unlocking the spur under the barrel from the recoil assembly). 7. the gunner's and loader's seat brackets were a different design so they could be quickly removed. 8. there are brackets at the end of trail which originally held a counterweight required because the gun unbalanced because the axle had been moved back. 9. the spade is a different profile (TBC). Charlie Clelland.
(Sgt Ed Martin Photo, Sgt at Arms, RCL Branch 20)
(Colin MacGregor Stevens Photos)
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, No. 1 of 2, (Serial Nr. 21584), DWM 1917, no data Stands beside the town cenotaph, near the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 20.
German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, No. 2 of 2, (Serial Nr. 42354), DWM 1918, no data. Stands beside the town cenotaph, near the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 20.
Thorhild
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, at the cenotaph, corner of 2nd St and 6th Ave.
Two Hills
155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher. This gun is located behind the cenotaph at 50th Ave and 50th St.
Vauxhall
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, in front of the Royal Canadian Legion, 217 5th St. N.
Vermilion
(Terry Honour Photo)
German First World War 7.7-cm Infantriegeshutz L/27 (7.7-cm IG L/27), (Serial Nr. 9406), no data, standing beside Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 11 at 5144 Railway Ave.
Wainright, 3 CDSB Detachment Wainwright
3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright, commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Wainwright or CFB Wainwright, is a Canadian Forces Base located in Denwood, Alberta, adjacent to the town of Wainwright.
The 583 km2 (225 sq mi) Buffalo National Park was closed in 1940 and the property leased by the Government of Alberta to the Department of National Defence (DND) for the creation of an ammunition storage facility as well as an army training camp. DND owned an adjacent 75 km2 (29 sq mi) property and used the facility for live-fire artillery, armoured and infantry training.
Called Wainwright Military Camp, or just Camp Wainwright, after the nearby Canadian National Railways division point, the facility saw use from 29 January 1945, to 24 May 1946, as a prisoner of war (POW) internment camp for 523 captured German officers, soldiers and civilians from its first day of operation to 1,100 POWs at its peak. During the16 months the POW camp was in full operation, only two prisoners made a successful escape. They were recaptured just over a month later, but not until they had reached Gary, Indiana.
Decommissioned as a POW internment camp in 1946, Camp Wainwright reverted to a Canadian Army training facility. The camp staff and guard company were reduced to nil strength a few weeks later, marking the end of this chapter of CFB/ASU Wainwright's history. Wainwright's infrastructure expanded significantly during the Korean War as buildings were constructed to house and train soldiers in three Canadian Army battalions, as well as units that would form British Commonwealth Forces Korea such as the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade.
The 1 February 1968 integration of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force to form the Canadian Forces was predated by a number of major changes to Canada's military structure. One of these saw Camp Wainwright transferred on 1 January 1967, to become an auxiliary satellite training camp of CFB Calgary. This was reverted on 1 August 1967, due to command and control problems, and Camp Wainwright became Canadian Forces Base Wainwright (CFB Wainwright) as a separate entity within the establishment of CFB Calgary.
An airfield was opened at CFB Wainwright in October 1967 and at the time of official unification, CFB Wainwright became a component of Training Command as the facility was tasked as a training area. CFB Wainwright offered both officer and basic training courses, battalion-level unit operations and acted as a host for training foreign detachments. Wainwright also offered administrative support services for 1Canadian Brigade Group units.
Subsequent changes to the force structure saw Wainwright's role as a training facility evolve, particularly as the garrisons at CFB Calgary and CFB Edmonton shifted some of their training tothe newly established and much larger CFB Suffield.
On 15 July 1974, the 1 Combat GroupOperational Training Detachment was formed at CFB Wainwright to conductindividual training for two or more units of Mobile Command's 1 Combat Group.
In 1980, to celebrate the 75thanniversary of the formation of Alberta, a small number of bison was transferred from Elk Island National Park to the grounds of the base. The herd remains on the base today.
In 1983, CFB Wainwright consisted of the training facilities, the 742 Communication Detachment and a British Army liaison detachment.
Defence cuts following the end of the Cold War during the 1990s resulted in the closure of CFB Calgary and consolidation of units at CFB Edmonton. CFB Wainwright was also impacted by defence cuts and was reduced to an Area Support Unit (ASU). ASU Wainwright, as the facility is also called, has 690 military personnel and 300 civilian workers. As part of 1 Area Support Group (ASG), it hosts the Land Force Western Area Training Centre (LFWATC) and the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre(CMTC), as well as the following units:
• 742 Signal Squadron Detachment
• 1 Field Ambulance Detachment
• 1 Dental Detachment
• 1 Garrison Military Police Company detachment
• 1 Engineer Equipment Troop
The transient military population averages over 1,000 personnel at any given time, and in the summer it grows significantly when hundreds of primary reservists undertake annual training. As of 2009 it is the main training base of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, including Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), and covers an area of 609 km2 (235 sq mi), which includes 25 weapons ranges. Although primarily a training base for the Canadian Army it is also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to train fighter bombers and search and rescue practice. The base also includes Wainwright/Wainwright (Field 21) Airport(52°49′50″N 111°06′02″W) located 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) west of Wainwright, approximately 7 NM (13 km; 8.1 mi) west of CFB Wainright, with a7,349-foot (2.240 km) asphalt runway.
The Wainwright Military Family Resource Centre(MFRC), located on CFB Wainwright, provides resources and support for military families.
Since 1942, 140 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Cayuga has operated on CFB Wainwright. In 2015, 3003 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps Battle River (PPCLI) was relocated to CFB Wainwright from Edgerton, Alberta. (CF)
18-pounder QF Mk. II Field Guns upgraded with pneumatic tires, Reg. No. 9121, WBC 18 II, mounted on carriage C871, RMC Arty Dept Kingston, 1933. 9121 was sent to Martin Perry as the prototype platform for the pneumatic tires - the gun was removed before shipping the carriage to the US. It is now mounted on carriage C6544. It was set up for display in Wainwright, Alberta in August 1981 by No. 1 Troop, 9 Para Squadron (UK) during Exercise Pond Jump West III. It is being restored by the 15th Field Artillery Regiment RCA in Vancouver.
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, placed on the ring road circling the ranges between 1978 and 1983. On loan from the RCA Museum, CFB Shilo, Manitoba.
Summary
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
Photos and technical data on artillery preserved in Canada may be viewed by Province on separate pages on this website.
