Artillery in Canada (5) Ontario: Barrie, Bath, Beamsville, Belfountain, Belle River, Belleville, Blenheim, Bloomfield, Bracebridge, Brantford, Brockville, Burlington and Burks Falls

Artillery in Ontario,

Barrie, Bath, Beamsville, Belfountain, Belle River, Belleville, Blenheim, Bloomfield, Bracebridge, Brantford, Brockville, Burlington and Burks Falls

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

According to the  1974 edition of ACP 125 Cansupp 1A, "Sheldrake" was the appointment title for the artillery representative in a headquarters.  "GOLF" was the arms indicator to be used by artillery callsigns on nets other than their own, especially those of the supported arms.

Barrie

(Author Photos)

155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher.  CFR unknown.  The carriage plate reads: CARR. HOW. 155MM M1A2 CDN. SOREL INDUSTRIES LTD. CANADA (year unknown), REG. NO. CDN TBC, INSP (symbol).  This Howitzer stands beside the Royal Canadian Legion at 410 Vincent Street.

Bath

(Terry Honour Photos

(Tim Laye Photos)

German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, possibly one of three allocated to Bath, (Serial Nr. 1822), no data, (Serial Nr. 1882), no data, or (Serial Nr. 3089), mounted on a Schlitten stand.  This weapon was captured on 9 Oct 1917 by the 12th Canadian Machine Gun Company, 4th Canadian Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), at Vimy, France.

Beamsville

(Tim Laye Photo)

German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, (Serial Nr. 7931), mounted on a Schlitten stand.  This weapon was captured on 28 Aug 1918 by a Canadian Battalion within an Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).  No official allocation in the record.  East side of the cenotaph, Jacob Beam Public School Park.

(Tim Laye Photos)

155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher.  CFR 40161.  The carriage plate reads: CARR. HOW. 155MM M1A2 CDN. SOREL INDUSTRIES LTD. CANADA (year TBC), REG. NO. CDN 176, INSP (symbol).  This gun is located in the Jacob Beam Public School Park, 5062 King Street.

Belfountain

Cast Iron Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun.

Belle River

105-mm C1A1 M2A2 Howitzer, CDN No. unknown, Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 399, 504 Notre Dame Street.

Belleville

German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, possibly one of six MG 08s allocated to Belleville, (Serial Nrs. 269, 552, 3009, 3112, 5518 and 9148).

(Terry Honour Photo)

106-mm M40A1 Recoilless Rifle mounted on an M38A1 CDN3 Jeep, inside the Armoury at 200 Pinnacle Street.

(Author Photo)

106-mm M40A1 Recoilless Rifle mounted on an M38A1 CDN3 Jeep, CFB Petawawa, Ontario, Aug 1974.

Blenheim

(Keldar5 Photo)

105-mm C1A1 M2A2 Howitzer.

Bloomfield

(Terry Warner Photo)

RML 9-pounder 8-cwt Gun, weight 8-1-4 (928 lbs), RGF No. 628, I, 1874, Queen Victoria cypher, unmounted.  Edson Warner.

French 4-pounder Naval Gun, bore about 3-1/4", ca.1750, unmounted.  On loan from the Honourary LCol of the 27th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, when 24th Bty in Granby, Quebec, was closed.  Edson Warner.

CFB Borden, Base Borden Military Museum

(Author Photo)

The page for artillery preserved in Ontario has grown too large to download quickly, therefore the guns on display at CFB Borden are listed on a separate web page on this website.  The photo shows a German Second World War Wirbelwind (Whirlwind) four-barreled 20-mm Anti-Aircraft Gun currently being restored by a dedicated band of volunteers at CFB Borden.

Bracebridge

(Tom Forbes Photos)

Blomefield Cast Iron 18-pounder Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun, weight 42-0-2 (4,706 lbs), (WCo) (Walker & Company) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 597) on right trunnion, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on a concrete stand.  Town Park, facing North.

(Jim Stanton Photos)

(Tom Forbes Photos)

Blomefield Cast Iron 18-pounder Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun, weight 41-3-19 (4,695 lbs), (WCo) (Walker & Company) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 607) on right trunnion, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on a concrete stand.  Town Park, facing South.

(Patrick Smith Photos)

German First World War 7.7-cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7-cm FK 96 n.A.), (Serial Nr. 4198), captured by the 14th Battalion, 2nd Canadian, Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 8 Aug 1918, between Aubercourt and Marcels Ave, France.  This field gun sits next to Royal Canadian Legion Branch 161 in Bracebridge.

Brantford, 56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA

The 56th Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery is a Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) regiment of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group based in Brantford, Ontario, in the Sgt William Merrifield Armoury, at 18 Brant Avenue, Brantford, Ontario.

Brantford

left trunnion

right trunnion.

(The Blue Quasar Photos)

Russian 24-pounder (TBC) SBML Gun by Foullon with double-headed Eagle, Crimean War trophy, mounted on a Naval wooden wheeled carriage.  (Serial No. 22506) on trunnion, Cyrillic AKCHD ZBD (AKSND ZVD).  The left trunnion carries the serial number, the name of the maker and its director, the right trunnion is engraved with the calibre, type of gun, weight, and date of casting.  There appears to be shot damage on the side of the gun and a chip is missing from the lip of the muzzle with additional damage on the barrel.  This gun is reported to have been brought to Canada by the British 7th Fusiliers as war booty.  This unit was stationed in Brantford Ontario in 1863 and when the regiment returned to Britain after the end of the American Civil War they gifted the gun to the City.  This gun  stands in Alexandra Park.

The Crimean War was fought between Oct 1853 and Oct 1856, between Russia and Turkey.  Turkey called on its allies, Britain, France and Sardinia, for support.  The primary battle took place for possession of the Russian seaport at Sevastopol on the Baltic Sea in Crimea. Sevastopol was under siege for most of the war from Oct 1854 to Sep 1855, with great loss of life on all sides.  The Treaty of Paris ended the war in March 1856, and the allies collected some 4,000 Russian guns.  Half of these went to France, and about 1,500 went to England, along with hundreds of brass guns at the end of the Crimean War.  Many of the guns captured at the great Russian Naval base of Sevastopol  in the Crimea were offered for display in towns and cities throughout the UK and the British Empire.

20 of these captured guns were presented to Canada, and in the fall of 1857 they were put on display in Montreal before being distributed to other cities.  Pairs of guns were sent to Brantford, Cambridge, Galt, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Stratford, Trois Rivieres, Toronto and Windsor.  18 of these guns survive, one of the Hamilton guns was destroyed by vandals.

Brantford, Canadian Military Heritage Museum

Bronze 9-pounder Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun mounted on a field carriage.

(Neil Cameron Hurlburt Photo)

Ordnance QF 2-pounder Anti-tank Gun, mounted on a 6-pounder gun carriage inside the museum.

(Balcer Photo)

25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, (Serial No. 15947), Brantford Gunners Club, previously on the corner of Henry Street and Earl Avenue, now inside the museum.  This gun is on loan from the RCA Museum, CFB Shilo, Manitoba.

(Balcer Photos)

German First World War 7.7-cm Feldkanone 16 (7.7-cm FK 16), (Serial Nr. 22990), captured by the 18th Battalion, 2nd Canadian Division near Villers-lès-Cagnicourt, France, on 27 August 1918.

The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 16 (7.7 cm FK 16) was a German field gun with a longer range than the FK 96 n.A.  The barrel is longer and the gun has a box carriage to allow for greater elevation, which increased the range.  It also has separate-loading ammunition to reduce powder consumption and barrel wear at short ranges, although this had the drawback of reducing the rate of fire compared to the older gun.  It was prematurely rushed into production in 1916 and early guns suffered from a number of defects, mainly stemming from the German use of substitute materials to reduce consumption of strategic metals. It also suffered from a large number of premature detonations of its shells during 1916.

(Balcer Photo)

(JustSomePics Photos)

German First World War 15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13 (15-cm sFH 13), (Serial Nr. 373), TBC, captured by the 116th Battalion near Demuin, France, 8 August 1918.  This gun stands in Jubilee Park beside the Boer War Memorial.

The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13 (15 cm sFH 13), was a German heavy field howitzer.  The gun was a development of the previous standard howitzer, the 15 cm sFH 02.  Improvements included a longer barrel resulting in better range and a gun shield to protect the crew.  Variants were: the original "kurz" (L/14 – 14 calibre short barrel version), the lg. sFH13 with a longer barrel; and lg. sFH13/02 with minor modifications to simplify wartime manufacture of the lg. sFH weapons. Initially there were serious issues of weak recoil spring mechanisms that would break, and gun barrel explosions.  The problems were solved with the upgrades.  The British referred to these and their shells as "5 point 9"s or "5 9"s as the bore was 5.9 inches (150 mm).  The ability of these guns to deliver mobile heavy firepower close to the frontline gave the Germans a major firepower advantage on the Western Front early in the First World War, as the French and British lacked an equivalent.  It was not until late 1915 that the British began to deploy their own 6 inch 26 cwt howitzer.  About 3,500 of these guns were produced from 1913 to 1918.

(Balcer Photos)

German First World War 15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 1902 (15-cm sFH 02), (Serial Nr. 871), no data.  CMHM, originally allocated to Simcoe, Ontario.

The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 1902 (15 cm sFH 02) was a German heavy field howitzer introduced in 1903.  It was the first artillery piece to use a modern recoil system in the German Army. Some 416 were in service at the beginning of the war.  Its mobility, which allowed it to be deployed as medium artillery, and fairly heavy shell gave the German army a firepower advantage in the early battles in Belgium and France in 1914 as the French and British armies lacked an equivalent.

Brockville

(Terry Honour Photo)

Blomefield Cast Iron 24-pounder 50-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Gun, weight 49-3-24 (5,596 lbs), left and right trunnions covered in cement, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on concrete stand.  Brockville Armoury.

(JustSomePics Photos)

(Terry Honour Photo)

(Chris Charland Photo)

RML 9-pounder 8-cwt Gun, weight 8-1-4 (928 lbs), RGF No. 237, I, 1872, Queen Victoria cypher, mounted on a steel carriage, Newcastle on Tyne No. 1454.  Brockville Armoury.

(Terry Honour Photo)

(Cam Martel Photo)

German First World War 7.7-cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7-cm FK 96 n.A.), (Serial Nr. 2267), Kaiser Wilhelm I cypher, 1898 and 1907.  This gun was captured by the 2nd Battalion on 27 September 1918 on the Arras-Cambrai Road NorthWest of Raillencourt, France.  Brockville Armoury.

The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art (7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.) is a German field gun.  The gun combined the barrel of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time.  The FK 96 n.A. was shorter-ranged, but lighter than the French Canon de 75 modèle 1897 or the British Ordnance QF 18 pounder gun; the Germans placed a premium on mobility, which served them well during the early stages of the First World War. However, once the front had become static, the greater rate of fire of the French gun and the heavier shells fired by the British gun put the Germans at a disadvantage. The Germans remedied this by developing the longer-ranged, but heavier 7.7 cm FK 16.  As with most guns of its era, the FK 96 n.A. had seats for two crewmen mounted on its splinter shield.  Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.7_cm_FK_96_n.A.

(Terry Honour Photo)

(Cam Martel Photo)

German First World War 15-cm Feldhaubitze 13 (15-cm FH 13), (Serial Nr. 2914), 1030, 22671 stamped on breech, serious battle damage on the barrel.  Kaiser Wilhelm I cypher, Fried. Krupp A.G, 1918.  This gun was also captured by the 2nd Battalion on 27 September 1918 on the Arras-Cambrai Road NorthWest of Raillencourt, France.  Brockville Armoury.

(Canadianzomibe Photo

(JustSomePics Photo)

(Terry Honour Photo)

(Chris Charland Photos)

Ordnance QF 40-mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun, Brockville Rifles, Brockville Armoury.

Burlington

(JustSomePics Photos)

Ordnance QF 17-pounder Anti-Tank Gun, 828 Legion Road.

In June 1947, Canada had 149 towed QF 17-pounder Anti-Tank Guns in service.  These guns served until 1952, when they were offered to NATO.  Those remaining in 1959 were scrapped or became part of war memorials including at least 28 that have been found and documented on these web pages.

Burks Falls

German First World War 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG 08 Machinegun, possibly (Serial Nr. 9368), TBC, captured by the Royal Canadian Regiment near Lens, France, 19 April 1918; or (Serial Nr. 25204), captured by the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles near Arras, France.  Stan Darling Village Park.

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