Artillery in Canada (5) Ontario: Toronto, HMCS York, and 7th Toronto Field Artillery Regiment
Toronto, CFCSC, HMCS York, and
the 7th Toronto Field Artillery Regiment
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
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.
Toronto, Canadian Forces Command and Staff College
(Author Photo)
3-inch 50 calibre guns in a Naval twin gun mounting.
Toronto, HMCS York, 659 Lakeshore Blvd West.
(Curtis Kostin)
4-inch/45 QF Mk. XVI* Twin Guns (Serial No. S/8293), L, left, and (Serial No. S/8236), R, right, on a Mk. XIX High Angle mounting, Vickers Armstrong Pattern, Trenton Industries, Trenton, Nova Scotia, Admiralty No. CAN 48.
This twin gun mount was never onboard a ship. It was delivered to HMCS York during the war when the unit was located in the Automotive Building of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). It was used for training. Gordon Laco noted that using a range table for that weapon, he calculated that if the mount could be activated (impossible because the barrels were cut off and welded on again instead of properly dismounted and remounted when the high angle mounting was moved outside) and were fired, the shells would land near the intersection of Finch and Bayview Avenues in North York. At the rate of fire a trained crew could attain, by the time the first pair of rounds landed, there would be three more pair in the air on their way.
HMCS York also owned
(Photos courtesy of HMCS York)
12-pounder 8-cwt QF Royal Navy Landing Gun, weight weight 8-0-0 (896 lbs), Serial No. 1750, 1903. Breech block, Serial No. 4111 (stamped out), 1917. King Edward VII cypher. Carriage plate: Q.F. 12 Pr. Naval Trg, Made at Elswick Works, 1898. Exd (Examined) at Portsmouth, 1898. Wt Carriage Complete 6 1/4 Cwt. Admiralty No. 56, 1898, Kings Arrow. With Limber, Serial No. 9049.
The breech for this gun is for a 12-pounder and a 14-pounder, which was a Maxim Nordenfelt competitor to the 12-pounder. It would therefore appear the breech blocks were interchangeable. The British gunners apparently used the same ammunition for the two guns. Canada may not have used the Maxim, although that needs to be confirmed.
(Master Seaman Curtis Kostin Photos, HMCS York)
Limber for the 12-pounder 8-cwt QF Royal Navy Landing Gun at HMCS York.
Toronto, 7th Toronto Field Artillery Regiment
The 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery is a Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) regiment of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment was formed in 1965 when all the gunner units within the Toronto garrison (29th Field Regiment, 42nd Medium Regiment and 1st Locating Regiment) were merged. There are three batteries within the regiment, 9 Bty – the howitzer or gun battery, 15 Bty – the mortar battery, and 130 Bty – the headquarters battery as well as training and recruiting. Currently all three batteries parade at Moss Park Armoury, 130 Queen Street East.
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, missing its shield, standing in front of the Moss Park Armoury.
25-pounder C Mk. 2 QF Field Gun with No. 9 circular firing platform, standing in front of Moss Park Armoury.
155-mm C1 (M1A2) Medium Howitzer on M1A2 Carriage, aka M114, manufactured at Sorel Industries Limited in Quebec, Queen Elizabeth II cypher. CFR TBC. The carriage plate reads: CARR. HOW. 155MM M1A2 CDN. SOREL INDUSTRIES LTD. CANADA (1955), REG. NO. CDN 11, INSP (symbol), standing in front of the Moss Park Armoury.
105-mm C3 M2A2 Howitzer, CDN No. 65, CFR 34140.
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.
