Canadian War Trophies -captured weapons and equipment in Canada from the Crimean War, the Fenian Raids, the Boer War, the Great War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Yugoslav Wars and Afghanistan

Canadian War Trophies - captured War Prize weapons and equipment preserved in Canada from the Crimean War, the Fenian Raids, the Boer War, the Great War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Yugoslav Wars and Afghanistan.

Order Canadian War Trophies online here:

This book can be order online at Lulu.com:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/harold-a-skaarup/canadian-war-trophies/paperback/product-21046402.html

https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-War-Trophies-Harold-Skaarup/dp/1300964146/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=harold+skaarup+canadian+war+trophies&qid=1623448220&sr=8-1

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/canadian-war-trophies-harold-skaarup/1116345533?ean=9781300964148

FlaKpanzer Mk IV Wirbelwind, CFB Borden, Ontario

Canadian War Trophies is an informative and detailed synopsis of the carefully preserved and restored weapons and equipment of former adversaries on display in Canada.  The war prize items described include 18 Russian cannon taken during the Crimean War and gifted to Canada by Queen Victoria, captured artillery from the Fenian Raids, the Second Boer War, German small arms, guns and aircraft from the Great War, Axis weapons from the Second World War, including tanks, artillery, aircraft, rockets and submarines and a few of the weapons representing the forces of former Warsaw Pact nations of the Cold War era.

These War Prizes represent some of the difficulties Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen have had to face in order to protect our nation from the threats posed by numerous adversaries back to the days before Canada’s Confederation.  It has been an honour for those of us who have served in the Canadian Forces, but the task of keeping our nation safe is unlikely to ever be complete.  These weapons of war are preserved to remind us of what may come when opposition to our freedom and way of life stands unopposed.  We must choose to be well prepared to meet potential threats with vigilance, proper training and equipment, sound alliances and an understanding of what the cost may be.

In doing so, it is necessary to remember that the weapons of war are an integral part of what keeps this nation safe, although the examples that have been preserved in Canada to make it so are few and far between.  The descriptions of Canadian war trophies and the places where they can be viewed highlights the importance of the equipment that brought our nation forward at key turning points in history when our own weapons were in use as tools of war at home and overseas.  This guide book will show the interested reader where to find examples of the historical weapons and equipment used by former adversaries that have been preserved in Canada.  These weapons of war should help to serve as a window on how Canada’s military contribution to security in the world has had to evolve in order to meet the difficulties and increasingly dangerous challenges we have had to face both in peace and war.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3584067)

Fieseler Fi 103 Reichenburg IV piloted Buzz Bomb brought to Canada in 1945 by Captain Farley Mowat's Intelligence Collection Team, shown here on display on Air Force Day at RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, 16 June 1947.  This item is now on display in the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.  To the right of the R-IV is a Junkers Jumo engine taken from one of the two Messerschitt Me 262 jet fighters brought to Canada.  Five of these jet engines survive in the Canada Aviation & Space Museum in Ottawa, but the two jets were destroyed.

Dear Harold,

"Thanks muchly for the book.  It is a labour of love, and a paragon of all the virtues.  I'm really much impressed, and very grateful to you for reviving old memories.  But that damned old V-2.  Now its ghost lingers in Picton?  I'm beginning to think that damn thing likes masquerading as a one-man sub.  Maybe she's taken the long dive in [the] Lake of Two Mountains?...Thanks again.  You've done a stupendous job of research, and given us a clear (maybe too clear) a picture of what utter imbeciles we human beings are."

Cheers, Farley Mowat, July wunth, 2013.

(CNE Archives Photo)

(CNE Archives Photo)

V2 rocket on display at the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, Ontario, 1950.  This rocket was recovered from Europe in 1945 by Captain Farlehy Mowat and his DHH Intelligence Collection Team, examined at Camp Valcartier, Quebec, and shown here at the CNE in Toronto.  It is believed to be buried somewhere on the grounds of former RCAF Station Clinton, Ontario, ca 1960 (TBC).

(CNE and Exhibition Place Archives Photo, Alexandra Photo Studio Collection, Negative No.s MG5-28-4 and MG5-28-6)

V-2 rocket on display at the Canadian National Exhibition, ca 1950.

V-2 Rocket in Canada

While researching the locations of surviving war trophies brought to Canada in 1945, the author spoke with retired Captain Farley M. Mowat about his post war task of collecting German weapons and equipment that was of interest to Canada.  He was very detailed in his response.

When the war ended in Europe in May 1945, Captain Mowat was serving with the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment in the Netherlands.  He was assigned to Intelligence duties, and eventually succeeded in locating, identifying and collecting over 700 tons of German equipment, documents and material which he then shipped from Antwerp back to Montreal.[1]

Captain Mowat ‘s five-man team gathered up major examples of German armour, artillery, support weapons and equipment from a variety of locations in Western Europe and he arranged for their transport back to Canada on an American Liberty ship, the SS Blommersdyke.  The majority of this shipment was sent to the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment (CARDE) based at Valcartier, Québec.  After examination, some of the kit was moved Camp Borden, Ontario, where a few of the larger armour and artillery pieces remain on display, while a number of other pieces were dispersed around the country.

The team collected a significant number of large scale weapons that made it back to Canada which have since disappeared, including Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks.  A Sturmgeschütz III they recovered was used (briefly) as a target on the ranges at CFB Petawawa, but was later salvaged and is now on display in the Canadian War Museum (CWM) in its heavily damaged state.  The Wirbelwind self-propelled four-barrelled Anti-Aircraft (SP AAA) gun system mounted on a Panzer IV chassis currently displayed at the Base Borden Military Museum was included in his list, but the Panther that was on display at CFB Borden (now restored in the CWM) was not.  The Panzer V came up from the USA in time to be placed on display on Parliament hill on Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

Other German equipment brought back by Captain Mowat’s Intelligence Collection Team included one 8.8-cm FlaK 37 AA Gun, now on display in the Canadian War Museum (CWM) in Ottawa, and one 8.8-cm PaK 43 AT Gun, which is now on display on the grounds of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.  Other Canadian units managed to bring back significant items as well, likely including an 8.8-cm PaK 43/41 AT Gun on display at Lisle, Ontario, and a second 8.8-cm FlaK 37 now on display on the grounds of the Royal Military College and a third on display at CFB Petawawa.

A good number of German artillery pieces captured or collected by Canadian military units overseas can be found on display at CFB Borden, Ontario, CFB Shilo, Manitoba and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.  A few pieces may also be found at CFB Petawawa, Ontario, CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, and CFB Valcartier, Québec.

One of two Sturmgeschütz III tracked self-propelled tank hunters that were on display at Shilo has recently been relocated to England, while another went back to Germany.  One of the most interesting items from Captain Mowat’s SS Blommersdyke shipment that is presently being restored in the CWM is a very rare Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg IV piloted version of the V-1 cruise missile.  In 1945 Captain Mowat visited a firing range near Meppen, Germany, which had been used by the Krupp arms manufacturer as an experimental gun establishment to test new guns, shells and projectiles.  “At least a hundred huge steel tubes were on the firing line, many mounted on railroad carriages.  One...was a 60-cm siege howitzer...estimated to have weighed a hundred tons.”  The Intelligence Collection Team “took samples of everything”, including a 12-cm tank gun meant to arm the gigantic 90-ton German tank nick-named the “Maus” (Mouse).  The gun was brought back towed on a flatbed trailer by a 60-cwt truck.[2]

The 1944 Molch (Newt) one-man submarine as well as two Enigma encryption machines has also survived intact from the SS Blommersdyke shipment.  Not all of the Serial Numbers of the equipment found on Captain Mowat’s list match items with a similar description found in the CWM, so there are likely a number of other sources of origin for some of the items listed here.

Captain Mowat knew he was not responsible for all of the German equipment brought to Canada.  He had apparently arranged for a “14 tanks and self-propelled guns” including a “Royal” Tiger II a Panzer V Panther and a range of Panzer tanks from the Mk II upwards most in running condition.  In his list of items intended for transport, he had “23 special purpose vehicles ranging from an amphibious Volkswagen to a 15-ton armoured half-track personnel carrier.”  Artillery in the collection included 40 types of artillery pieces ranging in size from 2-cm to 21-cm, and embracing an airborne recoilless gun, a “squeeze barrel” anti-tank gun, infantry guns, anti-tank guns from 8.8-cm up to 12.8-cm, field guns, medium guns and heavy guns, all of which were in firing condition.  In his Progress Report to LCol Harrison, OC 1 Canadian Historical Section, HQ First Canadian Army on 10 July 1945, he noted that “Railroad guns up to 32-cm” were available but would “demand some time to move”.[3]

By 22 July 1945, the team had added a 63-ton Jagdtiger tank in operating condition to the collection as well as four 2-ton acoustic sea mines, four 24-inch acoustic torpedoes, a 45-foot long 12-ton V-2 rocket and 18 truckloads of various Wehrmacht equipment. [4]

The King (Royal) Tiger and Panther tanks were to be loaded on tank transporters and brought to the dock for loading on the SS Blommersdyke, but the American flatbed crews brought them to another site and they were subsequently transported to the USA.  One of the significant items he did manage to bring back was a V-2 rocket with a particularly interesting story attached to it.

Captain Mowat had spoken with the leader of the Dutch resistance in his area, Colonel Tyc Michaels, who informed him of the location of the Rheintochter Anti-Aircraft missile factory, which had been bombed out.  During the investigation of the contents of the factory, his team collected some documentation and a few missile parts that made it back to Canada.  He also learned of a trainload of ten V-2 rockets which were sitting on railway cars in a railway siding hidden in Germany.  “The missile was located off the right of way on the north south line running along the Weser River west of Nienburg, Germany.  It was the only one of about ten that had not been shot up or burnt by air attack.  As the V-2 at the time of ‘procurement’ was forbidden by 21 Army Group to Canadians this piece had an interesting several months hiding in woods and being disguised as everything from a privy to a submarine, to keep it from the prying eyes of the British High Command.”[5]

Just before the order forbidding the acquisition of any rocket material was sent down, Capt Mowat had dispatched Lieutenant R. Mike Donovan, a Canadian Intelligence Corps Officer, to see if he could acquire one of these V-2s from the British who occupied the sector.[6]  Lieutenant Donovan set out from the team’s home base at Meppen in the Netherlands and over a three day period drove to a railway siding “somewhere near Hamburg” where ran into a British detachment guarding a number of railway flatcars each carrying a V-2 rocket.  The British were not keen on parting with such important war material to “colonials” and wouldn’t let him get near the site.  After an initial recce of the scene, he noted through his binoculars that “an access roadway ran alongside the rail spur and that the last V-2 in the train was partly concealed in a pine woods through which the trail meandered to join a secondary road not far beyond.”  Lieutenant Donovan drove back to Ouderkerk and joined by Lieutenant Jim Hood set off again with a 12-ton 16-wheel Mack breakdown lorry with a tow-hook, made a brief detour to Bremerhaven where they liberated a German one-man mini-submarine trailer and then drove to a forest within two miles of the V-2 rail-car site, where Lieutenant Hood hid with the rig and himself.  They were also bearing a “30-litre demijohn of DeKuyper’s gin.”

Lieutenant Donovan drove on in a jeep and presented himself again at the guard post.  He offered to share his gin, and while pretending to get loaded himself, proceeded to get the British Infantry guard group drunk.  Just before dusk, he told his drinking partners he had to relieve himself, and went back to his jeep where he used a small Number 38 radio set to tell Lieutenant Hood the coast was clear.  Lieutenant Hood and his work crew quietly as possible eased the Mack and its trailer up close to the railcar with the chosen rocket.  There in the dark, the Canadian soldiers stealthily managed to break the chains and “rolled it off the flatcar and down a bunch of timber skids on the trailer”.[7]  (This could not have been an easy task in the dark, as the rocket is the size of a modern day SCUD missile similar to those the author examined near Policharki, in Afghanistan).

While Lieutenant Hood was crawling cautiously away with the black-painted V-2 rocket prize, Lieutenant Donovan was leading the British guards in a singing session.  When he felt the coast was clear, Mike disengaged himself, but left the still well-filled demijohn with his British choir.  He caught up with his crew on the highway and sped ahead of them, stopping at each checkpoint along the way to warn the barrier guards that a bomb disposal crew was coming through with unexploded ordnance, and as a result  and he and his crew barrelled back the way they came and delivered the rocket to Ouderkerk in Holland.”

On discovering the V-2 outside his window the next morning Captain Mowat had the rocket moved into a large storage hangar.  In order to keep the collected war prize concealed, Captain Mowat had carpenters build a small wooden conning tower, which they installed on top of the rocket, boarded over the fins and installed a wooden propeller.  Once the mock tower and propeller were in place, the team proceeded to paint the complete V-2 rocket in navy blue.  Curious inquirers were told that the device was an experimental submarine.  In this form, the V-2 was kept hidden until it could be loaded on the Liberty Transport Ship SS Blommersdyke which eventually left port carrying over 700 tons of collected German war prizes and steamed across the Atlantic to Montreal.[8]

On arrival, Captain Mowat spoke with the Chief of General Staff (GGS), Major-General Howard Graham, an officer he had served with in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, to explain in detail what they had imported.  Shortly afterwards, a Lieutenant-Colonel arrived from the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment (CARDE) based at Valcartier, Québec, along with a work crew which hauled the V-2, trailer and all, back to Valcartier.  There, the V-2 was dismantled.  As the science team was examining the rocket they made the interesting, if somewhat disconcerting discovery that the warhead was still filled with its high explosive material.  The liquid explosive compound inside the rocket’s warhead had hardened and had to be removed by the scientists by carefully drilling a hole in the nose cone and inserting a hose to wash it out.

The V-2 was blueprinted and then disappeared from the story for a few years.  In 1950 it was placed on display on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.  After this, it seems to have disappeared again.  It may have gone to the USA (there is one on display in Aberdeen, New Jersey, another in the National Museum of the USAF, and one in the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., for example).  It is possible that it was buried on the grounds of what is present day Canadian Forces Base Downsview, Toronto, Ontario or, it may have been scrapped.  None of these possibilities has been confirmed.[9]  (The author would be very interested in hearing from any reader who may have information that could lead to the discovery of where this V-2 is presently located).

[1] Author conversation with Captain (Retired) Farley Mowat, 29 June 2006.

[2] Farley M. Mowat, My Father’s Son: Memories of War and Peace, (Houghton Mifflin, the University of Michigan, 1992), p. 296.

[3] Farley M. Mowat, My Father’s Son: Memories of War and Peace, (Houghton Mifflin, the University of Michigan, 1992), p. 297.

[4] As an aside, Captain Mowat mentioned that claims for damages from a number of Dutch towns were “probably perfectly valid” due to the “results of putting an Infantry Captain behind the steering bars of a Royal Tiger.”  Farley M. Mowat, My Father’s Son, p. 299.

[5] Catalogue of Canadian War Museum Equipment Collection, p. 121.

[6] Lt R.M. Donovan and Capt F.M. Mowat are mentioned by Major S.R. Elliot in Scarlet to Green, A History of Intelligence in the Canadian Army, 1903-1963 (Canadian Intelligence and Security Association, Hunter Rose Company, Toronto, 1981), p. 341.

[7] Ibid, p. 301.

[8] Ibid, p. 302.

[9] The author spoke with Dr Charles Rhéaume, PhD, DHH 2-7, who found evidence that the V-2 was displayed at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in 1950.  The date of display was documented through Audrey Borges from the CNE Archives.  The V-2 was made available through the auspices of the Department of National Defence for the 1950 display.

(DND Photos via Mike Kaehler)

V-2 Rocket in Canada, ca 1960.

V-2 Update by Andrew King.  TheTimeWinders@gmail.com (22 Nov 2014)

A retired Air Canada pilot, David Savage, who lived in Picton, Ontario, in the 1960s, provides some clues as to the rocket’s potential resting place.

On the outskirts of the small town, there are the remains of a once-sprawling Forces base full of assorted military equipment and buildings from its role as a Second World War RCAF training facility.

In the 1960s, the base was used for storing surplus aircraft and artillery training. Surplus P-51 Mustangs, B-25 Mitchell bombers and other aircraft were stowed to be sold off for scrap or to collectors. In his recent book Camp Picton, author Ian Robertson mentions the V2 rocket in great detail, and he spoke with Savage, who managed to photograph a few things around the airbase in 1961.

One of Savage’s photos shows what appears to be the lost V2 rocket sitting on its side, apparently on the same trailer used to transport it at the 1950 CNE, weathered and missing its nose cone. The unmistakable shape and size is clearly that of a V2 rocket. It seems logical that it was brought to the Picton airbase for storage with all the other unwanted old DND equipment.

Savage left Picton in 1962, never knowing what happened to the rocket he captured on camera. The base closed in 1969, and the whereabouts of the V2 are unknown with no further information about what happened to the stored rocket available.

Locals in Picton who grew up during the 1960s recall the V2 and other old equipment being bulldozed into the base landfill site. If this is the case, a very significant piece of world history lies under the surface, waiting to be discovered, perhaps preserved and exhibited in a museum along with the fascinating story of how it got there.

The airport property, including the landfill area, is owned by Loch-Sloy Holdings Ltd., which has reported that the landfill area that may contain the remnants of the rocket is a “contaminated” zone, hindering further investigation.

With the possibility that Canada’s lost Nazi rocket sits buried beneath a layer of dirt in Picton, one wonders if it remains there, or perhaps sits in pieces at some forgotten scrapyard. With only 20 remaining examples out of the original 6,000 rockets made, it might be worthwhile to find out, once and for all, whether Mowat’s captured rocket is really there, waiting to become a new part of our collection of great Canadian war stories.  Andrew King.  TheTimeWinders@gmail.com

German First World War Trophies preserved in Canada

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3401252)

Canadian with captured German First World War swords, ca 1919.

For detailed photos German First and Second World War Artillery on display in Canada by province see "Artillery - Canada" and "Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Tanks - Canada" on this website.

Surviving German Great War Trophy Guns currently accounted for on display in Canada

7.7-cm FK 96 n.A. (38),

Esquimalt, BC, (Serial Nr. 595)

Kelowna, BC, (Serial Nr. 2577)

Calgary, AB, (Serial Nr. 1571)

CFB Edmonton, AB, (Serial Nr. 929)

CFB Edmonton, AB, (Serial Nr. 4945)

Estavan, SK, (Serial Nr. 8601)

Fort Qu'appelle, SK (Serial Nr. 8482)

Fort Saskatchewan, SK, (Serial Nr. 1251)

CFB Shilo, MB, (Serial Nr. 3316)

CFB Shilo, MB, (Serial Nr. 3734)

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, (Serial Nr. 204)

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, (Serial Nr. 13224)

Brockville, ON, (Serial Nr. 2267)

Collingwood, ON, (Serial Nr. 3263)

Kars, ON, (Serial Nr. 13224)

Kingston, ON, (Serial Nr. 8368)

L'Original, ON, (Serial Nr. 5255)

Lunenburg, ON, (Serial Nr. 6959)

Mount Forest, ON, (Serial Nr. 268)

Morrisburg, ON, (Serial Nr. 2542)

Morrisburg, ON, (Serial Nr. 1323)

Shelburne, ON, (Serial Nr. 435)

Thunder Bay, ON, (Serial Nr. 69)

Windsor, ON, (Serial Nr. 4451)

Lévis, PQ, (Serial Nr. 1022)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 9742)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. 8382)

Lac Megantic, PQ, (Serial Nr. 6502)

Saint-Jérôme, PQ, (Serial Nr. 3743)

Campbelltown, NB, (Serial Nr. 2402)

Grand Falls, NB, (Serial Nr. 8283)

Hopewell Cape, NB, (Serial Nr. 784)

Perth-Andover, NB, (Serial Nr. 4095)

Woodstock, NB, (Serial Nr. 2398)

Shelburne, NS, (Serial Nr. 18251)

Bonavista, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Placentia, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Trinity, NL, (Serial Nr. 7661)

7.7-cm NK (1),

Esquimalt, BC, (Serial Nr. 9739)

7.7-cm FK 16 (28),

Cranbrook, BC, (Serial Nr. 19241)

Brooks, AB, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Lethbridge, AB, (Serial Nr. 12706)

Regina, SK, (Serial Nr. 60)

Regina, SK, (Serial Nr. 2666)

Carman, SK, (Serial Nr. 10726)

Carman, SK, (Serial Nr. 15207)

Brantford, ON, (Serial Nr. 22990)

Guelph, ON, (Serial Nr. 101433)

Innisfil, ON, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Kars, ON, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Milton, ON, (Serial Nr. 9563)

Petrolia, ON, (Serial Nr. 11761)

Port Hope, ON, (Serial Nr. 291)

St. Catherines, ON, (Serial Nr. 7981)

Trenton, ON, (Serial Nr. 12490)

Wingham, ON, (Serial Nr. 12602)

Woodbridge, ON, (Serial Nr. 5803)

CFB Petawawa, ON, (Serial Nr. 24717)

Lac Megantic, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Lac Megantic, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

New Carlisle, PQ, (Serial Nr. 17391)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 12323)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 8899)

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, PQ, (Serial Nr. 14585)

Summerside, PEI, (Serial Nr. 13820)

Black River, NS, (Serial Nr. 376)

Whitehorse, YT, (Serial Nr. 7414)

7.7-cm IG L/27 (3)

Peace River, AB (Serial Nr. 9366)

Taber, AB, (Serial Nr. 9383)

Vermilion, AB, (Serial No. 9406)

10.5-cm leFH 98/09 (7),

Frank, AB, (Serial Nr. 3392)

Brandon, MB, (Serial Nr. 2637)

Sault Ste Marie, ON, (Serial Nr. 46)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 5051)

Sayabec, PQ, (Serial Nr. 2908)

Lennox Island, PEI, (Serial Nr. 223)

Mount Stewart, PEI, (Serial Nr. 438)

10-cm K 14 (3),

Lethbridge, AB, (Serial Nr. 160)

Niagara-on-the-Lake (Serial Nr. 201)

Hopewell Cape, NB, (Serial Nr. 590)

10-cm K 17 (4),

Niagara Falls, ON, (Serial Nr. 39)

Quebec Sity, PQ, (Serial Nr. 10)

St. John's, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

St. John's, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

10.5-cm leFH 16 (7),

Redcliffe, AB, (Serial Nr. 12626)

Battleford, SK, (Serial Nr. 16660)

Saltcoats, SK, (Serial Nr. 4306)

Sturgeon Falls, ON, (Serial Nr. 3264)

Summerside, PEI, (Serial Nr. 7419)

Bridgewater, NS, (Serial Nr. 1638)

Dawson City, YT, (Serial Nr. 6562)

15-cm K 16 (1),

Saskatoon, SK, (Serial Nr. 1034)

15-cm sFH 02 (9),

Lethbridge, AB, (Serial Nr. 1101)

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, (Serial Nr. 877)

Brantford, ON, (Serial Nr. 871)

Lucan, ON, (Serial Nr. 9)

Uxbridge, ON, (Serial Nr. 911)

Lévis, PQ, (Serial Nr. 360)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 473)

Kensington, PEI, (Serial Nr. 86)

Dawson City, YT, (Serial Nr. 1169)

15-cm sFH 13 (5),

Neepawa, MB, (Serial Nr. 2790)

Brantford, ON, (Serial Nr. 373)

Windsor, ON, (Serial Nr. 125)

CFB Valcartier, PQ, (Serial Nr. 1098)

St. John's, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

15-cm FH 17 (1)

Brockville, ON, (Serial Nr. 2914)

21-cm Mrs 10 (1),

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON (Serial Nr. 679)

Quebec City, PQ, (Serial Nr. 85)

21-cm Mrs 16 (2),

Quebec City, la Citadel, PQ, (Serial Nr. 826)

15-cm L/40 (1),

Woodbridge, ON, (Serial Nr. 4826)

15-cm L/45 (1)

Woodbridge, ON, (Serial Nr. 4693)

This is a total of 110 (including guns in Newfoundland that were not on the original list of guns sent to Canada) of the 532 recorded.  One record shows 305 guns were destroyed in 1942, leaving 227 that should be on display.  This leaves 117 unaccounted for, but it is likely that most of these were also scrapped.

8.8-cm L/30C U-boat Deck Gun

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, from U-91, (Serial Nr. 1972).  Not included in the official war record.

Surviving German Great War trench mortar war trophies currently accounted for on display in Canada include:

leGrW 16 spigot mortar (2)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Saint John, NB, (Serial Nr. TBC)

5-cm leGrW 36 (1),

CFB Borden, ON, (Serial Nr. 7310)

9.15-cm Lantz (2),

Darlingford, MB, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, (Serial Nr. 4785JP)

7.58-cm leMW n.A. (28),

Battleford, SK, (Serial Nr. 9194)

Meota, SK, (Serial Nr. 31310)

Saskatoon, SK, (Serial Nr. 16676)

Pilot Mound, MB, (Serial Nr. 18043)

CFB Shilo, MB, (Serial Nr. 32258)

Chapleau, ON, (Serial Nr. 33025)

Coe Hill, ON, (Serial Nr. 7594)

Cookstown, ON, (Serial Nr. 16214)

Cornwall, ON, (Serial Nr. 33750)

Flesherton, ON, (Serial Nr. 4449)

Fordwich, ON, (Serial Nr. 33912)

Grand Bend, ON, (Serial Nr. 6170)

Kettleby, ON, (Serial Nr. 13278)

Omemee, ON, (Serial Nr. 15867)

Pelham, ON, (Serial Nr. 7862)

St. Catherines, ON, (Serial Nr. 1916)

Khanawake, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. 5001)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Lachute, PQ, (Serial Nr. 46643)

Terrebonne, PQ, (Serial Nr. 305)

Charlottetown, PEI, (Serial Nr. 16634)

Carbonear, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

St. Georges, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

St. John's, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

St. John's, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Spaniard's Bay, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

17-cm mMW (13),

Stavely, AB (Serial Nr. 1972)

Durham, ON, (Serial Nr. 1682)

Haliburton, ON, (Serial Nr. 6839)

Madoc, ON, (Serial Nr. 1157)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. 6043)

Montréal, PQ, (Serial Nr. 6219)

Chipman, NB, (Serial Nr. 7095)

Charlottetown, PEI, (Serial Nr. 848)

Sydney, NS, (Serial Nr. 1078)

Botwood, NS, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Catalina, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Harbour Buffet, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Whitehorse, YT, (Serial Nr. 5270)

24-cm Iko (4),

CFB Shilo, MB, (Serial Nr. 339), iron.

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON, (Serial Nr. TBC), wood.

Finch, ON, (Serial Nr. 2715), iron.

Saint-Agathe-des-Monts, PQ, (Serial Nr. 1351), iron.

25-cm sMW (6),

Norfolk, ON, (Serial Nr. TBC)

Tavistock, ON, (Serial Nr. 1846)

Waterford, ON, (Serial Nr. 1930)

Knowlton, PQ, (Serial Nr. 1524)

Mont Saint Hilaire, PQ, (Serial Nr. 571)

Stephenville Crossing, NL, (Serial Nr. TBC)

This is a total of 56 out of 289 on the original list.  111 were destroyed in 1942, leaving 178 that should be on display.  This leaves 122 unaccounted for.

Further information leading to the confirmation of survivors would be appreciated by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery and the author.  The list that follows is a record of guns confirmed to be in place.  Except for the items contained in the Canadian War Museum which are illustrated here, technical data and illustrations for the individual guns mentioned in this book follow at the end of this list.

German, Italian and Japanese Second World War Trophy Armour and Artillery on display in Canada

A fair number of captured guns returned to Canada, many accompanying the units that captured them in addition to the guns brought back by Captain Mowat‘s Intelligence Collection Team.  The types and locations of these guns are listed below, followed by additional technical data and photos of the major artillery pieces on display in Canada.

CFB Edmonton, 1 CMBG, Alberta

German Second World War 10.5-cm leichtes Feldhaubitze 18/40 Howitzer (10.5-cm leFH 18/40 (Serial No. R351), Barrel (Serial No. Fl 905), dxk, Breech Block (Serial No. Fl 539), mrf, SB dxk, Trail FL 697 bwl.  This howitzer is on display in a Memorial Park South of the Officer’s Mess, Edmonton Garrison, Alberta .

German Second World War 10.5-cm LeFH 18/40 Howitzer being examined by Canadian soldiers in France, ca June 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4233166).

German Second World War 10.5-cm LeFH 18/40 Howitzer being examined by Canadian soldiers in France, ca June 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo,  MIKAN No. 4233112).

CFB Wainwright, Alberta

(Peter Simpson Photo)

(Sidney J Photo)

Italian Fiat-Ansaldo M14/41 Light Tank.

Royal Canadian Artillery Museum, CFB Shilo, Manitoba

A British soldier examines a captured German 2.8-cm sPzB 41 anti-tank gun, Sicily, 21 July 1943.  (IWM Photo NA 4961)

German Second World War 2.8-cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 Anti-Tank Gun (2.8-cm sPzB 41) Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. 2556).  The barrel has a separate number, (Serial Nr. 52536).  The sPzB 41 light AT Gun worked on the squeeze-bore principle.  This gun is currently on loan to the Base Museum, CFB Petawawa, Ontario.

German Second World War 3.7-mm PaK 36(t) Anti-Tank Gun in service in Northern France, summer 1944.  (Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1831-26)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

German Second World War 3.7-mm Czech Škoda PaK 36(t) Anti-Tank Gun.  (Russian M1937), AKC SPOL, 93 kg, d?. Škodovy Závody v Plzni, tov ?ís. 21532, E1 37, 3.7 cm k vz.37, ?ís. 7, VL0217!  (53-K), Serial No. 5795.  

The 3,7cm ÚV vz. 38 (Czech: úto?ná vozba), manufacturer's designation Škoda A7, was a 3.7-cm tank gun designed by the Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia before the Second World War began.  The gun was the primary armament of the Czech LT vz. 38 light tank, known in German service as the Panzer 38(t).  The primary user of the A7 was the Wehrmacht during the Second World War where the weapon went by the name 3,7cm Kampfwagenkanone 38(t).  In German service, in addition to conventional high explosive ammunition, the weapon fired two anti-tank rounds.  The primary round was the Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing composite ballistic cap (APCBC) which could penetrate 41-mm of armour plate at 100-m and 35-mm at 500-m.  Penetration dropped to 29-mm at 1000-m and 24-mm at 1500-m.  The APCBC round was ineffective at 2000 m. The rarer tungsten Panzergranate 40 armour-piercing composite rigid (APCR) round could penetrate 64-mm at 100-m, but only 34-mm at 500-m.  The APCR round was not effective at 1000-m or beyond.

German SS gunners man a 7.5-cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 Light Infantry Gun (7.5-cm leIG 18) during the Battle of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, Soviet Union. 18 August 1941. (German Wehrmacht Photo)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

German Second World War 7.5-cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 Light Infantry Gun (7.5-cm leIG 18) (Serial Nr. R191).

German soldiers prepare a 55-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun for action in the outskirts of Stalingrad. Near Stalingrad (now, Volgograd), Volgograd Oblast, Russia, Soviet Union. September 1942.  (Wehrmacht Photo)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R4024), shipped to Canada from the UK on 24 Oct 1944.

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R10087).  1 RCHA.

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun in action, ca 1943.  (Wehrmacht Photo)

(Tighe McManus Photo)

5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R5709), on loan to the Antler River Museum, Manitoba.  

Canadian soldiers examining a captured 7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun marked with 15 kill rings, ca. 1945.  (Library & Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208583)

7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun, Italy.  (Willi Ude Photo, Wikipedia)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R807).

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

10.5-cm leichtes Feldhaubitze 16 (10.5-cm leFH 16), (Serial Nr. R341).

German artillery examined by Canadians in France, ca. June 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4233165)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

10.5-cm leichtes Feldhaubitze 18/40 (10.5-cm leFH 18/40) Howitzer (Serial Nr. R158).  (Captain F.M. Mowat).

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

10.5-cm leichtes Feldhaubitze 18/40 (10.5-cm leFH 18/40) Howitzer (Serial Nr. R284).

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 (15-cm sFH 18) (Serial Nr. R856).  Brought to Canada in 1945 by Captain Farley M. Mowat.

(wing.and.a.prayer Photo)

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

17-cm Kanone 18 (17-cm K 18) in Mörserlafette Field Gun, (Serial Nr. 58).  Brought to Canada in 1945 by Captain Farley M. Mowat.

 (Clive Prothero-Brooks Photo)

30-cm Raketenwerfer 56, (no Serial Number visible).

(Clive Prothero-Brooks Photos)

(Maxwell J. Toms Photo)

10.5-cm Leichtgeschütz 42 (10.5-cm LG 42 Recoilless Gun, (Serial Nr. R121).  Brought to Canada in 1945 by Captain Farley M. Mowat.

(Bundesarchiv Photo)

German Second World War Flavierling 38 (FlakV 38) four-barreled 2-cm anti-aircraft gun, brought to Canada by Captain Farley Mowat.  This gun was de-accessioned by Shilo in the 1970s, with the remaining pieces going to an American collector.

(Chris Chase Photos)

The Flavierling 38 (FlakV 38) brought to Canada by Captain Farley Mowat is being restored by Chris Chase in Michigan.  Chassis Serial No. 1942, 1843, bpk.

(Chris Chase Photo)

All four guns were sequentially serial numbered, 23837, 23838, 23839, 23840.  Chris Chase notes that the Flak 38 receiver was still locked into the mount when he found it.  One of the four guns was still with the weapon, Serial No. 23839.  It is one of the 4 serials recorded by Capt. Mowat as being captured at Krupp Schießplatz in Meppen Germany.  The other three are missing.

(Bundesarchiv Photo)

German Second World War  Flugabwehrkanone 38 (Flak 38) 2-cm anti-aircraft gun, similar to one brought to Canada by Captain Farley Mowat.  This gun was also de-accessioned by Shilo in the 1970s, with the remaining pieces going to an American collector.

Fort Garry Horse Museum and Archive, McGregor Armoury, Winnipeg, Manitoba

German Second World War 8.8-cm Raketenwerfer 43 “Puppchen” (hollow charge rocket launcher), (Serial Nr. RW2491), Fort Garry Horse Museum, McGregor Armoury, 551 Machray Ave.  (Fort Garry Horse Museum Photos)

Goliath tracked mine.

Goliath being examined by Canadian soldiers, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 12 June 1945.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204123)

CFB Borden, Ontario

German Second World War 7.5cm Kampfwagenkanone 40 (7.5-cm KwK 40/L43), (Serial Nr. TBC), vehicle mounted gun on a wall-mounted display.

(Balcer Photo)

(Author Photo)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 97/38 Anti-Tank Gun, (Serial Nr. 9108), 1916, A.B.S.

(JustSomePics Photo)

German Second World War 3.7-mm PaK 38(t) Anti-Tank Gun in service in Northern France, summer 1944.  (Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1831-26)

 (Author Photos)

German Second World War 3.7-cm PaK 36 AT Gun, rear of Museum hangar, (Serial No. R17355), shipping weight 0-18-0.  This gun was consigned to Canada from England on 20 Feb 1945, dispatched from CMHQ in the UK, 3 Apr 1945.

(Author Photos)

Russian 7.62-cmAnti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. 1230), 1939, designated PaK 36(r) in German service. Air Force side of the Base.

(Author Photo)

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R860), 1942, Bhh, rear of Museum hangar.

(Author Photo)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun (Serial Nr. R1761), 1942, bwo, Rheinmetall Borsig (Düsseldorf), rear of Museum hangar.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun, (Serial Nr. R2900), bwo, Rheinmetall Borsig (Düsseldorf), South Parade Square.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun, (Serial Nr. R4969), 1942, hhg, Rheinmetall Borsig (Tegel), Worthington Park.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 (15-cm sFH 18), (Serial Nr. R2746), 1940, WaA 34, barrel in the recoil position, South Parade Square.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 (15-cm sFH 18), (Serial Nr. R3176), 1941, COC (TBC), CHM, barrel extended, Southeast of North gate.  This Gun was collected in Northwest Europe before 12 Oct 1944 and shipped to Canada from CMHQ in the UK after 7 Nov 1944.

(Author Photos)

Italian First World War 149-mm 149/12 modelo 16.  The gun is marked Gio. Ansaldo & C., Genova 1918, F. 479G, (Serial No. 8847), Peso Con Ott. KC 870, possibly (Serial No. 4796), TBC.   (This gun is listed as a 100-mm Obice da 100/17 modelo 14).

The Italian First World War 149-mm 149/12 modelo 16 was a heavy howitzer which served with Austria-Hungary as the 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze M 14.  It had two crew seats mounted on the gun shield.  It broke down into two loads for transport. The M 14 was modified to improve elevation and range as well as to strengthen the carriage as the M 14/16.  Postwar war modifications were common to make it suitable for motor traction and to address other issues.  M 14 and M14/16 howitzers were captured by Italy during the war and received as reparations after the war, when they were put into service with the designation of Obice da 149/13.  Some 490 were on hand in 1939 and weapons captured by the Germans after the Italians changed sides in 1943 were used as the 15-cm sFH 400(i).  Surviving weapons were impressed into German service after 1943 as the 15-cm sFH 401(i).  Czech and Slovak weapons were known as the 15-cm hrubá houfnice vz. 14 and 14/16.

(Balcer Photos)

(Author Photo)

Italian Second World War 47-mm Cannone da 47/32 M35, (Serial No. 646), outside the Museum hangar.

The Italian Second World War 47-mm Cannone da 47/32 M35 was an Austrian artillery piece which served as the Cannone da 47/32 M35 produced under license in Italy during the war.  It was used both as an infantry gun and an anti-tank gun which it proved to be successful at, especially when equipped with HEAT (Italian: "Effetto Pronto") rounds.  In the 1930s Italy bought some of these guns from Böhler, and then began to produce the weapon under license, continuing its development. The Cannone da 47/32 M35 was the main armament in the M13/40 medium tank, the M14/41 medium tank, and the 47/32 self-propelled gun.  Due to its shape, the 47/32 was commonly called "elefantino" (little elephant) by the troops.

(Base Borden Military Museum Photo)

 (Andre Blanchard Photo)

(Guy Despatie Photos)

Japanese 10-cm Model 92 Field Gun, Blackburn Park Army Cadet Camp.

The Japanese Type 92 10-cm was a field gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War.  The Type 92 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2592 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1932 in the Gregorian calendar.  The Type 92 cannon was intended to supersede the Type 14 10cm Cannon in front line combat service.  It has all the standard features of the 1930-36 period of Japanese gun design, including a long barrel, short cradle, long trails, and a relatively low silhouette.  In traveling position the tube is retracted by means of a winch and locked to the cradle.  The gun achieves a considerable range with a 35-pound shell in proportion to its unusually low weight.  The Model 92 is stabilized by three spade plates for each trail.  Both spade plates and trail blocks are demountable. Readily recognized by its long slender gun barrel and split carriage trail, the Type 92 10 cm Cannon was designed particularly for long-range fire. The recoil system was hydropneumatic and it had a distinctive three-step interrupted thread breechblock. It fired a 35 pounds (16 kg) shell up to14,200 yards (13,000 m) with standard high-explosive shells, and also had provision for special long-range shells that could reach 20,000 yards (18,000 m) 20,000 yards, as well as chemical, armor-piercing, smoke and incendiary shells.  The gun barrel was extremely long, making field transport very cumbersome.  The gun was normally tractor drawn using its large wooden wheels with solid rubber tires, but could also be pulled by a 5-ton truck. Its greatest drawback was that it had spade plates on each trail leg that had to be pounded into the ground to anchor the gun in place.  The Type 92 10 cm Cannon was very successful and was used for long-range counter-battery and bombardment roles.

German Panzer Mk. IV knocked out near Pontecorvo, Italy, being examined by RCA soldiers, 5th Canadian Armoured Division, 26 May 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405800)

Canadian soldiers examining a disabled Panzer Mk. IV, Gruchy, France, 9 Jul 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226723)

Captured German Second World War quadruple AA FlakPanzer IV Wirbelwinds being examined by US troops, Belgium, 30 Jan 1945.  (US Army Photo)

Captured German Second World War quadruple AA FlakPanzer IV Wirbelwinds being examined by US troops, France, Sep 1944.  (US Army Photo)

German Second World War quadruple AA FlakPanzer IV Wirbelwind.  (world war photos)

German Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind, MGen Worthington Memorial Park.

CF Leopard 2ER Buffalo, lifting the German Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind.  It has been moved to an indoor hangar for restoration.  (Canadian Forces Photos, CB10-2016-0488-%20002 and CB10-2016-0488-%20003)

German Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer Light Tank Destroyer, 1945.  (US Army Photo)

German Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer Light Tank Destroyers, 1945.  (Wehrmacht Photo)

German Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer Light Tank Destroyer, MGen Worthington Memorial Park.

Canadian soldiers with German halftrack, Norderney, Germany, 8 May 1945.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3230904)

Italian Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 Light Tank, Italian XX Armoured Corps, ca 1942.  (Royal Italian Army Photo)

(JustSomePics Photos)

Italian Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 Light Tank, Museum Hangar.

Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario

German Second World War 8.8-cm Flak 37 Anti-Aircraft Gun captured near near Bayeux, France, 26 Aug 1944, being examined by Canadian soldiers.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396244)

(RCEME School Photo)

German Second World War 8.8-cm Flak 37 Anti-Aircraft Gun, (Serial Nr. R5456) 1042 CXX (120), RCEME School, 1946, now on display on Crerar Crescent.

German Second World War 8.8-cm Flak 36 Nr. 62, 1939 Anti-Aircraft Gun, (Serial Nr. R5456) 1042 CXX (120), Crerar Crescent.

German Second World War 8.8-cm Panzerabwehrkanone 43 (8.8-cm Pak 43) Anti-Tank Gun, Breeching Ring (Serial Nr. R1243), Crerar Crescent.

Lisle, Ontario

(Balcer Photos)

German Second World War 8.8-cm PaK 43/41 Anti-Tank Gun, (Serial Nr. TBC), stamped Fl.519 dkr, Fl.2053 dkr, 271 dkr.  Royal Canadian Legion Branch 559, 8439 Main Street West, County Road No. 12, just outside the West Gate of CFB Borden.

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario

(Author Photos)

German Panzer II Light Tank, Call Sign 112, 19, G.

PIAT anti-tank gunners of The Regina Rifle Regiment who knocked out a German PzKpfW V Panther tank thirty yards from Battalion Headquarters, Bretteville-l'Orgeuilleuse, France, 8 June 1944.  Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405774)

German PzKpfW V Panther tank, being examined by Infantrymen of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, Authie, France, 9 July 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3401771)

(Author Photos)

German Panzer V Panther Ausf A Main Battle Tank.  

This Panther on display in the Canadian War Museum was acquired by Canadians in Northwest Europe sometime before 15 Nov 1944, and shipped to Canada from the UK on the SS Manchester Shipper, some time between 8 January and 29 March 1945.  The Panther took part in the Victory-in-Europe ( V-E) Day parade in Ottawa on 8 May 1945.  It is not one of the vehicles shipped to Canada by Captain Mowat.  It was later sent to Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, where it remained for 60 years.  DND’s Directorate of History and Heritage transferred the tank to the Canadian War Museum in 2005 where, after a two-year, 4,000-hour, restoration project, it was placed on public display in January 2008.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) 7.5-cm Tank Destroyer.  Early 1945 production vehicle, captured by the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division near Wilhelmshaven, Germany in May 1945.

German Sturmgeschütz StuG III Ausf G SdKfz 142/2 Assault Gun, barrel (Serial No. R5453).  This StuG III was brought to Canada by Captain Farley Mowat and his Intelligence Collection Team in 1945.  It was later placed an artillery range where is served as a range target until it was recovered for the Canadian War Museum.

Privates M. Voske and H. Browne of the Calgary Highlanders examining a captured German radio-controlled Goliath tracked mine, Goes, Netherlands, 30 October 1944.  (Capt Ken Bell Photo, Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3231598)

German Goliath Tracked Mine.

Personnel at a 1st Canadian Army Headquarter's captured vehicle park, examining a Goliath remote control vehicle developed by Borgward for the German Army. Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 12 June 1945.   (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.  3204123)

Soliders of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in captured German Schwimmwagen amphibious car of the Wehrmacht, Rocquancourt, France, 11 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396197)

VW Type 166 Schwimmwagen (Floating/Swimming Car) amphibious four-wheeld drive off-roader vehicle, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War.  The Type 166 is the most numerous mass-produced amphibious car in history.

German Second World War Mercedes-Benz 770 (W150), Staff Car.

(Author Photo)

German Panzer IA light tank.  this one was held by the Canadian War Museum, but was traded to Jacques Littlefield in California for six pieces of armour that were significant to Canada.  The Panzer I is very rare, but was not very relevant to Canada as it was obsolete by the time the majority of the Canadian Army came into contact with the German Wehrmacht.  The CWM acquired 1. Staghound Armoured Car. (Type used by Canada).  2. Churchill tank (Type used by Canada).   3. Lee M3 tank (Type used by Canada).   4. Stuart M5A1 tank (Type used by Canada).  5. Grizzly M4A1 tank (Made in Canada). Repatriation.  6. A Ram ARV (hulk) was to be part of the deal but there was a problem and another vehicle was provided.  (Colin MacGregor Stevens)

German Second World War 7.5-cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 (7.5-cm leIG 18), short-barrelled Field Gun stamped with German emblem, 2682, (Serial Nr. R1285), 1927.

German Second World War 8.1-cm Schwerer Granatwerfer 34 (s.Gr.W.34) (Serial Nr. unknown).

German Second World War 7.92-mm MG 42 Machine Gun.

German Second World War 2-cm FlaK 30 Anti-Aircraft Gun, 1936, (Serial Nr. 466).

German Second World War 2-cm Flakvierling 38, FlaK 38 Anti-Aircraft Gun, Rheinmetall (Serial Nr. 10660), W646, W648, mounted on a wheeled trailer.

German Second World War 8.8-cm FlaK 37 Anti-Aircraft Gun, (Serial Nr. R534), Gallery 3.

German Second World War Anti-Aircraft Searchlight.

German Second World War Rheintochter Anti-Aircraft Missile.

German Second World War 2.8-cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 Anti-Tank  Gun (sPzB 41), (Serial Nr. BpK 1333), stamped 9/277, MEL 600.  This Gun was collected in Northwest Europe before 12 Oct 1944 and shipped to Canada from CMHQ in the UK after 7 Nov 1944.

German/Austrian Second World War 4.7-cm Böhler Da 44/32 M35 Anti-Tank Gun, (Serial Nr. 35447).

(Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1831-26)

German Second World War 3.7-mm PaK 38(t) Anti-Tank Gun in service in Northern France, summer 1944.

German Second World War 3.7-cm PaK 36 Anti-Tank Gun , Rheinmetall, (Serial Nr. 1937), RMB 14182.

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) Anti-Tank Gun, Rheinmetall Borsig, (Serial Nr.  R8453), 1942, stamped BS FL549csh, Mr Fl 860csh.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3394488)

German Second World War 5-cm Nebelwerfer 41, six-barrelled Multiple Rocket Launcher, captured by Canadian troops near Fleury-sur-Orne, France, 20 July 1944.

German Second World War 5-cm Nebelwerfer 41, six-barrelled Multiple Rocket Launcher (Serial Nr. unknown).

German Second World War 21-cm Nebelwerfer 42 five-barrelled Multiple Rocket Launcher, 1944, BEQ 43, (Serial Nr. 988), FeH 43.

German Second World War 7.5-cm Leichtgeschütz 40, (LG 40) Recoilless Rifle, Airborne Forces, stamped FL 390, BWO, Eagle and swastika, (Serial Nr. R287JT0, stamped  4116/R287JT/F1390.

German Second World War 8.8-cm Raketenwerfer 43 “Puppchen” (hollow charge rocket launcher), 1943, (Serial Nr.  RW 3935).

Italian Second World War 45-mm 45/5 Modello 35 Brixia Light Trench Mortar.

Italian Second World War 81-mm Mortaio da 81/14 Modello 35  Mortar.

Howitzer, Pack, 105-mm, L5, (Serial No. 057734).

Japanese 20-mm Type 98 Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun/Cannon, (Serial No. 177/836) (1).

Japanese 75-mm Type 41 Mountain Gun, 1908, (Serial No. 10441), 799.

CFB Petawawa, Ontario

(WO C.H. Kendall Photos)

German Second World War 2.8-cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 Anti-Tank Gun (2.8-cm sPzB 41) Anti-Tank Gun (Serial No. 2556).  The barrel has a separate number, (Serial Nr. 52536)  This gun is on loan from the RCA Museum CFB Shilo, Manitoba.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 5-cm PaK 38 (L/60) AT Gun (Serial Nr. TBC), corroded, Menin Road.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396316)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 AT Gun, Hochwald, Germany, 13 March 1945.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 AT Gun, (Serial Nr. R2595), 1942 beg, stamped BS:Fl1736fqv, Vr:FL200bej, Menin Road.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 8.8-cm FlaK 37 AA Gun, (Serial Nr. R3864), stamped BS: Sg563492 RL1084bxe F1318beb, M:F1317beb, S:F1317beb on the breeching ring, North of the Main Gate.

(Author Photos)

German Second World War 15-cm schwere Feldhaubitze 18 Heavy Field Howitzer, (Serial Nr. R3079), shell strike on the remaining numbers on the breeching ring, Menin Road.

CFB Valcartier, Québec

7.5-cm PaK 40 Anti-Tank Gun, Italy.  (Willi Ude Photo, Wikipedia)

(James Simmonds Photo)

(Chadley Wagar Photo)

German Second World War 7.5-cm PaK 40 AT Gun (Serial Nr. unknown), in front of the WO and Sgt’s Mess.

5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM)

German Second World War 7.92-mm MG 81Z twin/paired (four-barreled) machine-guns with a single trigger pistol grip, (Serial Nos. 52108, 52137, 52138, & 64127), New Brunswick Military History Museum, 5 CDSB Gagetown, New Brunswick.  This is a special double twin-mount MG 81Z (the Z suffix stands for Zwilling, meaning "twin") that was introduced for the Luftwaffe in 1942.  It paired up two of the weapons on one mount to provide even more firepower with a maximum rate of fire of 3200 rounds/minute without requiring much more space than a standard machine gun.  The MG 81Z was found in many unique installations in Luftwaffe combat aircraft, like this twin pair of MG 81Z (for a total of four guns) installed in the air defences of the Dornier Do 217.  It was technically designated R19 (R for Rüstsatz) as a factory designed field conversion/upgrade kit.  (Wikipedia)

Captured Dornier Do 217M, RAF AM107, 6158, with MG arrangement.  (RAF Photos)

German Second World War Madsen 20-mm Anti-Aircraft Machine Cannon M/38, (Serial Nr. 168), inside the museum.  This is a Danish Gun manufactured during the German occupation of Denmark during the Second World War.

German Second World War 17-cm Kanone 18 Mrslaf in action in Italy, Feb 1944.  (Bundesarchiv, Bild 1011-310-0895-13A)

German Second World War 17-cm Kanone 18 Mrslaf in action in Tunisia, 1943.  (Bundesarchiv, Bild 1011-554-0865-17A)

German Second World War 17-ton 17-cm Kanone 18 (K18) in Mörserlafette (on a big gun carriage), (Serial Nr. R320), 1942, bye.  This gun was sent from Europe to Aberdeen in the USA on 3 Mar 1945, along with a new spare barrel, and then to Valcartier, Quebec later in 1945.  It was located in the Munitions Experimental Test Centre (CEEM) at CFB Valcartier, until it was transferred to the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM), with 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, on 4 Dec 2012.   Once it has been restored, it will be displayed at the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM) on Base.  These guns were of the same type used against gunners from Saint John, New Brunswick in the battles in Italy in 1943.  The bye marking on the gun is the manufacturers code for HANOMAG-Hannover'sche Maschinenbau AG vorm. Georg Egestorff, Hannover.  This company manufactured approximately 300 of these guns from 1941 onwards (before then, they were built by the Krupp firm).

(MOXING.Net Photo)

K18 guns were used in the battles in Italy in 1943 against gunners from Saint John, New Brunswick .  The bye marking on the gun is the manufacturers code for HANOMAG-Hannover'sche Maschinenbau AG vorm. Georg Egestorff, Hannover.  This company manufactured approximately 300 of these guns from 1941 onwards (before then, they were built by the Krupp firm).  The camouflage paint for this gun was field gray.

Italian Cannone da 75/27 modello 06.  (Geo.Ansaldo & C. Genova - 1916. FCA 1099, MLA 3432, KG.345) with the NBMHM.

The Cannone da 75/27 modello 06 was a field gun used by Italy during both World Wars.  It was a license-built copy of the Krupp Kanone M 1906 gun.  It had seats for two crewmen attached to the gunshield as was common practice for the period.  Captured weapons were designated by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War as the 7.5 cm Feldkanone 237(i).  Many guns were modernized for tractor-towing with pressed-steel wheels and rubber rims.  These weighed some 65 kilograms (143 lb) more than the original version with spoked wooden wheels.  The gun is reported to have had a 10 km range.

(historicalfirearms Photo)

Japanese 70-mm Type 92 Battalion Gun, a light howitzer introduced in 1932 (2592 in the Japanese imperial year, from where it takes its type "92").  Since every infantry battalion was equipped with two Type 92 guns, it was designated as Battalion Artillery (Daitaih?).  An Imperial Japanese Army Division was equipped with eighteen Type 92 guns.  One, Serial No. 2561, is on display in the NBMHM.

Japanese 70-mm Type 92 Battalion Gun

Japanese 70-mm Type 92 Battalion Gun (Serial No. 2561), inside museum.  On loan from the RCA Museum, CFB Shilo, Manitoba.

The Type 92 Battalion Gun was a light howitzer used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War.  The Type 92 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2592 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1932 in the Gregorian calendar.  Each infantry battalion included two Type 92 guns; therefore, the Type 92 was referred to as Battalion Artillery.  This gun was probably found in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska that had been occupied by the Japanese and retaken by a combined Canadian – American forces.  On 15 Aug 1943, 34,426 troops including 5,300 Canadians and 2,000 soldiers with the Special Service Force landed on Kiska, Alaska. 17 American and 4 Canadian soldiers were killed by booby traps left behind by the Japanese.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3229663)

German Second World War coastal artillery gun examined by a Canadian soldier from the North Shore Regiment, Boulogne, France, 21 Sep 1944.  

Captured Italian Second World War Trophies

(Library and Archives Canada photo, MIKAN No. 3509521)

Italian Second World War Breda machine-gun examined by Canadians, Syracuse, Italy, 11 Aug 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396063)

First Special Service Force Commandos with captured Italian Second World War weapons, Anzio, Italy, 20 Apr 1944.

Captured German Second World War Aircraft Trophies

(Wayne Vail Photo)

German Second World War Fieseler FZG-76/Fi-103 V-1 Flying Bomb, RCAF Station Clinton, Ontario, 1962.  

Fieseler Fi 103, V-1 flying bomb being wheeled into position by its German launch crew.  (Bundesarchiv Photo Bild 146-1975-117-26)

The V-1 flying bomb Vergeltungswaffe 1 (Vengeance Weapon 1), also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb, or doodlebug, and in Germany as Kirschkern (cherrystone) or Maikäfer (maybug), was an early cruise missile and the only production aircraft to use a pulsejet for power.

The V-1 was the first of the so-called "Vengeance weapons" (V-weapons or Vergeltungswaffen) series designed for the terror bombing of London.  It was developed at the Peenemünde Army Army Research Center in 1939 by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.  During initial development it was known by the codename "Cherry Stone".  Because of its limited range, the thousands of V-1 missiles launched into England were fired from launch facilities along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts.  The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied D-Day landings in Europe.  At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces.  After this, the V-1s were directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched.  The attacks stopped only a month before the war in Europe ended, when the last launch site in the Low Countries was overrun on 29 March 1945.

The British operated an arrangement of air defences, including anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft, to intercept the bombs before they reached their targets as part of Operation Crossbow, while the launch sites and underground V-1 storage depots were targets of strategic bombing.  (Wikipedia)

Fieseler Fi 103, V-1 flying bomb reconstruction from parts salvaged by the RCEME in France, along with an RCAF M-200 boat, on display in Vancouver, British Columbia, 1945.  (City of Vancouver Archives, Photo, AM640-S1-: CVA 260-1409)

(Author Photos)

Fieseler Fi 103, V-1 flying bomb.  War Prize.

Captain Mowat’s Intelligence Collection Team brought back two V-1s.  On was found on a freight car which was almost intact among a string of burnt and shelled trains about 15 miles south-west of Nienburg, Germany, having been apparently shot up by the Allied Tactical Air Force (TAF).  It was very slightly burnt, and missing its war-head and air log.  It was sent to Valcartier for evaluation.  The second V-1 was found in the V works at Dannenberg, Germany.  It was complete with a mock war-head and spare parts, and was also sent to Valcartier.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 141-2733)

US troops inspect Fieseler Fi 103R at Neu Tramm, Germany, 1945.

(US Army Photo)

Fieseler Fi 103R-4, found in sheds at the V-bomb assembly plant, waiting for shipment to launching sites, 1945.

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg Re IV (Wk. Nr. 6/2080), BACP91, on display at Farnborough, England, Nov 1945.  (RAF Photo)

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg Re IV piloted flying bomb at RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario.  This piloted version of the "Buzz Bomb" was brought to Canada in 1945 by Captain Farley Mowat's Intelligence Collection Team, shown here on display on Air Force Day, 16 June 1947.  This aircraft has recently been put on display in the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3584067)

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg Re IV Air Force Day, RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, 9 June 1951.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3584520)

(Author Photos)

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg Re IV piloted Flying Bomb, War Prize.

(Sanjay Acharya, National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.)

Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during the Second World War.  Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel.  Alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400 (the latter is also the origin for the name “Fritz X”).  It is one of the precursors of today’s anti-ship missiles and precision-guided weapons.  The Canadian War Museum has one Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, CWM (Artifact No. 19390002-150) marked Einbauahmen Reb 30B on an identification plate, Garat Nr. 124-909C, Anferordez. LN 29 066, (Werk Nr. 91921), Herstaller KSH, and G.5088, 6 over 2, N26357 on the body.

(USN Photo)

USS Savannah (CL-42) is hit by a German radio-controlled glide bomb, while supporting Allied forces ashore during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943.  The bomb hit the top of the ship's number three 6”/47 gun turret and penetrated deep into her hull before exploding.  The photograph shows the explosion venting through the top of the turret and also through Savannah's hull below the waterline.  A motor torpedo boat (PT) is passing by in the foreground.

Hugh Dundas, a distinguished fighter pilot of the Second World War (he was a Squadron Leader at age 21 and ended the war as a Group Captain) took part in the invasion of Italy when his Wing moved to the north coast of Sicily to cover the landing at Salerno.  During this operation, he observed the use of a German radio-controlled bomb during the Invasion of Italy on 3 Sep 1943.  “On 11 September the American battle-cruiser USS Savannah was critically damaged by a new German weapon - a radio-controlled ‘flying bomb’ which was launched from a distance and guided electronically onto its target.  Five days later the mighty British battleship HMS Warspite suffered the same fate.  I saw this great ship, surrounded by a huddle of destroyers which had to be withdrawn from support of the landings, creeping wounded through the Messina Straits on its way to Malta, where it remained disabled for many months.  This sensational revelation of a successful secret weapon probably did not have much real effect on the conduct of the Salerno campaign as a whole; but its psychological effect was considerable, coming at a time when the whole enterprise, launched with such confidence, was in jeopardy.”  Dundas, Hugh.  Flying Start A Fighter Pilot’s War Years, (New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1989), page 131.

(RAF Photo)

* Photo.  Heinkel He 162A-2 Volksjäger, (Wk. Nr. 120086), Yellow 2, JG1, captured at Leck.  Designated RAF AM62, this aircraft was on display in Hyde Park, London, England post war.  This aircraft was later shipped to Canada and is on display in the Canada Air and Space Museum.

Heinkel He 162A-2 Volksjäger (Wk. Nr. 120086), coded "Yellow 2", JG1, designated RAF AM62.  This aircraft surrendered at Leck, and was moved to Farnborough by surface transport on 22 August 1945.  AM62 was allocated to No. 47 MU, Sealand, on 29 May 1946 for packing and shipping to Canada.  It also left Salford Docks on 26 August aboard SS Manchester Commerce, arriving at Montréal on 9 September 1946.  It has been in the CASM since 1964.

(Aeroprints Photo)

Hispano-Aviacion HA-1112-MIL Buchon (Serial No. 471-39/164).  Currently on loan to the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

(RAF Photo)

Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 (Wk. Nr. 7232), captured by the RAF and designated NN644.

Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4/Z, (Wk. Nr. 10132), coded CD+LZ, 2./JG 5, Stab II./JG 54.  This aircraft incorporates parts of (Wk. Nr. 26129).  (Wk. Nr. 10132) was allocated to JG 5 in May/June 1942, where it was assigned to Hauptmann Horst Carganico, an air ace with 15 victories serving with 6. /JG 5.  On 8 August 1942, his aircraft was hit in the fuselage, wings and the oil cooler by gunfire during an air battle above the Arctic port of Murmansk in the former Soviet Union, causing him to make an emergency landing on enemy territory.  Carganico was rescued by a crew flying a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.  The Soviets recovered (Wk. Nr.10132), and sent it to the “Museum of the North” in Severomorsk.  In 1995, the Russians sold the plane to Aero Vintage Ltd. in England, where it was restored in its original colours.  The restoration team made the decision to preserve the aircraft’s historical integrity, and thus the original bullet holes were not repaired and remain visible.  One of the bullet hits is visible on one of the propeller blades for example.  On 9 June 1999, the plane was transferred to Canada by Canadian Forces aircraft and delivered to the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, where it was reassembled and put on display.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet in Luftwaffe service, 1945.

Messerschmitt Me 163B (Werk Nummer 191916), designated RAF AM 220, belonged to JG 400.  It was surrendered at Husum and shipped to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough and from there went to No. 6 MU, Brize Norton, on 1 August 1945.  Recorded at No.6 MU in the Census of 21 March 1946 and despatched to No. 47 MU, Sealand, on 17 June 1945.  It was crated at Sealand for shipment to Canada and left Salford Docks aboard the SS Manchester Commerce on 28 August 1946, arriving at Montréal on 9 September.  It was stored in various locations until arriving at Rockcliffe where it is currently preserved coded "Yellow 26".  There is some doubt about the accuracy of the Werk-Nummer of this aircraft, which has also been reported both as (Wk. Nr. 191913), and (Wk. Nr. 191914).

German combat equipment engaged by Canadians during the Second World War

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205117)

Corporal C. Robichaud of Le Régiment de Maisonneuve examining a disabled German Sturmhaubitz 42 105mm. self-propelled gun, Woensdrecht, Netherlands, 27 October 1944.    The StuH 42 was a variant of the StuG III Ausf. F designed in 1942.  It was armed with a 105-mm (4.1 in) howitzer instead of the 7.5-cm StuK 40 L/43 cannon.  These vehicles, designated Sturmhaubitze 42, Sd.Kfz 142/2, were designed to provide infantry support with the increased number of StuG III Ausf. F/8 and Ausf. Gs being used in the anti-tank role.  The StuH 42 mounted a variant of the 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer, modified to be electrically fired and fitted with a muzzle brake.  Production models were built on StuG III Ausf. G chassis.  The muzzle brake was often omitted due to the scarcity of resources later in the war.  Roughly 1,299 StuH 42 were produced by Alkett from March 1943 to 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3405800)

German Panzer Mk. IV knocked out near Pontecorvo, Italy, being examined by RCA soldiers, 5th Canadian Armoured Division, 26 May 1944.  The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War.  Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.  Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor—that function was performed by the lighter Panzer III.  However, with the flaws of pre-war doctrine becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role of its increasingly obsolete cousin.  The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun.  Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8800 produced between 1936 and 1945.  Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armour protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed manufacture.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226723)

Canadian soldiers examining a disabled German Panzer Mk. IV tank, Gruchy, France, 9 Jul 1944.

(Ken Bell, Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3401784)

Trooper M.E. Lucy of The South Alberta Regiment examining a German 75-mm Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär infantry-support gun near Xanten, Germany, 7 March 1945.

The Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär 150-millimetre (5.91 in) infantry-support self-propelled gun was based on the Panzer IV chassis.  These vehicles were primarily issued to four Sturmpanzer units (Numbers 216, 217, 218 and 219) and used during the battle of Kursk and in Italy in 1943.  The Wirbelwind (Whirlwin") was a Flakpanzer designed, with enough armour to protect the gun's crew and a rotating turret, armed with the quadruple 20-mm Flakvierling anti-aircraft cannon system; at least 100 were built.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3391742)

Captured German Sd.Kfz. 164 Hornisse/Nashorn mounting the formidable 8.8 cm PAK 43/1 L60, knocked out by Canadian troops of the Westminster Regiment, 5th Canadian Armoured Brigade armed with a portable Infantry anti-tank launcher (PIAT) at Pontecorvo, Italy, 26 May 1946.  The Hornisse (Hornet) was a self-propelled artillery gun used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War from early 1943 until the end of the war.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3231053)

Lance-Corporal J.A. Thrasher of The Westminster Regiment (Motor), who holds the PIAT anti-tank weapon with which he disabled the German Sd.Kfz. 164 Hornisse/Nashorn mounting the formidable 8.8 cm PAK 43/1 L60, on which he is sitting, near Pontecorvo, Italy, 26 May 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3230904)

Canadian soldiers with German halftrack, Norderney, Germany, 8 May 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204056)

German Kubelwagen staff car, 5 May 1945, Wageningen, Netherlands.

(Author Photo)

German Enigma encryption machine one of two collected at Wilhelmshaven in 1945.

The Enigma machine is a cypher device developed and used in the early-to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication.  It was employed extensively by Germany during the Second World War in all branches of the German armed forces.  The Germans believed, erroneously, that use of the Enigma machine enabled them to communicate securely and thus enjoy a huge advantage during the war.  The Enigma machine was considered to be so secure that even the most top-secret messages were enciphered on its electrical circuits.

Enigma had an electromechanical rotor mechanism that scrambled the 26 letters of the alphabet.  In typical use, one person entered the text on the Enigma's keyboard and another person writes down which of 26 lights above the keyboard lit up each time a key was pressed.  If plain text is entered, the lit-up letters were the encoded cypher text.  Entering cypher text transformed the message back into readable plain text.  The rotor mechanism changed the electrical connections between the keys and the lights with each keypress.  The security of the system depended on a set of machine settings that were generally changed daily during the war, based on secret key lists distributed in advance, and on other settings that were changed for each message.  The receiving station had to know and use the exact settings employed by the transmitting station to successfully decrypt a message.

While Germany introduced a series of improvements to Enigma over the years, and these hampered decryption efforts to varying degrees, they did not prevent Poland from cracking the machine code prior to the war, enabling the Allies to exploit Enigma-encyphered messages as a major source of intelligence.  It has been suggested by a number of historians that the flow of Ultra communications intelligence from the decryption of Enigma, Lorenz, and other ciphers, shortened the war substantially, and might even have altered its outcome.  (Wikipedia)

The allied success at reading German Enigma messages is often praised as shortening the war.  However, we don’t often consider how effective the German’s were in reading allied radio traffic - and the cost in allied lives.   The book by Christian Jennings, The Third Reich Is Listening. Inside German codebreaking 1939-45, (Osprey Publishing, 23 Oct 2018), gives some details on how U91 was steered, by signals intelligence, onto the ON-127 convoy which HMCS Ottawa was escorting and has a graphic telling of her sinking - from the perspective of a RCN officer who was onboard.  (Jamie McCaffrey)

The German B-Dienst had broken the British Naval and merchant marine codes and knew the convoy routings and the moves taken by British anti-submarine escort squadrons.

The Germans had successfully broken the codes for the convoys and escorts - for some time.  A fact which was admitted to be known at the Board of Inquiry into HMCS Ottawa’s sinking.   The Germans developed a thorough assessment of British and American air force units throughout England and could predict with reasonable accuracy when a bombing operation would be undertaken and its likely target.  They also made a very good forecast of the likely point and timing of the Normandy invasion based on intercepts and analysis of US and RAF squadron and group deployments. (Byard B)

‍