Sherman Tank | Ferret Scout Car | M60 Tank | Abbot SP Gun | Sheridan

M113 APC | Chaffee Tank | Lynx CRV | Bren Carrier | Centurion | Photo Gallery

M4 A2 E8 Medium Battle Tank - Sherman

Length	19'10"
Width	8'7"
Height	12'3"
Weight	31.75 t
Engine	Twin GMC diesel
Forward Speed	25 mph
Range	200 km
Armament	75mm
Crew	5
Quantity	49,234

A total of 49,234 Shermans were built in the US during the Second World War, a quantity equaled by only one other wartime tank, the Soviet T-34. Many variations of the Sherman tank included flame throwers, rocket launchers, mine exploders (flails), swimming apparatus, and dozer conversions.

On December 11th, 1941, the two designs were standardized, the welded hull as the M4 and the cast hull model as the M4A1, and production of the latter began in February 1942 on an assembly line already established by British contract.

This is the variant used by the Ontarios during World War II from Sicily, to Ortona, the Liri Valley and on through Northwest Europe to Holland.

The Ontarios trained on the Sherman tank until 1970 and were the last Canadian reserve regiment to give up their tanks just prior to the Regiment was re-roled to armoured reconnaissance.

(The first two Shermans ever made bore British Army numbers, T25189 and T25190).

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Ferret Scout Car

Length	11'11"
Width	6'3"
Height	6'2 1/2"
Weight	4 t
Engine	Rolls Royce B-60 6 Cyl 129 hp
Speed (Forward AND Reverse)	58 mph
Range	300 km
Armament	7.62 mm machine gun

British armoured scout car. Ferret was developed by the Daimler company in 1949, production began in 1952 and continued until 1971, during which time some 4500 were built. As well as being used by the British Army, they have been adopted by 36 other countries.

The Ferret is basically a four-wheeled car with an all-welded steel body. The driver sits in the front of the hull, the center is the commander's compartment, and the engine and transmission are at the rear.

Used in every internal security campaign from Malaysia through Aden and Cyprus to Ulster, it is a fast and handy vehicle and one of the few AFVs politically acceptable to use on urban streets. The Ferret was replaced in the early 1970s by the M113 Lynx (Canadian variant).

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M60 Main Battle Tank

Length	32'4"
Width	12'6"
Height	12'6"
Weight	55 tons
Engine	750 hp Continental AVDS-1790 V-12 diesel
Vertical Obstacle Climb	49 in
Maximum Width Ditch	108 in
Fording Depth	48 in
Forward Speed	30 mph
Range	200 km
Main Gun	105mm
Coaxial Machine Gun	M240 - 7.62mm
Commander's Machine Gun	M85 - .50 cal

The M60 main battle tank was the pre-M1 Abrams workhorse of US Army and Marine Corps armoured units. Chrysler began production of the M60 in 1959 and put several hundred into service as early as 1961. Approximately 15,000 M60s were built before production ceased in 1983.

The M60 saw service with the Israeli army during the Yom Kippur War and served as the US Marines main battle tank during Operation Desert Storm when the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force fielded 210 M60A1s to support the Saudi-Marine drive into Kuwait City. The M60 was not widely utilized in Viet Nam, but did support US action in Lebanon and Grenada during the 1980s.

Until 1997, the M60 served as the primary main battle tank for US Reserve and National Guard armoured units. Developed from the M48 Patton series, the M60 was fitted with a 105mm main gun and manned by a four-man crew.

Besides its main gun, M60 series tanks are equipped with a 7.62mm M240 coaxial machine gun and 12.7mm M85 anti-aircraft gun. Power is provided by a Continental AVDS-1790-2C 750 hp engine and an Allison CD-850-6/6A power shift cross drive transmission.

A full description of most M60 variants including AVLB, AVLM, CEV, and Panther is available here.

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FV 433 Self-Propelled Gun - Abbot

Length	18'11"
Width	8'9"
Height	8'9 1/2"
Weight	19 t
Engine	Rolls Royce K60 diesel 6 Cyl 12 Piston-VO 248 hp
Verticle Obstacle Climb	24 in
Maximum Width Ditch	6'9"
Fording Depth	24 in
Forward Speed	30 mph
Main Gun	105mm Artillery
Commander's Machine Gun	7.62 mm

Development of the Abbot, a British self-propelled gun, began in the mid-1950s. It would become the close support weapon of choice for the Royal Regiment of Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery. The Abbot prototypes were built in 1961 and trials commenced the following year. The Abbot entered service with the Royal Artillery in 1965 and remained in service until about 1993, when the first new AS-90s were delivered.

The chassis was based on the FV 432 APC design which was developed concurrently but the rest of the vehicle is radically different to the FV432 based vehicles, having a large fully traversable turret mounting a 105 mm L13A1 gun on a purpose-built hull.

The gun uses a variety of separate loading ammunition including High Explosive (HE), High Explosive Squash Head (HESH), and smoke. One notable feature is the gun's ability to fire the standard US and NATO 105-mm shells, using a special cartridge.

Maximum range with the high-explosive shell is 18,300m. 38 complete rounds can be carried inside the turret for ready use. The normal rate of fire is six rounds per minute, but this can be doubled for short periods.

The Abbot is able to swim across water, having a flotation screen fixed around the hull which can be raised to provide buoyancy. The action of the tracks is sufficient to drive it forward at about 3 knots.

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M551 A1 Armoured Reconnaissance Airborne Assault Vehicle - Sheridan

Length	22'4"
Width	13'6"
Height	12'6"
Weight	17 t
Engine	300 hp 6V53T diesel
Verticle Obstacle Climb	49 in
Maximum Width Ditch	108 in
Fording Depth	48 in
Forward Speed	45 mph
Main Gun	155mm Cannon/Missile Launcher
Coaxial Machine Gun	M240- 7.62mm
Commander's Machine Gun	M2-.50 cal

The M551 Sheridan was developed to provide the US Army with a light armoured reconnaissance vehicle with heavy firepower. The main armament is a 152mm M81 gun/missile launcher capable of firing conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh antitank missile (20 conventional rounds and 8 missiles).

Initially produced in 1966, the M551 was put into service in 1968. A total of 1,562 M551s were built between 1966 and 1970. Due to problems with the gun-tube-launched antitank missile, the Sheridan was not used very widely across the US army.

As projectile technology advanced, however, the Sheridan's potential declined and its phase out began in 1978. The M551 is still used by the 82nd Airborne Division and 330 "visually-modified" Sheridans are used as enemy tanks at the National Training Centre in Fort Irwin, California.

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M113 A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier - APC

Length	4.87 m
Width	2.69 m
Height	2.2 m
Weight	13 t
Engine	212 hp GMC 6V53 Diesel
Speed (CombatLoad) Land	64 km/h
Speed (CombatLoad) Water	5.6 km/h
Range	320 km
Armament	.50 calibre machine gun or 7.62 mm
Crew	2
Year (s) Procured	1965
Quantity (Canadian)	1045

Perhaps the world's most ubiquitous armoured, amphibious, air portable, radio equipped, tracked vehicle. The M113 and its command post variant, the Queen Mary, have been use in Canada, the US, Britain, Israel and numerous NATO countries since the late 1960s.

The carrier provides ground forces, particularly the infantry, with increased speed, mobility and protection.

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M24 Light Tank - Chaffee

Length	18'0"
Height	8'1 1/2"
Weight	18 t
Engine	Twin Cadillac V8, 110 hp (ea); Gasoline
Forward Speed	48 km/h
Main Gun	75mm
Commander's Machine Gun	.50 cal
Crew	5

The US light tank M24, christened in honour of General Adna R Chaffee, "Father of US Armoured Forces." The M24's design phase began in mid-1943 as the army began to replace the M5A1 light tank, which was plagued by insufficient armament, a cramped crew compartment, a tight turret interior and chronic engine over-heating. The work was done by the US Ordinance Department and the Cadillac motor division of General Motors with the first production vehicle delivered in April 1944.

A small number entered service in time to be used in Europe, seeing action at the crossing of the Rhine and the later stages of the campaign against Germany.

Total Chaffee production was 4415 vehicles, the majority of which remained in service for several years and seeing action in the opening stages of the Korean War. The M24 were widely exported and a few are still in service across the world.

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M113 Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle - Lynx

Length	4.6 m
Width	2.4 m
Height (w/armament)	2.2 m
Weight (CombatLoad)	8775 kg
Max. Road Speed	74 km/h
Max. Water Speed	5.6 km/h
Cruising Range	523 km
Gradient	60%
Side Slope	30%
Vertical Obstacle	.61 m
Trench Crossing	1.5 m
Engine	Detroit Diesel 6V-53 watercooled 215 hp @ 2800 RPM
Power to Weight Ratio	25 hp/tonne
Ground Pressure	.48 kg/sq. cm.
Night Vision Equipment	Driver, infrared; Crew, passive

The Lynx was developed by FMC using the automotive components of its sister tracked vehicle, the M113 APC. The Canadian Forces purchased 174 Lynxes in the mid-1960s with the first vehicles delivered in 1968. They replaced the long-serving Ferret Scout Car.

The Canadian Forces purchased 174 vehicles in 1968 to equip reconnaissance squadrons of armoured regiments, reconnaissance platoons in mechanised infantry battalions, and various command positions. The Canadian Lynx is armed with a remotely-fired .50 cal. HMG in a manually-traversed M26 turret, a pintle-mounted 7.62mm C5 MG, and 2x3 smoke dischargers.

Like the M113, the Lynx is fully amphibious with propulsion provided by its tracks.  Splash shields are available for the engine grilles as well as a trim vane on the glacis.

Loved for its speed, mobility and low silhouette, the Lynx was despised by crewman for its cramped interior storage, tiny cockpit and endemic track noise. The Lynx was used by Canadian units in several overseas operations including Germany, Cyprus and the former Yugoslavia. The Lynx was retired from service in 1993-94, replaced by the 8-wheel Coyote.

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Universal Carrier - Bren Gun Carrier

Length	12'
Width	6'9"
Height	5'2"
Weight	3.75 tons
Engine	Ford V-8, 85-bhp
Forward Speed	30 mph
Main Gun	Bren light machine gun

British light armoured vehicle. Work on light armoured vehicles had begun in the 1920s when designers saw two uses: as tractors for field guns and as mobile support vehicles mounting a light or medium machine gun.

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Centurion Tank

Specifications coming soon.

The Centurion was the primary British and Canadian main battle tank of the immediate post-war era, and considered by many to be one of the best British tank designs of all time. 13 variants of the popular 40-ton tank were produced between 1945 and 1961.

Designed during the Second World War the Centurion was employed in the European theatre, but arrived too late for combat. It performed well during service in the Korean War (Britain), the 1965 War (India), the Six Day War (Israel), Viet Nam (Australia), the Angolan War (South Africa) and the Gulf War (Britain), where a variant was used as an recovery vehicle. The Centurion also equipped armies in the Netherlands, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Somalia, among others. Some Centurions are still in service until the 1990s.

Our Centurion is non-operational and scheduled for restoration in the years ahead.

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