Biggest plus (in Sask at least) is you can carry firearms in a plated Iltis during an open big game season. Utv’s and quads/skidoo CO’s will string you from a tree in most zones. I throw a camo net over, doors off with a little buddy heater in the back seat. Mobile blind. Must not be touching the vehicle when you pull the trigger tho. Got a few funny looks and questions from CO driving a grid road with camo net on...
Bombardier Iltis opinion
- Thread starter sidester
- Start date
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Great story. I know a fellow who has replicated this Dakar Rally Iltis with a Canadian one. Still polishing a turd IMHO.
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
nope .... but they had a heater and the vehicle it replaced did not... also the softop and sides were a significant improvement .... which isnt saying too muchAt the time they were an advancement - for a few weeks anyway. By the time they were ready to retire - no sane person really missed them.
For some odd reason the CF is in love with German and North American rolling stock. And thankfully have lost their love of ’British therefore best’ crap. Pity they didn't just buy a few thousand Toyota Hilux 4wd Crew cabs .... they would have been a lot better off!
Unless you have ‘been there and done that’ it is hard to imagine the shxt kicking most military vehicles take from numerous drivers - who pretty much dont care ... despite the ‘first parades’ ... most vehicles are ‘rode hard - put away wet’!
I don't know about that my M38A1 CDN2 has an original heater
My 5/4 has a heater and an insulated cab!
Wow! very lucky... does it work? Cant say I really know what the CF designation was for the 1/4T that preceeded the Iltis - and that we used, but suffice to say, by comparison, it was a POS and not one single 1/4t vehicle (prior to the Iltis) that I had the misfortune to sit/ride/drive in - in February - had a heater! OTOH the 3/4t was a very sophisticated vehicle by comparison.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
There were three different models of 1/4 ton that preceded the Iltis, and all had heaters. Working backwards, some of the reserves had the CJ7 (modified civilian vehicle, so it had a decent heater), then there was the M151A2, and the M38A1CDN3 and the M38A1 CDN2. However, since I note that you mentioned the 3/4 ton M37 Dodge, you may be dating yourself slightly and also have had the pleasure of using either the original M38CDN, or the M38A1CDN. Both of those were of early 50s vintage, and heaters were not installed in all of them. The early 50s models stuck around until the mid 70s.
Now as to how effective those heaters were, with button type canvas tops in the arctic temperatures of Manitoba, varied. The M38A1s fitted with coolant type heaters could be counted on to defrost the front windshield and heat the co-drivers feet. The M151A2 could be counted on to defrost the windshield....it had a smaller 15,000 BTU heater, where the M38A1s had a 30,000 BTU heater. The real winner was an earlier Jeep with the South Wind gas heater. Now those could be set up to crank out the heat.
The heater in the Iltis was much better than the SMP vehicles that it replaced. That is just about the only concession I will make to the Iltis. I will admit to having replaced the heater doors and the little strap that retained them over and over again until I took an Iltis out on a road test on a cold day. Half way around the ring road in MooseJaw, I too ripped the little doors off.
A few years later, once posted to Shilo, I found myself installing an Iltis heater into the cab of the MLVW. There was something about the design of that heater core that actually let the heat transfer. There was so much heat off it I had to install a thermostat on the dash of the MLVW in order to keep the heat below 75C, even on the coldest of January days. I left the original heater installed in the MLVW just to simply defrost the windshield.
Over the years I have owned many of the vehicle types I mentioned above. M38s, M38A1s, an M151A2 (actually bought 30 from the army for $110 each but had to turn in the bodies for destruction after stripping whatever parts I wanted), M37s, and a couple of MLVWs. The collection of military vehicles grows and contracts, then grow some more. But I will assure you, there will never, ever, ever, be an Iltis in the collection. Nor an LSVW.
highlander
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Newfoundland
They were just getting these things in when I left the Service so I can't speak on them personally, but a lot of the guys I did serve with had very little good to say about them.
Apparently, after having operated REAL jeeps, the guys found these things were a big disappointment.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
The Iltis had a lot more highway speed and a lot more fuel economy than the previous Jeeps. However, that same gearing that gave them such highway speed meant they were gutless when trying to climb hills or drive through sand.
I remember the infantry put in a work request for their Iltises (or would multiples be Ilti?). The complaint was that when they jumped a hill the engine would cut out. My boss took one and jumped the hill and sure enough the motor cut out. It turned out that they had a governor built into the distributor rotor, so when it hit a certain amount of revolutions it would internally ground and short out the spark. If the same engineers could have only figured out a way to stop the rotors from climbing up the shaft and uselessly spinning out of time. I did many many recoveries for that fault, including a 2am call into the buffer zone in Cypress. The Turks were not happy about us being there that time of night....lots of rifles pointed at us and the Cpl screaming away in Turkish....had no idea what he was saying but the rifles spoke volumes.
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
But did the Iltis have this option ?
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
But did the Iltis have this option ?
Do you mean making the Iltis into a scale model? Or do you mean having the M40A2 recoiless rifle mounted on it? If the latter, there was initially proposed to be a recoiless rifle variant, as well as a parade & ceremonial variant, a machine gun recce variant, and a few others. None of those three variants reached fruition. The recoiless rifles languished around for a few more years with the hopes of adding a computer system to allow decent indirect fire. In the end, that project was scrapped and the remaining recoiless rifles went to museums and smelters.
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
Off topic I know but I couldn't resist.
Me and the boys in about 1967 at a dog and pony show
View attachment 155264
The 106 was deadly accurate. Biggest problem was that the jeep could roll over pretty easily. Thankfully the 106 acted like a roll bar.
Never drove an Iltis. WAY befor my time.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Neat to see a 1953 recoiless Jeep. Also neat to see the fairly new M113A1 still in it's semi-gloss olive green. Much better than a photo of an Iltis.
I have one of those gun Jeeps. A 1952 Willys MD. Solid body tub with very little rust. It is a basket case in boxes, but all the little doo dads, ready racks and and brackets came with it including a windshield with a slot in it for the barrel.
A long term project, over the years I have gathered up pretty much everything that I need to make a start. Just need the time and money.......
A long term project, over the years I have gathered up pretty much everything that I need to make a start. Just need the time and money.......
The Wizard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
But did the Iltis have this option ?
I was a platoon leader in the 3rd Battalion 87th Infantry (U. S. Army Reserves) with six of these except they were mounted on the M825 Mutt 1/4 Ton 4x4 Utility Truck.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
I remember getting the ilits. the unit held on to our CJs as long as we could. they had that straight 6 lots of low end .
I would take an old CJ over an iltis.
I would take an old CJ over an iltis.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
I have copies of the CJ7 retention message at home. There were 3 purchases of CJ7s....1982 for a small number, 1983 was a larger number. Those two purchases were for the armoured recce militia as the M38A1s were well past their best before date by then. Two years later there was another purchase of CJ7s...these ones went to miltia service Bns, and possibly some to the militia infantry. Of course, the Iltis were fielded in 1986, and it would have been a shame to be sending 3 and 1 year old vehicles to CADC. The message basically said that the CJ7s could be kept as excess to entitlement but with a one time repair expenditure limit of $500. Later some were drawn into pools in places like Suffield.....I recall when I was with 2VP we were issued one during a brigade ex for use by the Padre. We mechanics liked it so much that it was about 4 or 5 days before the padre finally came looking for his Jeep.
The 1985 CJ7s were the best.....the 82 and 83 used the puky T-5 transmission which was really meant for cars. The 85s used the T186 (IIRC).
