Canadian Army Jeeps / Recoilless Rifles question?

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Remember these?

106jeep.jpg



Curious if anyone knows what happened to them (the jeeps and the guns). Were they sold off, melted down?
 
When we had the show at Coe Hill every year. The local museum had one. I have no contact info. Maybe someone?
 
Believe the M38's were disposed of through auction/sales to the public. See a few of them sitting in yards and fields. Fun little vehicle, better than the M151's, I thought.

The 106's were likely held on to for a while as war stocks, beyond that? Might have been sold/donated to another country. Might have been scrapped. Maybe still in war stock? Kidding.
 
Rumour in the late 1980's was that the Jeeps were surplussed and the Rifles were sold to Turkey. The M40 106mm Recoiless Rifle was an excellent weapon system which mated a semi-auto .50 cal Spotter-Tracer Rifle atop the 106mm Rifle. The trajectory of the .50 Spotter-Tracer Ammo was matched to the 106mm High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) and High Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) main rifle rounds, so that whatever you hit with the .50 cal you could immediately thwack with the big gun. You pulled a big control knob to fire the semi-auto .50 cal and then pushed it to fire the 106mm Rifle. It was a very effective weapon against armour targets of the early cold war as well as bunkers and other field fortifications including concrete emplacements.

I had the pleasure of being a qualified Gunner/Loader as well as a Detachment (Jeep) Commander and eventually the Anti-Armour Platoon Second-in-Command as an infantryman with the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) on Vancouver Island back during the early 1980s. Good times!
 
Rumour in the late 1980's was that the Jeeps were surplussed and the Rifles were sold to Turkey. The M40 106mm Recoiless Rifle was an excellent weapon system which mated a semi-auto .50 cal Spotter-Tracer Rifle atop the 106mm Rifle. The trajectory of the .50 Spotter-Tracer Ammo was matched to the 106mm High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) and High Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) main rifle rounds, so that whatever you hit with the .50 cal you could immediately thwack with the big gun. You pulled a big control knob to fire the semi-auto .50 cal and then pushed it to fire the 106mm Rifle. It was a very effective weapon against armour targets of the early cold war as well as bunkers and other field fortifications including concrete emplacements.

I had the pleasure of being a qualified Gunner/Loader as well as a Detachment (Jeep) Commander and eventually the Anti-Armour Platoon Second-in-Command as an infantryman with the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) on Vancouver Island back during the early 1980s. Good times!

I'm surprised you don't own one. ;)
 
By the early 1990's when 4 CMBG deployed elements into the Former Yugoslavia as part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the M40 106mm RCL had been retired and replaced by the Tube-Launched, Optically Sighted and Wire-Guided (TOW) Anti-Armour Missile system. The Canadian Army's Anti-Armour Platoons were equipped with M113 Armour Personnel Carriers specially fitted with TOW Pedestal launchers in the back Crew Hatch. Previous to the TOW, we had M40 106mm RCLs mounted on M113s as well as the specially-modified M38 Jeeps. The jeeps were given to the Army Reserves and the M113s were employed by the Mechanized Infantry Battalions of the Regular Force Army.
 
Some of the recoiless rifles were used for avalanche control in BC. I answered a local used Victoria add for a couple of 105mm plastic shell containers. While I was picking them up the owner said "do you want these too?" and I ended up with 3 end of barrel sections and 3 breech opening handles for the 106. This guy worked for highways and picked up the parts when they were scrapped
 
From the thread title I thought this was going to be about what happens to an uparmoured G-wagon when it gets hit by a 109mm recoiless rifle... RIP.
 
I had heard Parks Canada tried them for avalanche control. Imagine the issues that made them stick with artillery was pretty much direct fire and limited ability for shooting in poor conditions.
Might have also been a problem with lack of suitable ammunition.

Old timers told me that they should have been retained to complement TOW.
 
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Rumour in the late 1980's was that the Jeeps were surplussed and the Rifles were sold to Turkey.
OK, makes sense, about the same time we sent them the Starfighters then. (also didnt think you were that old...I only remember them as a kid in Lahr)
 
The first roto’s into Yugoslavia were outfitted with the TUA system, I was trained as a reloader for leave replacement
 
Believe the M38's were disposed of through auction/sales to the public. See a few of them sitting in yards and fields. Fun little vehicle, better than the M151's, I thought.

The 106's were likely held on to for a while as war stocks, beyond that? Might have been sold/donated to another country. Might have been scrapped. Maybe still in war stock? Kidding.

Correct. War stores was eliminated in the early 90s. FNs, C4 Gpigs, recoiless rifles, 155mm towed Howitzers were all cut up. I was on the mess committee at Carleton Barracks Officers Mess when we're offered our last chance to have any or all as memorabilia. There is a M151 running around NB in TOW carrier configuration used as a hunting buggy.
 
When we had the show at Coe Hill every year. The local museum had one. I have no contact info. Maybe someone?

The guy at the corner on 62 always has a variety of jeeps, trucks and Ilitises for sale in various conditions.. had his contact info .. will see if I can dig it up.
 
Believe the M38's were disposed of through auction/sales to the public. See a few of them sitting in yards and fields. Fun little vehicle, better than the M151's, I thought.

The 106's were likely held on to for a while as war stocks, beyond that? Might have been sold/donated to another country. Might have been scrapped. Maybe still in war stock? Kidding.

these would be m38 a1's the m38 is more like a cj3a
 
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My M38 (or M38A1, I would have to check) Jeep is set for the recoilless rifle but sadly it is missing. :) I think my jeep was one of the last made for the Canadian Army. She is a fun little summer run-a-bout.
 
My M38 (or M38A1, I would have to check) Jeep is set for the recoilless rifle but sadly it is missing. :) I think my jeep was one of the last made for the Canadian Army. She is a fun little summer run-a-bout.

m38A1's look like a cj5 both the m38 and m38a1 are just beefed up cj3a's and cj5's. can't beat old willys jeeps stock they out preform new jeeps by a long shot even if they only have 60hp
 
The M38A1s modified for the 106mm were the 1953 vintage. The 1967 C2 and 1970 C3 were never so modified as I recall. An anti-tank engagement from the Jeep mounted 106 would have been a real act of courage; 1 shot with a huge firing signature then scoot like hell to avoid retaliation. The 106mm was advertised as having an 800 metre max effective range.:eek:
 
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