Tanks of Canada

The history and development of tanks in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps can be broken down into smaller categories: their origin during World War I; the interwar period; World War II; the Cold War; and the modern era.

Originally formed as the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1910, Canada's first tank units were not raised until late in 1918. Initially, these units were considered to be part of the Machine Gun Corps and the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion; 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion and the 3e Bataillon de chars d'assaut were all too late to join the fighting in the First World War. However, the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion was still training in Mark V tanks in the U.K. when the Canadian Tank Corps was finally authorized two days after the armistice.

The first tanks since the First World War did not arrive until a few Vickers Mark VI light tanks appeared the year before Canada went to war with Germany again. From these modest beginnings, the modern Canadian Armoured Corps began on 13 August 1940. Initially, the Canadian Armoured forces brokered a deal to obtain scrap iron on behalf of the Canadian Government because isolationist laws prohibited the U.S. from foreign arm sales. At the time, there were no tanks available to be acquired from Britain. Therefore, 219 US M1917 tanks, a First World War design, were obtained at scrap prices. They were sufficient to begin some tank training and familiarisation, but were of very limited combat use. Events of the Second World War later thrust Canada into large scale tank production with thousands of Valentine, Ram, and Grizzly tanks and their armoured variants being produced.

Canada would also go on to build modern armoured fighting vehicles that served during the Cold War and the War in Afghanistan.

After the fall of France, it was decided the nascent Canadian armoured divisions would be equipped by tanks produced in Canada. To form the 1st Army Tank Brigade, Valentine tanks were ordered. This British design was to be built in Canada. Aside from the necessary adjustments to the design to incorporate local engineering standards and available components, the Canadian Valentines used a GMC engine. This engine, being an improvement over the original, was later applied to British production. Even before the loss of the majority of the United Kingdom's tank force in France in 1940 after Dunkirk, it was recognised that tank production in the UK at the start of the war was insufficient and capacity in the US was taken for British needs. So it was necessary that if Canada was to equip with tanks they would have to be manufactured locally. In June 1940 the Canadian Pacific Railway's Angus Shops in Montreal, as the only large firm with spare capacity, had received a contract to produce 300 partially fitted out Valentine tanks for the British; this was followed later with one for 488 complete tanks for Canada. However, the Valentine was an infantry tank and Canada required a cruiser tank for its recently formed armoured division. In the end 1,940 Valentines were produced by CPR most of which were supplied to the USSR. Although the Valentine used a number of American produced parts, its reliance on British components, difficulties in adapting its manufacture to North American methods, and other problems such as limitations to the availability of the right type of armour plate affected Valentine production. In practice, Canada never used most of the 1,400 Valentines they built as they were supplied under lend-lease to the Soviet Union.

The Canadian Joint Committee on Tank Development concluded in September 1940 that its cruiser tank should be based on a US rather than a British design. This would be quicker and allow it to use components already in production for the US design. In early 1941 the 1st Tank Brigade was sent to Britain and equipped with the Matilda infantry tank. For the formation of two armoured divisions it was expected that 1,200 cavalry tanks were needed. The United Kingdom was not in a position to supply them, as it had shortfalls in supply for its own needs. This meant that Canada had to develop its own production. To this end a tank arsenal was set up under the management of a subsidiary of a US firm engaged in tank production. This Canadian indigenous tank design would become the standard armoured vehicle for the Canadian army. The result was the Ram cruiser tank, based on the chassis and running gear of the US M3 Lee; Rams were produced by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) from 1941 to 1943.

Except for the Badger flame thrower tank conversion of the Ram tank and other variants that were in action in NW Europe, the Ram tank did not go to war with the Canadian Armoured Divisions. The decision was made to use the new Sherman tank as standard equipment. The Ram's main contribution to the war effort was to fully equip large armoured units formed in Canada and the U.K. with a modern tank it could use to conduct essential tactical training prior to the invasions in Italy and Normandy. The Ram was produced in numerous variants, the most notable being the Kangaroo Armoured Personnel Carrier.

The M3 was succeeded by the superior M4 Sherman. The Allies agreed to standardise on the M4, and MLW began producing the Canadian version, the Grizzly tanks in August 1943. The Grizzly's suspension used 17-tooth drive sprockets and CDP tracks. In comparison, the M4 used 13 tooth drive sprockets. The CDP track was lighter and simpler than the standard US tracks and did not require rubber, which was scarce since the Japanese advance into Southeast Asia. The Canadian Grizzly tank production halted when it became apparent US production would be sufficient. Instead, MLW produced the Sexton self-propelled gun Mk II. The Sexton Mk II used the Grizzly chassis, with the upper hull modified to carry the Commonwealth standard QF 25 pounder gun. The Sexton was the Commonwealth counterpart to the US M7 Priest. A small batch of Grizzly medium tank was fitted with an Ordnance QF 17-pounder for training but none saw action.