how do you feel when equipmet you trained on is a museum piece now

[FormerHorseGuard]

i went to the Canadian War Museum yesterday and looked around at various parts of the collection. Then I started to see pieces in the collection that were on display and they were pieces i learned to operate and was trained on.

no special order here

1) the FN family, C1A1 and C2 ( both i trained on and used,)
2) M113 saw then drive by me lots in Petawawa
3) cougar ( unit used them as tank trainers and as tanks)
4) grizzly used when the cougar was not available in required numbers
5) Ilits ( how did john and his driver live thru that  i do not know, lucky stars i think)
6) LEO the tank C1 and C2 version.
7) C6 machine gun
8) C8
9) C5 in various displays and various mods
10) C9
11) helments, and uniforms
12) some of the trucks
13) radio equipment
14) Kiowa helicopter ( did a few weekend exercises with the air unit in Toronto and got a few rides in them)
15) not sure of the stock number but did see a 105mm gun, guess it was time for those to start going on display.

i looked around and started to think boy i am old and need a retirement home soon, only 36, and been out 10 years now

I did notice that  the cougar and the grizzly were in the worse state of repair, think the army  needs to loan good examples of those, not ones that  could not make decent looking without a lot of spare parts
the older gentlement a retired sigs man was showing me fresh damage to the various pieces of equipment casused by staff being careless when moving stuff around, fresh dents and stuff on the cars and loight skinned apcs.

it was a very interesting display and was happy to see it. wish they  would put up more display info signs on some of the stuff.
nice to see some of the equipment on display in one place and being cared for. I had a great afternoon there.

 

[chrisf]

Considering more then half that equipment is still in service

(The first radio I ever trained on was the AN/PRC-77 despite having joined well after the institution of TCCCS. Also enjoyed learning to drive an MLVW in a truck that was almost as old as I am... no... seriously... the ML should be replaced with an updated ML)

 

[chrisf]

Oh, P.S. I know there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Canadian war museum, but you've got to love them for their display on Hitler's limo...

"Originally captured by American forces, it eventually made it's way into Canadian hands"

After reading that, I immediately interpreted that based on my own experiences with the forces to mean that a half dozen Canadian troops got on the beer one evening and decided "Hey, you know what would be a laugh? Let's steal Hitler's car."

 

[pbi]

I actually trained wth the old 3/4 ton truck family, the old GMC "deuce and a half",  the 3.5 inch  rocket launcher and the WWII-style jeep (flat head six cylinder) when I joined the Militia in 1974. In Cadets, a couple of years before, I was taught to strip and assemble the Bren Gun. Imagine how old I feel!

Oh...wait...I am old.



Cheers

 

[JBP]

I've always wanted to go to the War Museum, worth the drive I take it then?

Even though I'm new and 1/2 the equipment listed there I've even still been trained on or used!

I've also heard there's an incredible amount of other museums in Ottawa to go to, like Museum of History etc... etc..

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Joe

 

[William Webb Ellis]

I am surprised 

Some of the M113 we had in Yugo in the early 90's were older then me then, I was only Early 20's.

You missed one sweet piece of kit.  I took my first driving course on a CJ Jeep.

 

[parkie]

yes,It does seem strange to go to the museum,and see something you trained on .It's feels even stranger when your in the museum with it, and your grand daughter says grandpa isn't that you in that old picture,firing that gun.  Good lord, I've become a museum piece.

                                                                                                                      parkie
                                                                                                                                         

 

[pbi]

A while back my 16 year old daughter asked me what the round thing on top of our old stereo was. When I told her it was a turntable for playing records, she asked me "what's a record?".

Cheers

 

[Journeyman]

I've also heard there's an incredible amount of other museums in Ottawa.....Anyone have any other suggestions?

No tour would be complete without stopping into NDHQ - - it's where they display the fossils of Cold Warriors  >

The "NDHQ museum guide" tells us the real hard-core ones can be identified by having an UNFICYP ribbon in addition to their CD (with many rosettes). 

 

[DG-41]

Try realizing that your fresh crop of privates wasn't yet born the day you first put on a uniform.

Or dropping by the CMR museum, and seeing your picture (as part of a group) on the wall...

Oi, and I'm still only 35 (for a few more days yet at least)

DG

 

[axeman]

try working on a Bren gun carrier... well itr actully was a museum piece.. it was just like working on a tractor . the on a open house we had it running and a few  ww2 / korea vets showed me what one could really do ...

 

[parkie]

yes,you certainly can't beat the bren,having fired one in combat a couple of times an amazing weopon,take the worst kind of punishment,and ready to go in a moments notice,And very accurate.
all in all ,it is nice that someone takes the time to reflect on canada's war history,more from the point of all the volunteer work it must require,I would imagine for some of you a bit younger,it must give you a feeling of pride too,being a part of it.

                                                                                                 parkie

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I'm a little leery about listing the stuff I started with, and worked on

C-42 (vehicle radio)
510 (manpack)
sten gun
bren gun
Browning .30 cal
3.5" rocket launcher
FN
APC's & Lynx (that were brand new)
Centurion
Ferret
3/4 ton
deuce and a half

Aircraft:
Voodoo CF101
CF5
104
T33
Tracker
Argus
Huey
Kiowa

Just to name some. Retired those, and then got this stuff

C5 GPMG
Sterling SMG
5/4 ton
Leopard (never worked on it though)
524 radio
77 set
Cougar
Grizzily
Iltis (still got some)

and retired those too. I'm going to have to pull pin soon before I retire a third set of equipment.

 

[parkie]

Just wondering how does the bren relate to the newer weapons?

                            parkie

 

[Fishbone Jones]

It was extremely accurate, maybe to much so, for an area weapon. If you didn't stagger the rim on the .303 British casing, when loading the mag, it would jam. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn't have a chest rig for the mags though, we used to hump them around in a metal box.

 

[Danjanou]

Guys I know the feeling well, When I went through the CWM last fall and noticed the stuff  FormerHorseGuard lists I felt old until I realized that the two other guys with me (both army.ca regulars) were even older than I am ( George W and I loved teasing Edward about the really old stuff)

Back in the mid to late 1980’s several of us had finished a course in Aldershot (SLC IIRC) and gone into Halifax for the weekend. Between bar hopping we went up the Citadel and were touring the army museum there, which is another excellent one or at least it was then.

One of the guys was staring at one of the FNC1 on display and did a double take. We asked him about and he said the rifle on display was the one he had been issued on his small arms coaching course years earlier, he remembered the serial number.

Not sure if he was joking or not, but I did remember that story when I was at the CWM and spent a lot of time carefully checking all the FNs on display there… you never know  ;D

 

[parkie]

yes ,you had to be careful loading the mags,last thing you want to hear is click.if you didn't stagger your rounds in the enfield they jammed too.big mags too.big banana shaped buggers.lots of guys liked them for sniping.most of the war I used a thompson,not an accurate weapon by any means,but those .45 rounds would do terrible things to a man at close range.
                                                                                         
                                                        parkie

 

[parkie]

Guys I know the feeling well, When I went through the CWM last fall and noticed the stuff  FormerHorseGuard lists I felt old until I realized that the two other guys with me (both army.ca regulars) were even older than I am ( George W and I loved teasing Edward about the really old stuff)

Back in the mid to late 1980’s several of us had finished a course in Aldershot (SLC IIRC) and gone into Halifax for the weekend. Between bar hopping we went up the Citadel and were touring the army museum there, which is another excellent one or at least it was then.

One of the guys was staring at one of the FNC1 on display and did a double take. We asked him about and he said the rifle on display was the one he had been issued on his small arms coaching course years earlier, he remembered the serial number.

Not sure if he was joking or not, but I did remember that story when I was at the CWM and spent a lot of time carefully checking all the FNs on display there… you never know  ;D

so ,the fnc ,would that be the belgium,fabrique nationale,not sure if i spelled coorrectly,
                                                                                    parkie

 

[Garry]

Recceguy, I feel your pain...

In the UFI column, I remember going to Halifax and bringing back three brand spanking new Leopards. Man, they were fast.

I also remember retiring the Centurion- good parade that.

Feeling old....garry

 

[Danjanou]

Of course we also have to make mention of those still serving living, breathing museum pieces some of whom have posted in this thread.

Recceguy what was it like having Noah as a fireteam buddy? ;D