[Hanno Spoelstra]

V.E. day in Etobicoke

DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR
Auto shop teacher Sean Carney squeezes into the driver’s seat of a Sherman Firefly tank delivered to Etobicoke Collegiate Institute on March 28, 2007.

Etobicoke high school students make tracks to welcome the arrival of a World War II tank, which they will help restore

Mar 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Bill Taylor
Feature Writer

Only one high school was celebrating but it was V.E. Day yesterday – Victory in Etobicoke.

The delivery of a World War II Sherman Firefly tank, a combat veteran of the European battlefields, to Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, was a triumph for teacher Sean Carney after a months-long campaign that he was told he couldn't win.

"When I got the idea last September of finding a tank for my students to work on, I contacted the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces," said Carney, head of the school's transportation and technical education department. "Everyone said the same thing: `Great idea! We're totally behind you on this. It'll never happen.' Too much red tape, they said."

Then he thought of CFB Borden. Lt.-Col. Stuart Beaton, director of the base museum, who also loved the idea and has half a dozen Shermans. The Firefly is a rarity – fitted with a gun big enough to take on the Germans' best tanks. Before that, Shermans' shells tended to bounce off enemy armour.

Restoring it could take up to five years. About 100 students in grades 9 to 12 will work on the Firefly, which weighs 34 tonnes and has armour-plating five centimetres thick.

As they watched the ticklish, three-hour operation to unload the tank, the kids got an idea of how tough the job will be. The turret weighs about four tonnes.

"We'll have to rent a crane to get it off," said Alex Bihuniak, 16. He's more into muscle cars and hot rods but was beside himself with excitement. "To work on a piece of history like this ... it's mind-boggling. I've only ever seen these in the movies."

Laurie LeFresne, 15, was just as thrilled, even though she's more interested in horses. "Not everyone in this class wants to be a mechanic," she said. "This is so cool, so amazing. I'm so nervous but I can't wait to get started. It's ... a tank. End of story!"

Another girl, overhearing, said, "Oh, I wish I'd taken this class."

Some Fireflies had five gas engines, others twin diesels. Carney hoped for diesels, as easier to work on, but when he visited Borden this week and opened the engine compartment all he found was a pop can.

"When they came back from Europe, a lot of their engines were sold as generators," said Beaton. "We'll look at my other tanks for replacements."

Carney said he's also seeking tank veterans as advisers. "And we need financial support."

Scott-Woods Transport donated a tractor-trailer and a second truck to get the tank on and off the flatbed. President Mark Alden is another enthusiast.

"We've moved tanks quite a bit for museums," Alden said. "This is business as usual for us."

Where does a 34-tonne tank sleep? Anywhere it'll fit. The Firefly was shoehorned into a tech shop bay, but only after the machinegun mounting on the turret was removed. The truck's wheels spun – "burnout!" the students yelled – as it pulled the tank on to the asphalt. Carney, who owns a vintage Corvette, had stuffed himself into the driver's compartment to work the levers that brake the left and right caterpillar tracks for steering. "I can't imagine going into battle in this thing," he said.

"I couldn't even fit in there," said history teacher Bob Smale, who will be basing some of his lessons around the tank.

"I'm hoping we can find some serial numbers to help us figure out where it fought," Smale said. "The kids love this. But they've got to respect it, too. If they don't, then they don't get the privilege of working on it."

A woman crossing the street said to no one in particular, "Is Etobicoke going to war?"

Even Carney's dad, Brian, showed up. "As a 10-year-old, Sean thought they'd be wonderful for blowing things up."

Carney laughed. "When I was a kid, I used to climb around on any tank you'd see parked as a monument. It's what got me into military history."

Tanks ... for the memories.

Source: http://www.thestar.com:80/News/article/197208