[Colin Macgregor Stevens]

RARE is the best word for WWII German armour in Canada.

There are many stories about WWII German armour at Petwawa being buried in a big trench. That is a key reasons why the Aurora flyover was wanted. There was apparently a photo of these vehicles in the trench before being covered up, and apparently said photo was published in a local newspaper. Unfortunately so far no-one has found this photo or other solid evidence that I have heard of ... and most importantly, a location.

I believe some of the German anti-tank guns etc. at the RCA Museum in CFB Shilo have North American 1950s M-series tail lights and I was told that they were used as "enemy" pieces on exercises for awhile.

Think of Gulf War souvenir stuff. Interesting for awhile, then sometimes they get left outside to rot and eventually a base commander may order a clean-up - "get rid of that junk" - similar to what happened recently in Borden where a base commander ordered the illegal demolition of one of the rare WWI Royal Flying Corps hangers! Sadly, it DOES happen on military bases, in civic parks etc. I saved two Bofors guns that Burnaby wanted to get rid of in BC.

Rumours of armour and even buried armour exist and are SOMETIMES even true. All such stories are worth following up. I have a photo of a Sherman in USA being lifted out of its burial location. I found a Universal Carrier on Coquitlam BC that locals called a "tank". I too had heard of the Panther track section at Petawawa.

In Manitoba collectors found a bunch of buried Universal Carriers which have now been salvaged.

The Stug III that was at Currie Barracks in Calgary apparently is apparently the one that went to a US collector in the 1980s.

A couple of Goliaths (WWII German demolition mini-tank) survive. Fort Garry Horse Museum has one as does Canadian War Museum. At least those would fit in a garage! Imperial War Museum has one on display at Duxford in England along with the trailer for it as I recall. (Would have to check my photos).

The CWM's Panzer IA was traded to Jacques Littlefield in Calif in a trade that I recommended as it got 6 pieces of armour that were significant to Canada but which were totally unaffordable for CWM. The Panzer I is very rare, but not very relevant to Canada as it was obsolete by the time the majority of our army came into contact with the German army. A Ram ARV (hulk) was to be part of the deal but there was a problem and another vehicle was provided.
1. Staghound Armoured Car. (Type used by Canada).
2. Churchill tank (Type used by Canada).
3. Lee M3 tank (Type used by Canada).
4. Stuart M5A1 tank (Type used by Canada).
5. Grizzly M4A1 tank (Made in Canada). Repatriation.

The CWM still have their Panzer II.

Their Stug III (shot up on target range) is on display as a battlefield casualty as I had suggested.

The Wirbelwind flak tank at Borden - is it inside yet? It was suffering from the weather when I last saw it years ago. What other German WWII armour is in Canada? I think I heard of another Stug III.

I think it was Farley Mowatt who said we should have Tigers and Panthers as our war memorials instad of Shermans, so people could see and remember what our troops fought against.