Canadair CL70 CFR 58-91588

[Robin Craig]

So,

it has been a while and we have not been standing still. I say we, as my very good friend Gerry Foster and I have slowly been working away but neglecting to post our progress.

First of all, we had the most enjoyable evening with Don Chisholm. We met him at a restaurant locally and spent supper talking over his association with the RAT and his later career in the RCEME.

Don was stationed in London On attached to the RCR and recalls the vehicle with a tremendous amount of clarity, not bad as he is now 82.

Over supper he recounted the incident of the RAT at Bagotville and how an impression was made in the side of a very new Hercules C130. The operator of the vehicle had realised that he had too much speed and because there is no foot brake was not going to be able to stop before a collision. So he turned the machine sideways, at this point inertia took over and the cleats on the tracks were now in line with the former path and took over and became skates and allowed the RAT to glide into the C130, thud.

Don and I had spoken by phone and I was impressed how the same incidents were repeated without variation at supper. We found out that Don was obviously well regarded within his trade as he ended up in the UK during the development of the CVR(T) family of vehicles as the representative from Canada as it was thought that Canada would go down the light armour route.

After supper we moved our meet to the workshop where we had moved the units inside for the evening. Bear in mind my own garage / workshop is a work in progress so I use the shop at work by gracious permission of my employer. The only stipulation is all material has to be out by the end of the night. It makes for a bit of a circus but allows progress.

After many years here is Don re united with a RAT with his unit's marking on the front.