Canadian Ferrets 1975 CFB Meaford

[Robin Craig]

Here are some somewhat grainy images from Mike Jackson.

He shot 16mm at the time and has managed to capture some stills and they are reproduced here.

The interesting details I picked out were the ammo bin on rear right fender, not sure if it is bolted on but I somewhat suspect it is.

Then the telphone wire spool mounted on the side as er the modification instruction and another with one just hangin down front.

The Call sign placards are great, not seen those on Ferrets before in the CF. Wonder if that was a Meaford thing or just 8th Hussars thing?

Love the Ferrets loaded in the backs of the trucks, interesting it is not the smaller capacity deuce but the bigger American version with dual rears wheels

[Robin Craig]

And loaded on trucks

[Robin Craig]

And one more

[rob love]

The trucks are mid 70s 5 ton M800 series with the Cummins 250 diesel. The old GMC M135 would not have safely carried a ferret as it would be pretty close or over the maximum highway capacity. Cross country capacity would be half of that.

They are not traditional call signs on the vehicles. There should be two numbers designating the squadron, then the troop, followed by a letter for the vehicle's position within the recce troop.

[maple_leaf_eh]

The call sign plates are unconventional. The presence of Ferrets in Meaford is unconventional. Do we know anything more about the occasion?

BTW, 16mm film was used in 110-format pocket cameras of the day. One of my first cameras was a 110 cassette, with 20 exposures as probably the best value. The images on those were grainy because the lenses were plastic.

[Dan Martel]

Great movie stills. Would also like to know more about the date the filming was done.

Cheers,
Dan.