MTB Base in Montreal???...

[Marc Montgomery]

There were several photos -then and now- in one of the old Convoy magazines, When I took the pics several years ago, the boat basin had been long filled in and was a gravel parking lot (fairly big)

there used to be a road right along the south side of the canal and a small lift bridge gave access to and from the basin...

the canal is not that wide so manoeuvring the 70 plus foot boats in and out would have been interesting.

guarantee that less than a handful of montrealers....0.0000001% know there were MTBs built here.. Few Cdns would even know what MTB is..being brought up on US tv and PT boats (apparently not too successful or reliable)

Also in an old convoy edition were photos of the Angus yards..big locomotive works..BIG..converted to making tanks..... again then and now photos......now..subdivsions and a part of the former building is a very large supermarket. Strange to think in the exact spot where they used to build tanks, is now rows of American grapes, mexican avocados...monsanto GM tomatoes etc..

Also in another Convoy edition....lots of then and now photos. of the Sorel plant (again huge!) were 25pdrs were made... I could find NO evidence to indicate to anyone the importance of the plant or the city..no plaque ..rien!

There was -ONE- very sad condition 25pdr at a kind of run-down, out of the way Legion and I think it might have had a plaque...but I bet again 99% of the people there dont know of the history. Quebec politics...that all I will say.

[Robert Bergeron]

Dear Marc,

Not all Québecers forget..

My uncle Gerry Plammondon played hockey with the Montéal Canadians and Maurice Richard during the war in between shifts working on torpedoes for the MTB ' s out of the Le Guardeur plant just outside of Montéal.

You see, it was the war and unless you were a star like Maurice Richard , you had to work for the war industry AND play hockey.

Gerry is 91 now and going strong. He told me all about the MTB's and the torpedoes is was making for them.One of his torpedoes surely sank the Bismark. i am sure.. well almost.

So let the war stories come out gents, there are plenty to be told.. even in Québec.

Cheers !



Robert

[Marc Montgomery]

Well Rob, youre one of those very few. Again, almost no one knows that two of the biggest munitions plants were near montreal...
One north of the city called "le Plan Bouchard"...a huge operation..now a subdivision..although when I was last there, there were still traces left in the brush where the development hadnt reached..shown in the Convoy Mag

Again in an old Convoy mag there are before and after photos.

Montreal and surrounding area during the war years was a very major supplier..from buiding Canso amphibs, to clothing and webbing, MTBs, tanks, planes, radio equip... you name it.

[Robert Bergeron]

Hey Mark,

My father served at Camp Bouchard after the war and he had fond memories of the courses he attended there. He used to fly to Camp Bouchard in a RCAF DC3 from Sherbrooke. They landed in Cartierville airport now closed and then boarded a Jeep or other transport to Camp Bouchard.

I regularly overfly Camp Bouchard by plane ( my Cessna) and chopper ( Griffon today's RCAF ) and there are numerous remaining buildings and ammunition bunkers . Next door there is a testing oval racetrack were there were safety trials of cars by Transport Canada that is still being used by someone .

There are still munitions plants in Montréal. Grenades , ammunition , and other misc are made . Don't forget that the country's largest military depot is in Longue Pointe.. , Montréal. For example ,there a more Leopard tanks in Longue Pointe than anywere else in Canada. Recently ( in the last years ) a lot of 1000' s of Inglis High Power 9mm pistols were drawn from stores in Longue Pointe for service in a Far East country i will not name . Brand new in the box never fired dated from 1945 . From first hand experience they shoot very well.

Montréal's economy is still very much military oriented. From F-18 refurbishment, to F16/ 18 landing gear manufacture , Simulators , comms, sofware etc....amongst other things.


Cheers !

[Marc Montgomery]

oh...to get one of those inglis....sigh..

hey where do fly your cesnna from? gimme a call I'll go with you! I have like 4 hours in 172.

[maple_leaf_eh]

I can attest that the CF periodically dips into the War Reserves of Brownings. In 1990, I saw an absolutely perfect Lend Lease decal model example issued for the Gulf War. Similarly, I drew a very nice pistol to carry in Afghanistan.

When the CF stopped giving out WWII Inglis marked magazines, and went out to contract with batches of new European-made magazine, almost all the feed and reliability problems went away. As long as the gun has oil on the rails, it worked.

[Robert Bergeron]

Hey Mark ,

I fly out of CYSG ( Saint-Georges ) airport, but i can pick you up at any public airport within a 300 NM radius Mark ! We could go 25 pounder or Sherman hunting together.I heard a story there is a Sherman standing in what used to be a field in... but is now grown over with trees , we could go on a recce to find it next summer !

Terry,

two years ago at my annual 9mm qualification in Farnham, i had an Inglis pistol with Chinese markings ( the Chinese contract by gosh ) ! Three years ago, in Laval at the indoor range of the 4R22 th armoury , the butt of the pistol i was firing also had the remnants of the Made in Canada decal : English, Chinese, Russian ! true, with the new magazines , no more feeding issues.

Bang-Bang

[Dan Martel]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

There are still munitions plants in Montréal. Grenades , trip flares , C7/ C9 ammunition , and other misc are made.

Robert,

I've always thought that all of our munitions were made at Valcartier. Has this changed and is IVI closed?

Whereabouts in Montreal is all this ordnance being made?

Cheers,
Dan.

[Robert Bergeron]

my friend,

IVI or Industries Valcartier was bought out by SNC/ Lavalin a while back. In turn SNC/ Lavilin sold to General Dynamics the defense supply giant. The plant in Valcartier is closed. In the Montréal area there was a Crown Corporadtion Canadian Arsenals making all kinds of ammunition/explosives also bought out by SNC/Lavailin and in turn by General Dynamics. Their plants are in Le Guardeur, Saint Augustin de Desmaures, Nicolet and Valleyfield. GD ( General Dynamics ) is the sole supplier of ammunition to the Canadian Armed forces. The plant in Le Guardeur made amongst other things torpedoes during WW2 . Until 1995 or so they made anti personel landmines . The Ottawa treaty on mine warfare put an end to that.

[Marc Montgomery]

To my knowledge, Canada still has AP mines and can use them. (perhaps no longer Cdn made?)
. BUT they can only be deployed and activated in situations where visual obs can confirm enemy activity ..and i believe, manually operated....and not the typical left in the ground indiscriminately activated mines.

can someone confirm- deny