Canadian snow related equipment post WW2

[rob love]

They look even better on a toboggan. The downside is that the toboggan now becomes part of your defensive position. While the GPMG does not have a lot of kick, it still doesn't seem like the most stable mount.

Best not to have your defensive position on a hill I guess.

[Ed Storey]

I have pulled these two images from my archives. The toboggan loads were generally a suggestion as the contents evolved over time as new items were introduced and older items withdrawn. The toboggan loads were also dependant on what items were available in unit QM and if the troops using them were mounted or dismounted.

Fig 2-10A Suggested Toboggan Load - 1971.jpg

Fig 4-11 Machine-gun Mounted on a Toboggan - 1971.jpg

[rob love]

Great photos Ed, sure brings back memories.

They must be fairly early.....I am guessing the 60s or early 70s? The 50 cal can is one of the old side opening type, and is that a coleman speedmaster 500 in the photo?

[Ed Storey]

Both photographs date from 1971.

[Robin Craig]

So, the snow knife and saw kit arrived this past week.

Wow, how big and heavy it is. The blades are easily 1/8" of an inch thick. The handle on the saw is huge and for an obvious reason, you might be wearing arctic mittens.

The knife is a meaty weapon reminding me of the machette in the Ferret kit. The file to sharpen them both has a gorgeous synthetic handle.

I find it interesting that there are no makers marks on the sheath / scabbard material at all and the file appears too long for the pocket for the press stud to close.

Both the knife and the saw teeth are worthy of a being used for field surgery in an improvised situation. Lethal.

The blades have a stamped letter and number that I didnt capture very well.

[rob love]

I am not certain your file would have been the correct one back in the day. Prior to the mid 90s, you ordered just about everything from the depot, where the model and makers were failry tightly controlled to match the NSN. Around then, the military devolved the purchasing of most common items to the bases and units, so you could end up with any supplier, (and often the cheapest imaginable) and often the wrong items. After all, a file is a file is a file, isn't it?


I recall one time ordering the NSN for the wooden case that the taps and dies came in. Instead I got a die to cut the acme thread onto wood. It did come in handy to repair broken broomsticks for the shop brooms.


I have many many more horror stories about the wrong items coming in, but will save them for another thread someday in the future.

[Ed Storey]

This is a copy of a catalogue photograph from my archives and it shows the Snow Equipment Set circa 1970. Note that in this case the file was a three-sided type.

Snow Equipment - Snow Set.jpg