CJ-3B Jeep in Canadian Armed Forces use

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Not a lot of information is available, but like the US Armed Forces, the Canadian Armed Forces seem to have had a number of Kaiser CJ-3B Jeeps in use.

Here´s what I have been able to piece together:

The CJ-3B Page mentions: Kaiser Jeep of Canada Limited started assembling Jeeps in Windsor in 1954. The plant was already there as a parts depot facility before the manufacture of Jeeps started. The first Jeep officially ran off the production line on August 21, 1959. A 1967 contract worth $2,789,000 from the Canadian government, was to build 800 military Jeeps for the Canadian Forces. These were probably mainly M38A1 CDN2 models. In 1969 production was discontinued.

In recent years some surviving CJ-3B´s were found to have been sold originally to the armed forces:

• The first picture shows a Canadian-made CJ-3B, built in Windsor, Ontario by Kaiser of Canada in 1964, serial number 10C 10172. From some research by its owner Alex Houle it seems this Jeep could have been on a Canadian aircraft carrier. The little research he has done indicates that the only Canadian military units that used the 3B were the women's corps and on board the aircraft carriers.
• The second picture shows a 1957 CJ-3B which was originally sold to the army, then sold surplus to Molson Canada.

Who can provide more information about CJ-3B Jeeps in use with the Canadian Armed Forces?

Thanks,
Hanno

[rob love]

I don't have information on CJ3Bs, but the purchase of CJs as administrative vehicles has always gone on. DJs as well. Below is the CFTO Data Summary for the DJ5 bought in the late 60s. At the school in Borden, we used 70s CJ6 and jeep commandos as training aids. In the early 80s, when the M38A1Cdn2 and 3 fleets were no longer reliable, the armoured corp and later the militia in general got slightly militarized CJ7s, and later there were even some YJs purchased.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Rob,

Seems military administrative vehicles - even though they are Real Jeeps! - are getting as little attention in Canada as elsewhere.

Hanno