| Tank, Cruiser, Ram | |
|---|---|
 Early production Ram Mk II atCFB Borden | |
| Type | Cruiser tank |
| Place of origin | Canada |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Canada, Netherlands |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1941 |
| Manufacturer | Montreal Locomotive Works |
| Produced | November 1941 – July 1943 |
| No. built | 2,032 |
| Specifications (Ram Mk II) | |
| Mass | 65,000 lb (29 t) |
| Length | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
| Height | 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) |
| Crew | 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner) |
| Armour | 25–87 mm |
Main armament | QF 6 pdr Mk III 92 rounds |
Secondary armament | 3 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machineguns (Ram I 4,715 rounds, Ram II 4,440 rounds.[1]) |
| Engine | Continental R-975 9-cyl radial gasoline engine 400 (298 kW) |
| Power/weight | 12.3 hp/ton |
| Transmission | Borg-Warner clutch, controlled differential |
| Suspension | Vertical volute spring |
Operational range | 232 km (144 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 25 mph (40 km/h) |
TheTank, Cruiser, Ram was acruiser tank designed and built byCanada in theSecond World War, based on theU.S.M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the AmericanSherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for training purposes and was never used in combat as a gun tank. The chassis was used for several other combat roles however, such as aflamethrower tank,observation post andarmoured personnel carrier.
Even before the loss of the majority of the United Kingdom's tank force in France in 1940 afterDunkirk, it was recognised that tank production in theUK at the start of the war was insufficient and capacity in the US was taken for British needs.[2] So it was necessary that if Canada was to equip with tanks they would have to be manufactured locally.[3] In June 1940 theCanadian Pacific Railway's Angus Shops inMontreal, as the only large firm with spare capacity, had received a contract to produce 300 partially fitted outValentine tanks for the British; this was followed later with one for 488 complete tanks for Canada.[4] However the Valentine was aninfantry tank and Canada required acruiser tank for its recently formed armoured division. In the end 1,420 Valentines were produced by CPR, most of which were supplied to theUSSR. Although the Valentine used a number of American produced parts, its reliance on British components, difficulties in adapting its manufacture to North American methods, and other problems such as limitations to the availability of the right type of armour plate affected Valentine production. The Canadian Joint Committee on Tank Development concluded, in September 1940, that its cruiser tank should be based on a US rather than a British design.[5] This would be quicker and allow it to use components already in production for the US design.[6]
The Canadians were interested in production of theM3 Medium. However the M3 was an interim design; its main armament was in a side sponson, it was tall and under-armoured, and it was clear that it would be unsatisfactory for Canadian and British use. In early 1941 the Canadian Interdepartmental Tank Committee adopted a compromise: to develop a superior design locally but still using the M3 chassis.[7] The British Tank Mission which was involved in the modifications of the M3 for British use contributed a tank expert, L.E. Carr, to design a new hull and turret for the Canadian tank which could take a6-pounder (57 mm) or75mm gun while retaining the lower hull of the US M3 Medium.[8]
The new hull was cast rather than welded or riveted and lower than that of the M3. The pilot model's turret and upper hull casting was produced in the US by General Steel Castings and later they aided the set up of Canadian production.[3]Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was chosen to make the new Canadian M.3 Cruiser Tank (as it was then known) and was given the funding to set up theCanadian Tank Arsenal at Longue Pointe. MLW was a subsidiary of theAmerican Locomotive Company, which had experience in producing large castings andAlco was producing cast hulls for the M3 Medium.
Canadian engineers ran into many challenges when developing the tank as Canada had never produced a tank before. Along with the lack of knowledge, it took time for Canadian factories to gear up for the production of many of the Ram's components.
Initially Canada relied heavily on United States and British materials to complete the construction of the Ram. Most critically the Ram's Continental engine and transmissions were available only in the USA and these were always in short supply. The Ram tank was developed with a turret which unlike the USM3 could traverse the main armament 360 degrees. Its fullycast armoured steel hull gave reinforced protection and, with the driver's seat repositioned to meet British requirements for right-hand drive,[3] lower height; while the U.S.-designed chassis and power train ensured its overall reliability.[9]
Although it could mount aUS 75 mm gun, the preferred armament for the Ram was theQF 6 pounder which had superior armour-piercing capability. As neither the 6 pounder nor the Canadian-designed mounting for it was immediately available, early production (50 tanks) were fitted with the 40 mmQF 2-pounder gun.[8][10]
A prototype Ram was completed in June 1941 and general production of the Ram I began in November of the same year. The Ram I and early Ram IIs were fitted with side doors in the hull and an auxiliary machine gun turret in the front. The former weakened the hull and complicated production, and the doors and the machine gun turret were discarded in later modifications. By February 1942 production had switched to the Ram II model with a 6-pounder gun and continued until July 1943. In March 1942 a decision had been made to change production over to the automotively-similar M4A1Sherman tank for all British and Canadian units. Ram production continued due to delay in starting the new M4 production lines and a reluctance to let the plant lie idle.[3] By July 1943 1,948 vehicles plus 84 artilleryobservation post (OP) vehicles had been completed.
The official Canadian history of the war compares the Ram to theRoss rifle as examples of unsuccessful Canadian weapon designs. It states that given theSherman's superiority, in retrospect it would probably have been better for the United States to produce more tanks, and for Canada to have focused on manufacturing more transport vehicles such as the successfulCanadian Military Pattern truck designs. TheSextonself-propelled gun based on the Ram chassis, however, was very successful.[11]
As built, the Ram was never used in combat as a tank, but was used for crew training in Canada and Great Britain up to mid 1944. Theobservation post vehicles andArmoured Personnel Carrier,gun tractor, and munitions carrier versions of the Ram saw considerable active service in North West Europe. These tanks were mainly rebuilt by Canadian Army workshops in the United Kingdom. Conversions of Ram tanks with theWasp II flamethrower gear were used by the5th Canadian Armoured Brigade in theNetherlands in 1945.[12]
In 1945 theRoyal Netherlands Army got permission from the Canadian government to take free possession of all Ram tanks in army dumps on Dutch territory.[citation needed] Those not already converted intoKangaroos were used to equip the 1st and 2nd Tank Battalion (1e en 2e Bataljon Vechtwagens), the very first Dutch tank units. These had a nominal organic strength of 53 each. However it proved to be impossible to ready enough tanks to attain this strength because the vehicles were in a very poor state of maintenance. In 1945 it was also reported that the Dutch government was negotiating the purchase of 44 Ram tanks that were stationed in England alongside the purchase of other military equipment of Canadian origin.[13][14][15] In 1947 the UK provided 44 Ram tanks from its stocks, that were in a better condition.[citation needed] Forty of these had been rebuilt with the British 75 mm gun; four were OP/Command vehicles with a dummy gun. This brought the operational total for that year to just 73, including two Mark Is.[citation needed] In 1950 only fifty of these were listed as present. The Ram tanks (together with theSherman tanks of the three other tank battalions, in part simply taken without permission) were replaced byCenturion tanks leased by the U.S. Government in 1952.[citation needed] Some Ram tanks were used in the 1950s as staticpillboxes in theIJssel Line, their hulls dug in and embedded within two feet of concrete.
One Dutch Ram tank, an OP/Command vehicle, survives at theDutch Cavalry Museum inAmersfoort.
A Ram tank modified as aKangaroo serves as a memorial to the1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment inMill, Netherlands.
Ram tanks can also be seen at theCanadian War Museum (theKangaroo version), in Worthington Park atCanadian Forces Base Borden, in front of theBeatty Street Drill Hall inVancouver, and at theBovington Tank Museum (both a tank[16] and a Kangaroo[17])
A Ram Tank can also be seen outside of theArmoured Trial and Development Unit based atBovington Camp.
In addition, a Ram was used in an attempt to produce aself-propelledQF 3.7 inch AA gun but got no further than testing.[18]
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Tanks of comparable role, performance, and era
Other Commonwealth Tanks of the Second World War
