Ram tank

Tank, Cruiser, Ram
Early production Ram Mk II atCFB Borden
Type	Cruiser tank
Place of origin	Canada
Service history
Used by	Canada
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 pdrMk III 92 rounds
Secondary armament	3 ×.30 in (7.62 mm) machineguns (Ram I 4,715 rounds, Ram II 4,440 rounds.)
Engine	Continental R-9759-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, Ramwas acruiser tankdesigned and built byCanadain theSecond World War,based on theU.S.M3 Mediumtank chassis. Due to standardization on the AmericanSherman tankfor 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 postandarmoured personnel carrier.

Development

Ram Mk.II (early production) tanks during the war

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 theUKat the start of the war was insufficient and capacity in the US was taken for British needs.So it was necessary that if Canada was to equip with tanks they would have to be manufactured locally.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 tanksfor the British; this was followed later with one for 488 complete tanks for Canada.However the Valentine was aninfantry tankand Canada required acruiser tankfor 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.This would be quicker and allow it to use components already in production for the US design.

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.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 gunwhile retaining the lower hull of the US M3 Medium.

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.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 Arsenalat Longue Pointe. MLW was a subsidiary of theAmerican Locomotive Company,which had experience in producing large castings andAlcowas 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 USM3could traverse the main armament 360 degrees. Its fullycast armouredsteel hull gave reinforced protection and, with the driver's seat repositioned to meet British requirements for right-hand drive,lower height; while the U.S.-designed chassis and power train ensured its overall reliability.

Although it could mount aUS 75 mm gun,the preferred armament for the Ram was theQF 6 pounderwhich 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-poundergun.

Ram tanks produced by Montreal Locomotive Works.

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 tankfor 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.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 rifleas 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 truckdesigns. TheSextonself-propelled gunbased on the Ram chassis, however, was very successful.

Combat history

Ram Mk.II – late production

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 postvehicles 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 gearwere used by the5th Canadian Armoured Brigadein theNetherlandsin 1945.

A Ram encased in the DutchIJssel Line,still present in 2007

In 1945 theRoyal Netherlands Armygot permission from the Canadian government to take free possession of all Ram tanks in army dumps on Dutch territory.Those not already converted intoKangarooswere 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.In 1947 the UK provided 44 Ram tanks from its stocks, that were in a better condition.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.In 1950 only fifty of these were listed as present. The Ram tanks (together with theShermantanks of the three other tank battalions, in part simply taken without permission) were replaced byCenturion tanksleased by the U.S. Government in 1952.Some Ram tanks were used in the 1950s as staticpillboxesin theIJssel Line,their hulls dug in and embedded within two feet of concrete.

Survivors

One Dutch Ram tank, an OP/Command vehicle, survives at theDutch Cavalry MuseuminAmersfoort.

A Ram tank modified as aKangarooserves as a memorial to the1st Canadian Armoured Carrier RegimentinMill, Netherlands.

Ram tanks can also be seen at theCanadian War Museum*, in Worthington Park atCanadian Forces Base Borden,in front of theBeatty Street Drill HallinVancouver,and at theBovington Tank Museum(both a tankand a Kangaroo)

A Ram Tank can also be seen outside of theArmoured Trial and Development Unitbased atBovington Camp.

Variants

Tank Cruiser, Ram Mk I

Ordnance QF 2 pounder/ 40mm gun (171 rounds).

Tank Cruiser, Ram Mk II

Early production: Mk IIIQF 6 pounder(57 mm) gun with 92 rounds.

Late production: Mk V six-pounder. Auxiliary turret and sponson door removed. Browning.303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun fitted in ball mount.

Badger

Aflamethrower equipped tank.The first Badgers were Ram Kangaroos with theWasp II flamethrowing equipment(as used on theUniversal Carrier) installed in place of the bow MG. Later models were turreted Rams with the equipment in place of the main gun.

Ram Kangaroo

Ram with turret removed to give anarmoured personnel carriercapable of carrying 11 battle-ready troops (or -- more often -- as many as could fit) as well as the two crew. SeeKangaroo.

Ram OP/Command (84)

An armoured vehicle to function as a mobileobservation postsfor the Forward Observation Officers (FOO) ofSexton self-propelled gununits, based on Ram Mk II. The gun was replaced by a dummy, and twoWireless Set No. 19radios were fitted with a No. 58 set. Crew of six. They were built from the last 84 Rams off the production line in 1943.

Ram GPO

LikeOPbut with special equipment for "Gun Position Officers" ofself-propelled artilleryregiments. Had Tannoy loudspeakers mounted.

Sexton"25-pdr, SP, Tracked"

Self-propelled artillery vehiclearmed withQF 25 poundergun in open-topped superstructure.

Ram Ammunition Carrier

Also called "Wallaby", an armoured ammunition supply vehicle, converted as for the Kangaroo but used to carried 25-pdr ammunition forSexton.

Ram ARV Mk I

Armoured recovery vehiclecreated by adding winch gear added to Ram Mark I.

Ram ARV Mk II

Armoured Recovery Vehiclebased on Ram Mk II. Jibs and earth spade added, turret replaced by dummy.

Ram Gun Tower

Armoured artillery tractorfor use withOrdnance QF 17 poundertowedAnti-tank gun.

In addition, a Ram was used in an attempt to produce aself-propelledQF 3.7 inch AA gunbut got no further than testing.

• 
  Ram Mk I
• 
  Ram Mk II – early production
• 
  Ram Mk II – later production, with Mk III QF 6 pounder but still with auxiliary turret
• 
  Ram OP/Command tank at Amersfoort
• 
  Ram Kangaroo atThe Tank Museum,Bovington
• 
  Sexton I
• 
  Ram 3.7 inch during testing

See also

Tanks of comparable role, performance, and era

• AustralianSentinel
• BritishCromwell
• GermanPanzer IV
• HungarianTurán III
• ItalianCarro Armato P 40
• ItalianP43(proposal)
• JapaneseType 3 Chi-Nu
• SovietT-34
• SwedishStridsvagn m/42
• AmericanM4 Sherman
• ArgentinianNahuel DL 43

Other Commonwealth Tanks of the Second World War

• Bob Semple tank– New Zealand indigenous tank design
• Grizzly tank– Canadian licence built M4A1 Sherman
• Schofield tank– New Zealand indigenous tank design
• Sentinel tank- Australian indigenous tank design

References

• Chris Ellis, Peter Chamberlain –AFV No. 13 – Ram and Sexton,Profile Publications, England
• Chamberlain, Peter; Ellis, Chris (1969),British and American Tanks of World War II(2nd US (1981) ed.), Arco Publishing
• Roberts, Paul –The Ram – Developments and Variants, Vol. 1,Service Publications, Ottawa, Canada 2002
• Roberts, Paul –The Ram – Developments and Variants, Vol. 2,Service Publications, Ottawa, Canada 2004
• Law, Clive –Making Tracks – Tank Production in Canada,Service Publications, Ottawa, Canada 2001
• Fletcher, David(1989).The Great Tank Scandal: British Armour in the Second World War - Part 1.HMSO.ISBN978-0-11-290460-1.
• Broad, Graham –"Not competent to produce tanks" The Ram and Tank Production in Canada, 1939-1945,Canadian Military History Volume 11 Number 1, Beacon Herald Fine Printing Division, Stratford, Canada 2002
• Wallace, John F. –Dragons of Steel: Canadian Armour in Two World Wars,The General Store Publishing House, Burnstown, Canada 1995

External links

• Newsreel of Ram tanks in production and testing.Archived11 June 2011 at theWayback Machine
• WWII vehicles
• Mapleleafup.org
• Ram Tank registry
• Dutch Cavalry Museumhas a RAM Tank Mk.2 in its collection.