Another RW Canadian Vehicle - The Benighted BobcatDuring the Cold War era, Canada became somewhat infamous for cancelled projects. Some had great promise but were chopped for economic or purely political reasons. Others were just dragged-out efforts to turn sow's ears into silk purses. And there is no better example of the latter than the Canadian Army's
Bobcat APC.
The corporate development history of the
Bobcat sounds like the run-up to a typical barroom joke. Begun by Leyland (Canada); it was taken over by CCF; which, in turn, was gobbled up by Avro Canada; which tanked leaving the
Bobcat in the horrified hands of parent firm, Hawker Siddeley Canada; only for DND to junk the entire, decade-long development process.
The conceptual and mechanical downsides of the
Bobcat are well-covered on the web. Any upsides? Well, the
Bobcat was more compact than the US M113 then just entering service. [1] It had wider tracks than contemporary APCs. [2] And it was a good swimmer in contrast with the FV432 which entered British service the year that
Bobcat was scrapped. [1]
Polishing a Turd? - The Whif Bobcat IISo, could anything have been salvaged from the original
Bobcat programme. Probably not ... but are we not whiffers?
The worst part of the
Bobcat was its drivetrain arrangement - engine in the front; driveshaft passing through the rear compartment; driving a bulky transaxle at the back. From the dismounts' PoV, the worst bit was a very cramped rear compartment. But, as soon as the larger-capacity
Hercules transport enters the equation, the
Bobcat could be made both wider and taller.
In the attached image, my what-if
Bobcat II (left) is contrasted with the RW
Bobcat (right). The biggest change is mechanical - I've switched to front sprockets driven by a pancake engine beneath the crew (à la Pbv 302). Both crew and dismounts now sit much higher (and the turret gunner - who now has 360° traverse - has been shifted up and slightly aft).
Online specs guesstimate that the
Bobcat carried 13 dismounts ... which I find ludicrous. I'm going to drop that to standard 1960 Canadian infantry squad size - 8 x other ranks plus 1 x NCO or officer. Even with a taller compartment, that'll be a squeeze with winter gear - hence the 'toboggan rack' at the rear for skis, snow shoes, and other excess gear.
Anyone have details on other obscure Canadian military vehicles? Or notions of how to improve better-known types?
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[1] The reason for that small size was that the
Bobcat had to be carried in the RCAF's tactical transport - the Fairchild C-119. In the end, the GoC became fed up with DND's ditherings. The C-119 midlife plan was cancelled and Ottawa forced the replacement CC-130B
Hercules on the RCAF. Meanwhile, the entire
Bobcat programmed was junked and petrol-powered M113s bought for the Canadian Army.
Some APC comparisons (we'll see how this displays) ...
Meas.
Bobcat M113 FV432
Mass 8 tons 13.6 tons 15 tons
Length 4.80 m 4.86 m 5.25 m
Width 1.88 m 2.67 m 2.55 m
Height 1.93 m 2.50 m 2.28 m
Crew 2 + 13 2 + 11-15 2 + 10
[2] These were 'rubber-band' tracks derived from 1950s snowmobiles. Good for saving weight. Not so good for durability over non-snowy surfaces!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat_(armoured_personnel_carrier)--
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/canadian-xa-20-apc.1929/
