CANADIAN FERRETS IN UNITED NATIONS EMERGENCY FORCE (UNEF)

There were 29 Canadian Ferrets with the UNEF, with 23 actively assigned to the unit and 6 as spares. There seem to be more vehicles, so some replacements may have been sent over. The replacements my be the higher UNEF numbers outside of the main block of numbers assigned. After UNEF, some (maybe all) went to Germany for duty with Canadian NATO troops and some later went to Cyprus for UNFICYP duty.

WANTED! Photos from UNEF that show BOTH the CAR number and the UNEF number!

Special thanks to L/Cpl Kevin Langille, with the Archives of the Royal Canadian Dragoons at CFB Petawawa, Ontario. Also Shawn McNicholl, son of a 56 Canadian Reconnaissance Squadron veteran.

The UNEF operated between the Egyptians and the Israelis as a buffer in the Sinai Desert in the late 1956-1967.

START DATE	END DATE	UNIT	UNIT SIGN	COMMENTS
Jan. 1957	Jan. 1958	56 Canadian Reconnaissance Sqn.	56	Made up from RCD & LdSH(RC)
Jan. 1958	Jan. 1959	1/8 CH Recce Sqn.	52
Jan. 1959	Jan. 1960	RCD Recce Sqn.	50 ?
Jan. 1960	Jan. 1961	FGH Recce Sqn	53	Ferrets withdrawn Aug 1960. Changed to jeeps.
Jan. 1961	Jan. 1962	LdSH(RC)
Jan. 1962	Jan. 1963	RCD
Jan. 1963	Jan. 1964	LdSH(RC)
Jan. 1964	Jan. 1965	8 CH

United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) Canada delivered a squadron of 29 Ferret Scout Cars plus some unarmoured “B” vehicles, to Egypt. These Ferrets were apparently withdrawn from Militia units which had been tasked with reconnaissance duties. The 56th Canadian Reconnaissance Squadron (so named as it was formed in 1956) consisted of Royal Canadian Dragoon and Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians).  It was commanded by Major R. B. Tackaberry [I would like to talk with this officer is anyone knows him. Colin Stevens  seaforth72 (at) gmail.com ]

Looking at the numbers, I deduced  that most of the Canadian Ferrets were issued in a block between UNEF 1201 and UNEF 1229.  UNEF 1597 and 1598 are not part of that series and so they were possibly shipped to Egypt as replacement vehicles.

54-82524 MAY be a UNEF one as the owner (2007 in New Mexico) found white paint in various areas under the later green.

Any additional info, photos or corrections would be appreciated.

Colin Stevens seaforth72 (at) gmail.com

Some photos of Canadian Ferrets with UNEF

 

 

 Documents relating to Canadian UNEF Ferrets

 

caption id="attachment_10603" align="aligncenter" width="629"] Document of UNEF Ferrets - Repairs by CAR number. War Diary of 56 Reconnaissance Squadron, Appendix "C" to 56 Recce / 7000-1 dated 14 Jun 57 (Library and Archives Canada)[/caption]

 

UNEF Ferrets by Canadian Army Registration (CAR) Number  

 

UNEF Ferrets

Photos	CAR #	UNEF #	Comments
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82502	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82504	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Owner: Ontario Regiment
	54-82506	UNKNOWN	Photographic evidence. NOT on Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.Owner: Was Ontario Regiment, now Allan Duffy and restored. 54-82508 appears on Repairs list 14 Jun 57.
	54-82507	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
54-82508 54-82608 ?	54-82508	UNKNOWN	NOT on Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. 54-82508 appears on Repairs list 14 Jun 57.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82515	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82516	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82517	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82518	UNEF 1222	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82519	UNEF 1225	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Owner: Ontario Regiment UN photo 142100
	54-82526	UNEF 1217 ?	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82527	UNEF 1223	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82534	UNEF 1207	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Owner: Confusion as Les Branson in Texas believe he has it, but so does another collector. Mentioned in the War Diary 18 Aug 57.
	54-82537	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Owner: Canadian War Museum. Painted white but incorrect markings. Incorr3ecdt markings. More photos available of details as it was in 2007.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82538	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82541	UNKNOWN	NOT on Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82542	UNEF 1218 ?	NOT on Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82547	UNEF 1218 ?	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Photo is indistinct.
	54-82567	UNKNOWN
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82571	UNKNOWN
	54-82575	UNKNOWN	Owned by CWM. Now a monument in front of Building F-104 at CFB Petawawa. Gen Radley-Walters presentation Ferret. (War Diary 18 Aug 57)
	54-82585	UNEF 1215	War Diary 18 Aug 57
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82586	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82587	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82588	UNKNOWN	NOT on Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	54-82589	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82590	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. Owner: Ontario Regiment
	54-82596	UNEF 2010	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82601	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
	54-82602	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce. 54-82604 is in the background in May 1957 McNicholl photo.
	54-82603	UNKNOWN	On Table of Mileages 8 APR - 8 JUN 57 56 Recce.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1201	War Diary 18 Aug 57. 54-82506 is painted as UNEF 1201 but the owner knows that the UNEF number for his Ferret is not known at this time.
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1202	War Diary 18 Aug 57
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1205	War Diary 18 Aug 57
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1208
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1209	War Diary 18 Aug 57 & beer photo with RCD
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1212
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1213	War Diary 18 Aug 57
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1214	War Diary 18 Aug 57
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1215	PHOTO 54-82585 shows UNEF1215 WHERE DID UNEF1206 come from?
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1216	War Diary 18 Aug 57
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1221
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1224	War Diary 18 Aug 57
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1226
NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1228
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1229
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1597	The high UNEF number suggests that this was a replacement vehicle brought in later in the UNEF Mission.
	UNKNOWN	UNEF 1598	The high UNEF number suggests that this was a replacement vehicle brought in later in the UNEF Mission.

Canada had Ferret Scouts cars with the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Sinai and Gaza.

 

UNEF Ferrets by UNEF Number

UNEF #	CAR #	COMMENTS
UNEF 1201
UNEF 1202
UNEF 1203 ?
UNEF 1204 ?
UNEF 1205
UNEF 1206	54-82575
UNEF 1207	54-82534	Hull 315
UNEF 1208	54-82587	Hull 383
UNEF 1209
UNEF 1210	54-82596	Destroyed in a hanger fire.
UNEF 1211 ?
UNEF 1212
UNEF 1213		Nicknamed "PAT" 1957 before repainted in white. One crewmember was Cpl. McNicholl.
UNEF 1214
UNEF 1215	54-82585
UNEF 1216
UNEF 1217	54-82526 ?
UNEF 1218	54-82542 ? or 547 ?
UNEF 2019 ?
UNEF 1220
UNEF 1221
UNEF 1222	54-82518	Hull 304
UNEF 1223	54-82527	Hull 308
UNEF 1224
UNEF 1225	54-82519	Hull 411
UNEF 1226
UNEF 1227 ?		Possibly cannibalized for parts, thus not seen in photos.
UNEF 1228
UNEF 1229		29 Ferrets landed at Port Said on 28 March 1957. It appears a solid, or nearly solid, block of numbers was assigned.
UNEF 1230 ?
UNEF 1231	54-82527
UNEF 1597
UNEF 1598

 

LINKS to other Ferret pages on this web site: 

• Ferret Scout Car

  • Ferret Numbers – Hull # and Military Registration #

  • Canadian Ferrets – all 124 by CAR / CFR

  • Canadian UNEF Ferrets in Egypt (this page)

  • Canadian UNFICYP Ferrets in Cyprus

  • Canadian Ferrets in West Germany

  • Ferret 54-82524 

  • Ferret 54-82598

  • Non-Canadian Ferrets

• OTHER ARMOURED VEHICLES

  • Jeffrey Armoured Car

  • Universal Carrier

  • Lynx Scout Car

  • Staghound Armoured Car

  • Ram Tank

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