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Jan. 1960	Jan. 1961	FGH Recce Sqn	53	Ferrets withdrawn Aug 1960.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 These Ferrets were apparently withdrawn from Militia units which had been tasked with reconnaissance duties.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]

 

• Military Vehicles

  • Military Vehicle Markings

    • Military Vehicle Registration Numbers

  • Jeeps and Canada

  • Canadian Military Pattern Vehicles (CMP)

  • Modified Conventional Pattern Vehicles (MCP)

    • MCP Station Wagons

  • Standard Military Pattern Vehicles (SMP)

    • M38A1 Family of Jeeps

    • M38A1 CDN 1952-1953

    • M38A1 CDN2 1967-1968

    • M38A1 CDN3 1970-1971

      • My M38A1 CDN3 Jeep 71-09062

    • M38A1 CDN, CDN2 & CDN3 aka ’67 Pattern Jeeps – Reconnaissance version

      • M38A1 Jeeps, nicknamed “67 Pattern”, used by the British Columbia Regiment (DCO)

  • BSA Airborne Bicycle

    • BSA Airborne Bicycle Photos

    • BSA Airborne Bicycle Survivors

  • Welbike

  • Trailers

  • Armoured Vehicles

    • Jeffrey Armoured Car

    • Lynx Scout Car

    • Ferret Scout Car

      • Ferret Numbers – Hull # and Military Registration #

      • Canadian Ferrets – All 124 listed by CAR / CFR

      • Canadian UNEF Ferrets in Egypt (this page)

        • Ferrets with UNEF –  Bernard McNicholl Photos

      • Canadian UNFICYP Ferrets in Cyprus

      • Canadian Ferrets in West Germany

      • Ferret 54-82524

      • Ferret 54-82598

      • Non-Canadian Ferrets

    • Staghound Armoured Car

    • Universal Carrier

    • Ram Tank

  • My Military Vehicles

  • Return to Military Vehicles page

  • RETURN TO HOME PAGE