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Cruiser Tank Ram

1941 WORLD WAR 2

History

Like most of the Allied Powers in the early days of World War II (1939-1945), Canada found itself with an outdated armored force largely composed of World War I-era equipment left to them by the United States and elsewhere. With the UK firmly rooted in fighting the European Axis and needing all of its own manufacturing efforts, while the US remained on the sidelines, Canadian industry took on local production of modernized main battle tanks.

The American M3 "Lee"/"Grant" medium tank series was offered as a possible solution for mass production, but the main armament installed by its sponsor was considered rather old compared to the turrets observed in European combat.

With this, only the fuselage and engine of the American M3 were selected for production, and then the entire M3 design was placed on the fuselage with the all-Canadian turret.

During World War II, Canada had little to no manufacturing infrastructure to speak of, especially when it came to making heavy military equipment, so the locomotive industry was tasked with changing its production lines to accommodate the construction of new machines. The tank was originally called for a 75mm main gun - itself a fairly powerful caliber for its time, although not yet the standard Allied tank gun of the war.

Instead, an off-the-shelf, smaller-caliber 2-pounder (40mm) anti-tank gun was chosen, which may later be upgraded to a 57mm gun. The first series of tanks appeared as "Cruiser Tank Ram Mk 1".

Visually, the Ram was a very traditional design at the time: it borrowed some design cues from the American M3, while the cast armored turret gave the Ram its unique shape. Armor protection is respectable, offering up to 3.5 inches of protection on the thickest fairings. A crew of five operates this beast of steel, powered by a 400-horsepower Continental R-975 radial gasoline engine.

The Continental engine provides power at 25 mph highway speeds while covering approximately 125 to 145 miles of ground. The system weighs less than 30 tons and offers decent off-road capability.

For the weapons (except the main gun), two .30 caliber machine guns, one mounted in the bow and the other coaxial, completes the weapon, these are mainly used as anti-infantry weapons. A third .30 machine gun can be mounted on an anti-aircraft (AA) turret.

The Cruiser Tank Ram Mk II was followed by a larger 57mm (6lb) gun.

Unfortunately for this WWII Canadian tank design and for those involved in its realization, the availability of M4 Shermans made the Ram item a consumable item due to America's commitment to the conflict. The Sherman also filled the British and Australian roster of tanks and over time became the Canadian Army's standard main battle tank.

The move relegated Ram to crew training at home and in the UK. Therefore, no Ram tanks were involved in combat throughout the war.

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Ram's design was not abandoned entirely, but was converted to some turretless design as a makeshift armoured personnel carrier (APC), providing tracked passenger travel under armour protection. The Ram chassis also served as the platform for the 25-pound "Sexton" SPG (described in detail elsewhere on this page) and became one of the most iconic SPG systems of the war.

Another RAM-inspired form exists as "Ram OP/Command" artillery observation post vehicles, which retain the turret but receive a "virtual" main gun to hide their true purpose on the battlefield. The tank also received additional communication equipment in the form of two wireless units. 19.

A total of around 2,150 Ram tanks rolled off Canadian assembly lines during WWII - a staggering number for a homegrown design.

Special thanks to Matthew N. for correcting this article via email.