Royal Canadian Dragoons Historical Vehicle Troop
24 Worthington Rd Petawawa, ON, Canada

The Troop wishes to express a farewell to Captain Gregory Easterbrook as he moves onto the next chapter of his career! He has been with the team since 2018. During that time he has assisted in introducing new members to the team, developed our current logo, helped foster the relationship we have with the Ontario Regiment Museum, and oversaw a generous donation from our museum to theirs in order to help them maintain their fleet. He even turned a wrench on the Staghound a coup...le of times! Despite being weighed down with a plethora of Regimental duties and among family responsibilities, Capt Easterbrook always made time to action HVT requests from Sgt’s Aube and Tan and he will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best as he moves with his family, Robyn and Benjamin, to the Royal Canadian Armored Corps School where he will instruct and oversee a variety of courses. Give 'em hell Sir! ~ M.A

Tech Talk: The Ferret Scout Car has an intricate driveline when compared to any car you’d find on the road today. It is full time 4x4, however it uses individual wheel stations as opposed to a live axle or centered differentials with independent suspension. Reference picture A:... The rear and longitudinally mounted, reverse facing Rolls Royce 4.2L B60 Inline 6 petrol engine (4) is paired to a fluid flywheel coupling (7) in place of a traditional clutch and flywheel. It is similar to a torque converter. Power is then transmitted to a 5 speed pre-selective gearbox (8), a topic in itself which we’ll get into another time. Mated directly to the gearbox is the transfer box (9) which is somewhat shaped like an H if you stood the Ferret upright on its nose and observed it through the top. At each tip of the H, a propeller shaft (3 & 10) is connected with universal joints at either end, each facing their respective wheel corner. The shafts connect to a bevel box (2 & 6) located inside the vehicle hull at each wheel station. Its purpose is to transmit the power 90 degrees via a bevel gear, hence the name. With power now facing outside the hull, it moves through two tracta joints, which are a type of constant velocity joint. These special joints allow a flexible connection from the hull to the suspended wheel, and for power to be transmitted through variable angles at a constant speed without much added resistance. We are almost at the end here, power to the pavement I promise. The tracta joints connect to the road wheel hub assembly (1 & 5). Inside the hub are epicyclic reduction gears comprising of an inner sun gear (driven by the outer tracta joint & shaft) which drives six outer planetary gears which in turn spin the ring gear or annulus connected to the road wheel which of course now propels the vehicle. There are many benefits to this system including less un-sprung weight, better ground clearance, maintained traction in adverse conditions, and better torque capability among others. The detriment to this is more maintenance for the crew! In August 2019, then Tpr. Sanders and MCpl. Tan (now Cpl and Sgt respectively) conducted a lubricant change of the bevel boxes and tracta joints. Unfortunately shortly after this work was completed, the fluid ended up mostly on the hangar floor, exposing the fact that most of the tracta housing seals need replacement! A hard truth any tech who works on older vehicles can relate to, and an arduous task the team has to look forward to ~ M.A *Information and photos from JB Sanderson at http://daimlerferret.co.uk

Did you know? In 1954, the Canadian Armed Forces procured 124 Ferret Scout Car Mk.1 from Daimler in England. Their Canadian Army Registration number range was from 54-82500 to 54-82623. The first two numbers being the year the vehicle was procured, and subsequent five digits being the unique vehicle identifying number (what is now known as a CFR). The Ferret now maintained by the RCD HVT, had been disposed of in 1981 with rumors having it destined to be a hard target for a ...Direct Fire Training Area. For reasons lost to history, the vehicle was saved and remains in good working order today. In 2018, using the research found on Capt (Ret’d) Colin MacGregor Stevens' website, https://captainstevens.com/, the team made an exciting discovery. Referencing the stamped factory serial number welded onto the inside of the hull, they determined their Ferret was in fact, CAR number 82500, the first Ferret of 124 entered into the Canadian Armed Forces, built in February of 1954. There are records of 82500 serving in Cyprus, at least from 1965-1970. Ferrets deployed to Cyprus remained in theater and would be handed off as units cycled through. Each unit had a different symbol they painted on the cars during their deployment. Lord Strathcona's Horse used the Roadrunner cartoon character, Fort Garry Horse used a white cowboy hat, and The Royal Canadian Dragoons used the Snoopy cartoon character. All photos below are courtesy of Colin Stevens from his website. ~ M.A

Progress Update! Last year, members of the HVT, with the help of Mr. Robin Craig, modernized the engine oil filter assembly on the Regiment’s Ferret Scout Car. Instead of using a now-obsolete cloth wrap filter and straight through bolt assembly which was prone to leaking, Mr. Craig has developed an adaptor which allows fitment of a larger, disposable filter commonly used on commercial trucks. This innovative design will keep the Ferret’s engine oil well filtered for decades to come. ~ M.A