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Background – Armoured Vehicle, General Purpose
– the Grizzly ISC |
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Ursus arctos horribilis: a Grizzly Bear on Wheels for the Canadian Forces
The most basic member of the AVGP family was the
Grizzly Infantry Section Carrier or armoured personnel carrier. The Grizzly was essentially a
Piranha APC fitted with a twin-gun Cadillac-Gage 1-metre turret (right) and powered by a US-built
drivetrain. [2] The Grizzly had a crew of three (driver, gunner, crew commander) plus a
rear compartment seating six-to-eight dismounts. [3] The Grizzly's 10mm armour might stop shell splinters or
rifle bullets but this was considered adequate for training vehicles. As the Grizzlys were
deployed overseas improvements to protection were soon needed.
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Tweaking the AVGP Formula – Grizzly Limitations and Quick Fixes
Operational use is always an acid test and shortcomings in the AVGP's design were quickly revealed.
Add-on armour increased protection but
also weight thereby reducing mobility. [4] Larger tires helped but on rough ground or even
undulating roads the substantial gap between front and rear wheels could leave a Grizzly without
traction when the driver needed it most. On the other hand, the Grizzly was fast (100 km/h
on a good road ) so it covered more territory – and providing a moving target is almost as important as
thick armour.
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"... who rode on the back of a Bear ..."
The wheeled Grizzlys provided useful peacekeeping vehicles – being quickly self-deploying, easy on
pavement and quiet compared with the M113. But the Grizzly was too cramped to be a good infantry section
carrier. A Grizzly sat 8 dismounts in theory but , in practice, 6 lightly-equipped soldiers –
4 in winter gear. The Grizzly ISC was expected to fill in for reduced numbers of LAV IIIs
but, when compared, the AVGP's limitations as an infantry carrier were thrown into sharp relief.
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Grizzly Problems, Upgrades, and the AVGPs as part of DND's Wheeled LAV Life Extension Project
Like all military vehicles, AVGPs had their share of problems (mechanical and doctrinal ) and required
occasional upgrades. Suspension components were replaced with Bison equivalents. Grizzly sights and
turret operations were also improved but, as an ISC, nothing could get around its cramped accommodations (right).
DND's plan was to 're-role' most Grizzlys into specialty support vehicles for the LAV III and
Bison ISC fleets.[5] The Wheeled LAV Life Extension
project was approved in Nov 1998 with contract award in Jan 2003 but by Mar 2005, DND decided to
drop AVGPs from WLAV-LE and retire them.
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[1] This photo of a Grizzly of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus contains a minor mystery.
Despite the date, no propellers are fitted.
[2] Mowag- (and Chilean Cardoen/Famae) built Piranha I drivetrain consisted of European Mercedes-Benz
diesels and ZF transmissions. Like other AVGPs, the London-built Grizzly had a Detroit Diesel 6V-53 turbo-diesel and
an Allison MT-650 series automatic transmission.
[3] This total of eight dismounts assumed two soldiers squeezed in beside the Grizzly's off-centre turret
basket. The normal complement for the ISCs was 6 lightly-equipped dismounts. With full winter gear, only 4
well-bundled infanteers and their kit could be accommodated.
[4] AVGP add-on armour consisted first of Foster-Miller's LAST ( hexagonal ceramic armour panels, individually
attached with velcro and then covered with protective PVC sheeting ) which were followed by larger, bolt-on composite
panels of IBD-Deisenroth's 'MEXAS light'.
[5] The WLAV-LE was to create AVGP artillery gun tractors, air defence, CP, signals, MRT, variants – as well as 52
improved Grizzly ISCs.
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