Tank Chats #150 | Lynx C&R Vehicle | The Tank Museum

When I was training to be a tank troop commander we used Lynx's as our enemy force. You could always find them because whenever they took up a turret down position you could still see the plume of diesel exhaust rising over their position. Other than that I think they were a pretty decent piece of kit equipping the recce troops of the armoured regiments.

These tank chats are great. This was a fun vehicle to drive, fast and anyone who has ever driven an M-113 with its front mounted engine as apposed to the rear mounted engine in the Lynx would agree with me that it was a much smoother ride cross country, especially crossing old tank ruts in training areas. We had them in my Regiment in the 80's. The 8th Canadian Hussars (VIII CH) as part of 4th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (4 CMBG) at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Lahr in then "West Germany". We used them in the Recce Squadron (3 troops of 7 cars each & in Sqn HQ), Regimental Recce Troop (7 cars, the troop I was in as a driver) and the Liaison Officers (LO's) in each of the 3 tank squadrons used then too. I think the RSM had one as well? But everyone misses the most important part of this vehicle, if you pull down the trim vane and jam your pick handle under it like a leg it makes a great table to place your stove and prepare and cook your rations, fresh or even the American MRE's we were issued in the field back then. It also makes a great wash stand for your wash basin if you are having a "field shower" when you scrub your pits and *%$#. A little bit of good old field expediency. As we used to say in the Armoured Corps back then, any idiot can be uncomfortable........good times.

Really enjoyed the Lynx, a tracked sports-car. Can't believe that its a museum piece already. Perseverance.

One of our Sergeants used to convince new Lieutenants that the hatch was really a radar dish. They always fell for it.

Loved driving the Lynx. Actually the whole 113 family was fun but the Lynx was like a little sports car.

During the 80ies I surved in an armoured Recce Batallion. Four of those types were paired with 2 Leopard tanks, an infantery group and a mortar team. It was a small combined arms platoon and a nice setup.

In 1985 I was in the Reserves ( Qyrang) and went to RV 85 as the regimental recce troop for the 8th Hussars.(using M38 jeeps) . We got to fire a couple of belts each off of the recce squadron Lynx. One of my best memories of the reserves. We also played enemy force for the lynx and were pretty successful considering .

My second troop was a Lynx troop of 7 cars. I have never loved a vehicle more than this one. Great mobility (never got bogged), great serviceability, great observation, and sneaky as Pete. Loved (and love) the Lynx.

The fate of much of Canada's Lynx fleet is interesting. At the end of the Cold War the Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group in Germany was brought home, but it was decided to dispose of its Lynxes. They were rather prefunctorily demiled (bits of armour plate was cut off) and sold to a Dutch scrap dealer who swore they would indeed be scrapped. Some time later a furious US diplomat shows up at the Canadian Ministry of External Affairs waving pictures of ex-Canadian Lynxes lined up at an Iranian Military base near Isfahan. Instead of their being scrapped an arms dealer had bought them and shipped them to Iran. I have no idea of their eventual fate, maybe the Iranians wanted to canabalise them as spares for their own M-113s.

The good ol’ Lynx! By the time I got on one in the late 80s and early 90s. The old girl was done. We joked that it burnt more oil than diesel! 😀

Buddy of mine served in this unit. Lord Strathcona Horse in Calgary AB in the 80's.

As a kid, I used to climb all over a Sherman and Lynx at a cadet school in Ontario, before they were removed. I didn't even know what the Lynx was, and wondered all this time. Nice chat, now I know more about just how cool it was!

It’s crazy how many tanks there are I mean this is tank chat #150 good work to everyone there and I hope I can visit at one point

I'd love to see a series of tank chats on the CVR(T) based vehicles.

FMC really hit the nail on the head with the M113 - world's most versatile vehicle.

I really missed mine when they took it away. Having a 50 cal made gun camp a ton of fun for the CC. They were a little tight for space and the drive shaft always made me a bit nervous but it was my favourite ride in the LdSH(RC).

When I was serving with the LdSH (RC) we were operating these vehicles in CFB Gagetown and finally at CFB Calgary, Harvey barracks. We were using them as Armoured Reconnaissance which we always thought was a bit laughable as these machines, tracks, were quite loud and the amount of smoke they produced from the diesel was immense, especially at cold start up. A bit hard to be sneaky in the Lynx.

When I served in Germany, the infantry recce platoons and the armoured regt's recce squadron used Lynxes. I liked them as they were smallish and the tracks gave them decent mobility. Much better than the Ferrets they replaced.

I spent alot of time in these, all crew positions. Canadian RCD

At the Ontario Regiment Museum we have a couple of Lynx's and they are a fun vehicle. A bit of a pain to work on though due to the rear mounted engine, the throttle cable runs under the floor and replacing that is an absolute nightmare.