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The Oshawa Military Museum grew out of an organization known as "The Ferret Club," a group of military vehicle enthusiasts
who needed a home for their vehicles! As a result, this museum is somewhat different from most others. Almost
all of the vehicles in the collection are either runners or vehicles that will be restored to running condition, and these
vehicles are actually driven quite frequently (if you owned a tank, wouldn't you drive it?). Since these vehicles do
run, the owners are less reluctant to let people climb onto and into them than most museum curators are, and if you ask nicely
you might even get a ride!
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| Part of the lineup at the Oshawa Military Museum, with Deuce and a Halfs, CMPs, and much more. |
The Museum is hard to miss once you have found the airport. Outside of the building is a Centurion Mark V, with a
155mm howitzer alongside it. Although there is a small museum building with some interesting artifacts on display, most
visitors will be drawn to the sheds and the back area where the vehicles are stored.
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| An Abbot SPG sits outside of the "boneyard" at the back of the Oshawa Military Museum. |
The Museum has a surprising number of tanks and armoured vehicles in its collection. Aside from an M24 Chaffee,
a pair of M4A2(76)W HVSS, and three Centurions, there are a number of foreign-operated vehicles. Several Ferrets populate
the place, along with an Abbott self-propelled gun from the BATUS detachment at Suffield, Alberta. Two M60A3s dwarf
almost everything else, although the two M551A1 Sheridans are deceptively large. A number of ex-US Army M113A2s are
driven regularly, as are the M113C&R Lynx. For softskins, there are a number of examples of different CMP vehicles,
as well as many jeeps and a couple of nice examples of the M37. M62 wreckers get used frequently to move the vehicles
and components around as necessary, and many other postwar trucks can also be seen up close.
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| Want to see the inside of an M60A3 engine compartment? Look no further. |
Because this is essentially a living history museum, you get to see military vehicles completely opened up sometimes, as routine
or not so routine maintenance is being performed on them. The last time I was there, a Ferret was completely disassembled,
allowing full view of the suspension components, hull construction, and more. You can also learn a great deal talking
to the people working on the tanks and other vehicles. The person working on the Ferret certainly had strong opinions
on British automotive efforts, for instance!
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| You can't get much closer to a tank than this! Don Van Duzen in an M4A2E8's engine compartment. |
Once a year (typically in June), the Museum has its annual swap meet and vehicle drive-in. This attracts military
vehicle collectors from near and far, with a wonderful variety of equipment on display. This past year (2002), half
a dozen vehicles came over from Belgium to participate! You never know what sorts of gems you might find on the sale
tables: this year I picked up an original copy of TM9-735, the M26 Pershing technical manual, along with several parts manuals,
for $40 CDN, and the previous year I attended, I got a copy of TM9-2350-256-10, the M88A1 tech manual, for $10. It's
also great fun to just wander among the vehicles in a relaxed manner, talking with the owners and checking things out.
The Oshawa Military Museum is a great place to come and explore some fascinating military vehicles in a nice, informal, hands-on
environment.
Oshawa Military Museum vehicles featured in our Reference Articles:
M3 Halftrack Suspension
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