(Photos: Kevin Bowles/cheknews.ca) We’re pretty sure that someone in the Canadian Forces is going to have a lot of explaining to do after an artillery gun separated from it’s truck, rolled down a hill, and drilled a Toyota Prius taxicab on Saturday in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The trailer-mounted gun, which appears to be the C3 Close Support Gun (a 105mm howitzer with a lengthened barrel) did significant damage to the Prius, knocking out a bunch of glass, damaging a good amount of the car’s right side, and knocking the rear bumper cap clean off. According to witnesses, the gun came loose from the six-by-six and left CF soldiers running after it to no avail. The trailer’s meeting with the Prius is what slowed down the gun’s momentum, with a Volkswagen Beetle acting as the stopping point. Nobody was injured and an investigation is underway.
I can’t speak for Canada’s systems, but in the U.S. military a trailer system like a 105mm is connected via a tow pintle system, a loop and jaw-style setup that has a lock pin for the pintle jaw. And every trailer I ever came into contact with had safety chains, just in case the pintle failed. So, either there was a catastrophic failure of components or there was a major lapse in procedure and someone is going to have a bad day in front of their superior officers. I’m pretty sure I know which one is going to happen first, what about you?
Good shooting boys! Well done!
There you go. Now we know what those cars are good for.A door stop
A shot of blind justice right there. A moth to the flame.
It’s no big thing to tear a bumper cover off of just about any car, hell, most cars they just snap into place.
If I was their CO I’d get them passes to go to the nearest pub and have some more of that strong Canadian beer and authorize them to shoot the damn prius next time . Only in Nanaimo you say ? pity.