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Hello,

Vytas Boyev sent me this email some days ago :
"Back in 1991, my National Guard unit was conducting a jump wing exchange exercise with the Canadian army (the Queens Own Rifles airborne company) in Petawawa, Canada.

My unit jumped on a drop zone, that was next to the TOW/anti-tank range. The jumpmaster that dropped us badly miscalculated, and we were dropped on the live fire range.

After I landed, I stood up and was facing the unmistakable glacis plate of a Panther, about 50 feet away from where I landed. It was badly damaged from being used as a training target, and I was excited to see such a sight, as sad as it was in its condition (I was even more miffed that somehow, I did not see the panther on the way down)."

Does anyone know the whereabouts of this tank?

P-O

If you remember your coordinates could you look it up on Google Earth and see if it's still there?

There was a rumor that a few German Panzers became range targets in Petawawa. I know of a rumor of a Tiger 1 as well. I have some friends stationed there will ask them to check it out with Range control.

Anthony

Master Warrant Officer Cal Gibson, RHQ RCA Sgt-Maj from Home Station, Shilo said that "Given the time lapse and the nature of its use I highly doubt that it remains at all."

P-O

Maybe someone on the staffs at the CFB Petawawa Military Museums knows about this Panther target.

I will forward your question to a few fellows around Ottawa who should know.

From Ed Storey:

"I knew I saw a Panther on the Range in Petawawa! Back in 1979, during an air-mobile attack using helicopters we were flying over the Mattawa Plain and I was pretty sure I saw a Panther as we flew past the AT-range but over the decades I could never confirm it. There were at one time as well Valentines, Rams, wartime and post-war Shermans as well as various pieces of German and Allied ordnance as hard targets on the range. Most of the hulls and scraps of metal have been cleaned up or buried. I do have photos of some of this stuff but not the Panther."

Well, that confirms it! And for the moment these are the only photos circulating.

Hello, everyone!

These are my pics, that I provided to the_shadock.

I also have a video of the jump from the C130. It was a tail gate, so you can see the features of the DZ, even down to the red smoke grenade marking the range- in case anyone can work out the actual location ...probably doesn't make a difference as it sounds like this Panther was most likely scrapped... Ill post if anyone is interested

Hello Vytas, welcome on this forum

Pierre-Olivier