43 Longbranch "HMCS ONTARIO"

[Navy Gunner]

Hi, just bought a 43 longbranch in really good condition. It has HMCS ONTARIO stamped in the butt stock. Did the RCN have .303's onboard like that. Will post pics when I can.


Navy Gunner

Information

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[Claven2]

Which HMCS Ontario is the proper question IMHO.

Where did you buy it? The logical locations would be either Kingston, Ontario or the GVRD in BC.

From Wikipedia:

HMCS Ontario was a Minotaur class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy as HMS Minotaur (53), but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on completion and renamed Ontario.
She was built by Harland & Wolff of Belfast; laid down on 20 November 1941 and launched on 29 July 1943. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in July 1944, and completed and commissioned with them on 25 May 1945.
She sailed to join the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the Pacific Theatre, but was too late to see active service, although she was employed in the operations at Hong Kong, Manila and in Japan. She returned home for refit, arriving at Esquimalt on 27 November 1945. She was used for training duties postwar until paid off on 15 October 1958. She arrived at Osaka for breaking up on 19 November 1960.

HMCS Ontario later became the name of a Sea Cadet Summer Training establishment located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the Royal Military College of Canada.

It could mean your rifle did duty in the arms locker aboard HMCS Ontario when she was operated out of Esquimalt (a Navy base near Victoria, BC), or that the rifle was in stores with the Army Cadets in Kingston for rifle range use.

Without knowing the provenance, it could easily be either.

And yes, after bout 1943 and up to about 1960, it was normal to see No.4 rifles aboard in the weapons lockers aboard the Canadian Navy surface fleet.

[Navy Gunner]

Which HMCS Ontario is the proper question IMHO.

Where did you buy it? The logical locations would be either Kingston, Ontario or the GVRD in BC.

From Wikipedia:


It could mean your rifle did duty in the arms locker aboard HMCS Ontario when she was operated out of Esquimalt (a Navy base near Victoria, BC), or that the rifle was in stores with the Army Cadets in Kingston for rifle range use.

Without knowing the provenance, it could easily be either.

And yes, after bout 1943 and up to about 1960, it was normal to see No.4 rifles aboard in the weapons lockers aboard the Canadian Navy surface fleet.

I bought the rifle from a guy in Meaford Ont so perhaps it did come from the Army cadets. I'll see if the guy who sold the rifle to me knows anything else.

Here are some pics.





Navy Gunner

[Claven2]

Well, given it's RCN marked, it would be Sea Cadets, not Army Cadets

[WW2GURU]

My understanding is RNB (royal navy barracks) were also named after the ships. My Grandfathers service records from the war show RNB after names of ships during certain dates. Im sure they had an armory which could explain the origin.

[bradtx]

Navy Gunner, As the rifle appears to have been LB re-arsenaled, I would guess it's last official assignment was with the cadets.

Brad

[stencollector]

A tough call. Usually the cadet formations did not use the letters RCN (Or RCA in the case of army or RCAF for the air) but rather finished their titles with the C, as in RCAC (air cadets), RCACC (canadian army cadet corps) or in the case of the sea cadet formations, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, or RCSC.

According to Wikopedia, the HMCS Ontario was commisioned too late to see any action in Europe, or the Pacific, but sailed on until 1958. Very possible your rifle could have been LongBranch FTR'd and then issued over to the RCN and attached to this cruiser.

HMCS Ontario (C53 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

She was used for training duties postwar until paid off on 15 October 1958. She arrived at Osaka for breaking up on 19 November 1960.