Lt. James Montgomery Doohan (14th. Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd. Canadian Division)

 

Source: Pintrest

     At 0925 on June 6, 1944, the self-propelled guns (SPG) of the 14th. Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd. Canadian Division, put ashore on Juno Beach. The unit was equipped with the Priest, the British name for the U.S. built M7 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) which used M3 and M4 medium tank chassis as the foundation for the SPG. Each of the Priest self-propelled guns was laden down with crates of rifle, machine-gun, and mortar ammunition for the infantry. By 1100, the unit had moved inland and located firing positions to commence bombardment and fire support for Canadian infantry pushing forward off the beach. Included in the ranks of the 14th. Field Artillery Regiment was Lieutenant James Montgomery Doohan.

     In 1938, Doohan enrolled in the 102nd. Royal Canadian Army Cadets Corps at the age of 18. The RCAC, founded on July 25, 1879 and continuing to this day, is a quasi-military youth organization which is similar to the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) in the United States. He would not remain in the 102nd. RCAC Corps for long as when World War Two began, Doohan was quick to enlist, being accepted and sent to the 14th. (Midland) Field Battery, 2nd. Canadian Infantry Division. In May 1940, the division was posted to Iceland for garrison duty but this was quickly cut short and the unit was dispatched to England to augment the British Army who rightly feared that a German invasion was only a matter of time following the German victory in France. The 2nd. Canadian Infantry Division arrived in England in August 1940. During this time, Doohan rose to the rank of Sergeant before earning a slot in officer training school. After successfully completing the training, he was promoted to Lieutenant and transferred to the 14th. Field Artillery Regiment.

     Returning to Juno Beach, the Canadians made progress but there was an element of chaos and nerves as they pushed forward against the Germans. One example of this was when a captain of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles wanted artillery fire called down on a house and gun crews from one of the Royal Canadian Artillery units unlimbered their guns but forgot to remove the barrel covers and clean off the protective grease on the barrels and breeches before opening fire. The result was covers being shot down the road and the guns giving off voluminous clouds of smoke as the grease heated up and burned off. It was a case of nerves that almost cost Lt. Doohan his life...and at the hands of a fellow Canadian. Doohan's unit of 120 men, after battling towards Courselles-sur-Mer, had set up positions near the town. During the night, Doohan took a cigarette from a silver case that one of his brothers had given him and enjoyed a smoke while returning to his command post. Unfortunately, a nervous Bren gunner opened fire on Doohan, mistaking him for the enemy. He was struck a total of six times with four wounds to his leg, one through his right middle finger, and the sixth struck him in the chest. Had it not been for the cigarette case in the pocket of his field blouse, Doohan likely would not have survived. Doohan had to be evacuated from the front line and his finger was too mangled to save and so it had to be amputated. As he convalesced, Doohan attended the 40th. class of instruction for the Air Observation Pilot Course. During the training, he flew Taylorcraft Auster Mk. IV and Mk. V liaison and observation planes. Upon successful graduation, Doohan was assigned to the No. 666 Air Observation Post (AOP) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. There, Doohan, now a Captain, retained his position as a artillery officer and flew in support of the 1st. Army Group, Royal Canadian Artillery. The small unit was stood up on March 5, 1945 and equipped with sixteen Auster Mk. V aircraft and Doohan was one of ten pilots. The unit departed England on May 28, 1945 and was posted to various locations in the Netherlands where it was ultimately disbanded in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands on October 31, 1945.

     The photograph of Lt. Doohan shows him wearing the 1940 Battledress as evidenced by the box pleats on the pockets and pocket flap covering the front buttons on the blouse as well as the map pocket on the trousers whose flap concealed the button closing the pocket. One both sleeves can be seen the rectangular patch, in French-gray (a light blue hue), that was the formation insignia for the 3rd. Canadian Division. Right above the insignia is the nation patch which read “Canada”. Around his right shoulder can be seen a lanyard, likely in red and/or blue, which was worn by officers of the 14th. Field Artillery Regiment. At the end of it was a whistle. Although not visible in this view, he wears two rank pips on each shoulder board to denote his rank and at least one other photograph of Doohan shows him with slip-on shoulder titles on each shoulder board, likely with R.C.A.C. (Royal Canadian Artillery Corps) stitched on them. On his cap is the badge of the Royal Canadian Artillery and the motto of “Quo fas et Gloria Ducunt” which means “Whither Right and Glory Lead” is written on a banner beneath a cannon with a crown above it. His belt, pistol holster, and ammunition pouch all appear to be the Pattern 1937 web equipment. His sidearm is most likely the .380 caliber Enfield No.2 revolver and the lanyard connected to the pistol grip is visible.

     Of course, James Montgomery Doohan is best remembered for playing Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the Star Trek science-fiction franchise. Doohan died on July 20, 2005 at the age of 85.

Armored Autocar: 1st. Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade

     World War One was a conflict that saw rapid advances in terms of military technology. This surge is especially noticeable in aviation but the land war also saw many advances in small arms, dedicated anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery, chemical weapons, and of course, the birth of tanks and wide spread usage of armored cars. Prior to the start of World War One, armored cars were more or less a curiosity. Perhaps one of the first armored cars which featured an armored body with a rotating armored turret was the 1904 Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen. It was the Italians that took the armored car to war during the Italo-Turkish War which lasted from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912 where they deployed the Fiat Arsenale which was built on a Fiat 15bis truck chassis. When World War One broke out, armored cars were used to good effect, in part due to their mobility. Unfortunately, as the war started to bog down into static warfare on the Western Front, the terrain became all but impassible for armored cars to get to where they were needed. Thus, their main advantage of speed was no longer an asset.

     However, one Major Raymond Brutinel of the Canadian Army felt that the armored car had much potential, especially if it was utilized within a fully mechanized unit. A former Captain of the French Army Reserve, Brutinel immigrated to Canada prior to the war and amassed a sizable fortune as an entrepreneur. He went to the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defense, Sam Hughes, and pitched his concept with a large carrot...that being Brutinel would finance the entire endeavor. While this was not an unusual practice, what Brutinel wanted to do certainly was. Checkbook in hand, Brutinel ordered twenty Colt Model 1914 machine-guns, bought truck chassis from the Autocar Company located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and obtained armor plate from Bethlehem Steel (also in Pennsylvania). Once all of the purchases arrived back in Canada, work commenced on what would simply be called the Armored Autocar. The vehicle was, in the basic sense, an armored box on top of the Autocar chassis. The front and rear of the box were angled and the flat sides and rear had drop-down panels. Armor thickness was 5mm on every facing except the rear which was only 3mm thick. There was no overhead protection, the box being open topped. Situated inside the box were two pedestals, each one mounting a single Colt machine-gun which could be rotated 360 degrees. The weapons were capable of firing over the sides but if need be, could be removed from the pedestals and deployed on the ground. Both guns were fed from a generous onboard ammunition supply of 20,000 rounds. Fully loaded, the Armored Autocar weighed 3 tons and the 22hp engine could move the vehicle on roads at a top speed of 25mph. A total of eight men crewed a single Armored Autocar. In combat order, the Armored Autocar, in addition to the ammunition, carried enough rations for fourteen men along with additional stores of gasoline.

     On August 24, 1914, the Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 was established though in short order, the name was changed to Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on September 15, 1914. The initial compliment of vehicles was composed of eight Armored Autocars, six to eight unarmored Autocar trucks as support vehicles, four automobiles for the unit staff, and an ambulance. This force was broken down into two batteries, the 1st. and 2nd. Sifton Batteries. Within a year, private funding authorized three more batteries, the Eaton, Borden, and Yukon Batteries. In October 1914, the unit was sent overseas to England where it was renamed the 1st. Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade CEF (1st. CMMG Brigade). The brigade had five batteries (A through E) with each battery having eight Armored Autocars and twelve trucks. Each battery was broken down into four Sections which contained two Armored Autocars each. In addition, the brigade had a motorcycle unit whose 51 men served as signalers, scouts, and dispatch riders. Unfortunately, the situation on the Western Front had stagnated to the point that the brigade was, more or less, sidelined and had no opportunity to prove it's worth. This situation stretched into 1916 and 1917 (by this time, the unit was now in France) but the brigade was able to retain unit integrity and not have their equipment and men bled off into other units. During this time, the Colt machine-guns were switched out with Vickers .303 caliber machine-guns and some of the Armored Autocars carried a loose Lewis light machine-gun. 1918, however, saw the start of Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's Battle) which was better known as the 1918 Spring Offensive. Beginning on March 12, 1918, the Germans launched widescale offensive attacks on the Western Front, seeking to defeat the French, British, and other allied countries before the United States could fully deploy troops into the theater.

     At this time, the 1st. CMMG Brigade was able to highlight its capabilities. While not able to participate in offensive operations, the brigade excelled in the defense where its rapid deployment capability allowed it to act as a “fire brigade” and shift to wherever it was needed to stem German advances. The latter capability was due to the firepower the brigade could project as each battery contained sixteen machine-guns plus an additional 8 light machine-guns. The Armored Autocars, though, were not invulnerable. The 5mm of armor was only effective against some small arms and only at distances of 180 feet or more. In addition, with no top cover, the vehicle was vulnerable to grenades if the enemy was able to close with it. Against artillery or anti-tank guns, the Armored Autocar had no chance of survival if struck. With at least six men manning the weapons, hits by the enemy against the Armored Autocar was sure to cause casualties and so injuries and fatalities among the crews were high. Despite the losses, the 1st. CMMG Brigade proved its worth and in May 1918, the 2nd. CMMG Brigade was stood up. In addition, a Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion was attached to the unit which brought 300 infantrymen (whose mobility came from bicycles) to be utilized defensively to protect the Armored Autocars or to conduct offensive operations. Finally, a trench mortar section was added that had their mortars mounted on trucks and thus had the same mobility advantage as the Armored Autocars and brought even more firepower to bear on the enemy. Following World War One, the two brigades were eventually stood down. However, the concept of the fully mechanized nature of the brigades was a first (and only) such force during the war and would prove an influence to later military planners and theorists.

     Only one Armored Autocar remains today and is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.