Engineer plus Electrical & Mechanical Engineer equipment IFOR/SFOR/KFOR

[Tango24B]

Hi Gents,

I'm assisting an author with research for a new Leopard book. For the Canadian content I would like to confirm the number of Badger AEVs that deployed to Bosnia with IFOR and then transitioned over to SFOR as well as in Kosovo with KFOR. The additional point would be the number of Beaver AVLBs deployed to Kosovo. I've only ever seen pics of one Beaver AVLB with KFOR markings. I already have the 4 x UNPROFOR Badgers covered off.

There seems to be a bit of conflicting information from various sources. Would the following be correct?

IFOR- 1 x Badger
SFOR- 2 x Badgers
KFOR- 2 x Badgers and 1 x Beaver

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tango24B]

As a follow-up if anyone has info on the call signs used that would be great too.

 

[Tango24B]

Hi Gents,

I'm assisting an author with research for a new Leopard book. For the Canadian content I would like to confirm the number of Taurus ARVs that deployed to Bosnia with IFOR and then transitioned over to SFOR as well as in Kosovo with KFOR.

There seems to be a bit of conflicting information from various sources. Would the following be correct?

IFOR- 1 x Taurus ARV
SFOR- 1 x Taurus ARV
KFOR- 1 or 2 x Taurus ARVs. If there were 2 x Taurus ARVs and one of them was redeployed to Canada during the second Roto that would be great to confirm.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Hi Gents,

I'm assisting an author with research for a new Leopard book. For the Canadian content I would like to confirm the number of Badger AEVs that deployed to Bosnia with IFOR and then transitioned over to SFOR as well as in Kosovo with KFOR. The additional point would be the number of Beaver AVLBs deployed to Kosovo. I've only ever seen pics of one Beaver AVLB with KFOR markings. I already have the 4 x UNPROFOR Badgers covered off.

There seems to be a bit of conflicting information from various sources. Would the following be correct?

IFOR- 1 x Badger
SFOR- 2 x Badgers
KFOR- 2 x Badgers and 1 x Beaver

Thanks in advance.

IFOR and SFOR had the same number of AEVs... one. It was stabled in Zgon with the ARV 6 hours away in Velika Kladusa.

 

[Tango24B]

Thanks very much for your reply.

I have several images of an AEV deployed with SFOR. My question then is directed at the call sign on the AEV. In three different pics there are three different call signs painted on the AEV.

7IC1- Badger AEV with MEXAS mounts but no MEXAS mounted.
E35F- Badger AEV with MEXAS mounts but no MEXAS mounted.
E42F- Badger AEV with MEXAS armour mounted.

Did the same single AEV simply use different call signs during the various Rotos?

 

[McG]

Was 71C1 an SFOR picture, or CANENGEBAT? Not the same point in time, but the “7” at the start of the call sign would imply 17 Armoured Squadron.

“7” is typical in armoured engineer callsigns, but it is usually the second digit.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Was 71C1 an SFOR picture, or CANENGEBAT? Not the same point in time, but the “7” at the start of the call sign would imply 17 Armoured Squadron.

“7” is typical in armoured engineer callsigns, but it is usually the second digit.

If I remember right my callsign on SFOR (2VP BG 1997) was E53E. Callsigns on support vehicles were probably dependent on the Sqn number of the unit in theatre at the time.  The 71 and 72 callsigns were from 4 CER with UNPROFOR.

7 is the first digit, other than E in a combined arms setup, if the vehicle is from an armoured engineer squadron, second digit if it's from an armoured engineer troop within a non armoured squadron, eg field squadron or support squadron.

 

[Tango24B]

Was 71C1 an SFOR picture, or CANENGEBAT? Not the same point in time, but the “7” at the start of the call sign would imply 17 Armoured Squadron.

“7” is typical in armoured engineer callsigns, but it is usually the second digit.

The image shows 71C1 sitting beside an HLVW PLS (Pallet Loading System) with SFOR markings.

 

[Tango24B]

 

[Kat Stevens]

The image shows 71C1 sitting beside an HLVW PLS (Pallet Loading System) with SFOR markings.

That's my beastie. That callsign doesn't ring any bells for me, any chance you'd know the year of the pic? We were part of the support troop for 12 Fd Sqn, but we used 52 and 53 callsigns as 15 Sup Sqn was our parent unit. The only places the 7 callsigns were used was in 4 CERs 47 Armd Eng Sqn, and I believe 1 CER is now sporting a 17 Armd Eng Sqn.

 

[Tango24B]

I am not sure of the year. I am going to guess at the early SFOR days as the MEXAS is not mounted.

Here are other pics of SFOR Badgers....E42F, E25Z (this one I just found pics of), and E35F. So that makes 4 x AEV call signs during SFOR including 71C1. You can see how the various call signs might make it challenging to determine how many AEVs were actually deployed.

E42F...

E25Z...

E35F...

 

[Kat Stevens]

Callsigns were changed depending on the units in theatre at the time, as I said. There was only one AEV and one ARV in Bosnia for the IFOR/SFOR years. When OP HARMONY wound down, all the armoured engineer assets were RTC and went to 202 paint shop after which they were allocated out to the various CERs.

 

[McG]

The only time there should have been a call sign starting with 7 would have been CANENGBAT. 

http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/od-bdo/europe/UNPROFOR-eng.asp#canengbat

After that time, there was not an armoured engineer squadron in the Army until 2017.

E42F likely indicates AEVs were in the second troop of 24 Fd Sqn from 2 CER.  Normally the second troop is a field troop, but such call signs have also been used for the composite support troop that is usually the second troop during a deployed operation.

E35F would imply the AEV was in the support troop of 13 Fd Sqn of 1 CER, 23 Fd Sqn of 2 CER, or 53 Fd Sqn of 5 RGC.  Only 23 Fd Sqn was a permanently existing squadron at the time.  However, 1 CER did temporarily create 13 Fd Sqn on a couple of occasions to support deployed operations and it is possible that 5 RGC did similar.

 

[McG]

... actually, there was an armoured squadron formed somewhere in 2008 - 2012, but it used a field squadron name & callsign until 2017. And it only had one armoured troop.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

For the DP3B and BEOC1.2 we assign E57C and E57D for the AEV and AVLB

 

[Kat Stevens]

For the DP3B and BEOC1.2 we assign E57C and E57D for the AEV and AVLB

'Zackly. Armoured engineer troop (7) of a support squadron (5).

 

[Nfld Sapper]

'Zackly. Armoured engineer troop (7) of a support squadron (5).

But I've also seen E22G and E22H but to me those c/s are troop stores and ammo....

 

[Kat Stevens]

All depends which Sqn the AET is shuffled off to. I only half jokingly suggested velcro placards because we were changing callsigns every other month.