Canadian military Second World War pistols slated for destruction will instead be sent to Ukraine

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Second World War-era handguns that had been earmarked for destruction by the Canadian Armed Forces will instead be sent to Ukraine starting in December.

In April, the Ottawa Citizen reported that the original plan was to destroy 11,000 of the Browning Hi-Power pistols. But now 10,500 of the 9-mm pistols will be shipped to Ukraine.

Delivery of the handguns is expected to start in December, National Defence spokeswoman Andrée-Anne Poulin confirmed.

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The Canadian Forces pulled the Browning Hi-Powers from service after receiving new modern handguns. It was having trouble keeping the Second World War pistols in service because of a lack of parts and concerns they were no longer functioning properly.

Defence Minister Bill Blair also announced on Sept. 6 that Canada planned to send C6 machine guns to Ukraine. That donation will be see 970 of the machine guns earmarked for the eastern European country to help it in its war against Russian invaders.

“These come from a stockpile of C6 legacy guns (approximately 1,500 units) — and it was decided that they would be either repurposed for drill and classroom training or declared surplus,” Poulin explained in an email. “A number of them are still serviceable and thus available for donation to Ukraine.”

The Canadian military is in the process of receiving 4,774 new C6 machine guns, she noted.

Since February 2022, Canada has committed more than $19.5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine, including $4.5 billion in military equipment, according to the federal government. This includes Leopard 2 main battle tanks, armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers and associated ammunition as well as high-resolution drones.

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Previously, National Defence spokeswoman Cheryl Forrest said all military units would send their Browning handguns to Canadian Armed Forces supply depots in Quebec and Alberta for disposal by the end of this year. A small number would be kept for military museums.

The Canadian military began using the Browning Hi-Power during the Second World War and only took the guns out of service several years ago when it started receiving the new Sig Sauer P320 pistol.

The replacement program for the Brownings was stalled for years after small arms firms rejected in 2011 the federal government requirement that the new guns be built at Colt Canada in Kitchener, ON. In addition, the companies balked at a stipulation that they had to turn over proprietary firearms information to Colt, a firm some saw as a competitor.

Blair’s announcement also noted that in response to a specific request from Ukraine, Canada was donating decommissioned chassis from 29 M113s and 64 Coyote light armoured vehicles, formerly used by the Canadian Armed Forces. These surplus vehicles, no longer operational in the Canadian Army, will be repurposed or used for spare parts by Ukraine.

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Canada will also donate and transport 80,840 additional CRV-7 rocket motors and 1,300 warheads to Ukraine. This follows Canada’s initial delivery of 2,160 CRV-7 rocket motors. The additional motors are being prepared for shipment to Poland and will arrive in the coming months. The decommissioned rockets were previously used by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Blair also pointed out that Ukraine’s military is now being trained on the Teledyne Skyranger drones that Canada had donated.

Poulin said that Canadian military personnel are not involved in that training. That is being conducted by Teledyne employees, she added.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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