Bobcat ( armoured personnel carrier ) The Bobcat was an armored personnel carrier ( APC ) designed and built in Canada in the 1950s and early 1960s . A lengthy development period and changing requirements drove the price up while not improving the basic design , and the project was eventually cancelled in late 1963 in favor of purchasing the ubiquitous M113 . History . During World War II the Canadian Army introduced the fully tracked APC to the world when they converted a number of M7 Priest and Ram tank s to expedient personnel carriers before Operation Totalize . Existing designs were almost universally half - track s , or lightly armored tracked vehicles not really designed for the APC role , like the Universal Carrier . The expediant vehicles , named " Kangaroos , " were considerably better armored and had much better cross - country performance . Similar vehicles were soon in use by other allied forces as well , converted from broken or out - of - date tanks . In the post - war period the Canadian Army , like its other western counterparts , underwent a period of dramatic downsizing . By the late 1940s it was essentially identical in formation and equipment as it had been during the war , but much smaller . With the cooling of international relations that marked the start of the Cold War , and especially with the opening of the Korean War , the Canadian armed forces started the process of rapidly modernizing their equipment , which was by this point extremely outdated . The Bobcat project started in 1952 , intending to produce a fully modern replacement for the Kangaroo in the APC role . Over the next four years of design the requirements changed several times , adding an amphibious capability , as well as another version as a replacement for the Universal Carrier in the battlefield cargo role . When the requirements were finally stabilized as the XA - 20 in 1956 , a prototype contract was offered to Leyland Motors ( Canada ) under Project 97 . While the prototype was being built , Leyland Motors was purchased by Canadian Car and Foundry ( CCF ) . A mockup was produced and sent to the Canadian Armour School at Camp Borden , and a number improvements were suggested . While this process continued , CCF itself was purchased by the ever - growing Avro Canada . Work continued on the design , and the first mild steel prototype was delivered in the APC layout , followed by two additional prototypes , another APC version , and a self - propelled artillery version intended to mount the M101 105 mm howitzer , although this was not fitted . Testing was relatively positive , and in 1959 the Ministry eventually secured an order for 500 of the APC version . However in 1960 the defense budget was slashed , and it was not until February 1961 that the Cabinet finally approved the budget . By this point the Bobcat had been in development for nine years , and no replacement for the Kangaroos or Universal Carriers had been purchased in the meantime . There was some discussion of modifying remaining Shermans and Universals for the interim , but this was dropped . In 1962 Avro dissolved CCF , and moved production of the Bobcat to their aircraft plants in Malton , Ontario , which were underused since the cancellation of the Avro Arrow in 1959 . A prototype of the complete production version started testing in February 1963 , and by June it had completed 75 % of its 2 , 000 mile qualification test run . However , the test report on the Bobcat was extremely negative . Pointing out a variety of problems , from tripping hazards in the cargo area to the extremely loud operating sounds , the report concluded that the vehicle was in need of additional development . Further confusing issues , in 1963 Avro itself was dissolved and rolled into its parent operating company , Hawker Siddeley Canada . In July the company met with the Ministry again to work out a program to fix the remaining problems , but neither side was willing to invest any more of their own money . Given that no immediate solution seemed in sight , in November 1963 the Chief of the General Staff requested that the Bobcat project be terminated and the US M113 purchased in its place . Although the Bobcat had a number of advantages in comparison to the M113 , notably in terms of size and its amphibious ability , the M113 by this point had entered service around the world and its huge production numbers led to a very low unit cost . Final cost for the Bobcat program was CDN $ 9 . 25 million . All that remains of the project is the qualification prototype at the Base Borden Military Museum . Description . The Bobcat was a relatively typical post - war APC design , with the engine located at the front , infantry area with rear - exit doors at the back , and a crew of two between the two sections . In the case of the Bobcat , the engine was located behind a large access door mounted in a glacis that was tilted slightly forward , meeting a deck that sloped upward to the cockpit area . The two operators , driver and commander / gunner , were housed under hemispherical cupolas with a ring of vision blocks below them offering relatively good all - round vision except to the rear , where the infantry area was raised and blocked the view . The front half of the cupola could be flipped up and back , opening to allow the seats to be raised for heads - out operation when not " buttoned up " . Overall the design was smaller than the M113 , and considerably less " boxy , " more in keeping with contemporary European designs like the FV432 . The small size meant there was no room for a transverse transmission in the front of the vehicle , so a rear - drive was use with a drive shaft and transaxle housed under the cargo section . These required boxy protrusions into the cargo area , and the transaxle in particular , mounted just in front of the doors , was a major tripping hazard . Additionally , the drive shaft was extremely noisy in operation .