The Bison is an armoured personnel carrier based on the 8x8 MOWAG Piranha II platform, and was produced by London Motors Diesel Division in London, Ontario. It is in service with the Canadian Army, the Australian Army, and the Romanian Army. The Bison can be easily adapted to different roles without major modifications, and has been used as a mortar carrier, ambulance, Mobile Repair Team vehicle, armoured recovery vehicle, electronic warfare vehicle and NBC reconnaissance vehicle.
443 Bisons were delivered to the Canadian Army, 146 to the Australian Army, and 100 to the Romanian Army under the name B33 Zimbru.
Design[]
By starting with a basic Piranha II, the Bison design process took only 7 days. The Bison differs from the baseline Piranha II by raising the height of the roof, removing the turret ring, placing a commander's cupola behind the driver, and incorporating a rail mount system in the cargo/passenger compartment to quickly change mission specific equipment. The driver is seated in the front-left of the crew compartment. The commander has a slightly raised position directly behind the driver with access to his own hatch and mounted machine gun. The engine is to the right of the crew compartment.
The Bison's rail mount system allows it to be adapted to a variety of roles without any major modifications. Bisons used by the Canadian Forces have been adapted for use as armoured personnel carriers (original configuration - mostly replaced in this role by the LAV III), 81mm mortar carriers, ambulances, Mobile Repair Team (MRT) vehicles, Armoured recovery vehicles, Electronic Warfare vehicles, and NBC Reconnaissance vehicles.
Operators[]
Canada
- Canadian Army - 444
Australia
- Australian Army - 146
Romania
- Romanian Army - 100
