The Canadian Army Trophy (CAT) was a tank gunnery competition established to foster excellence and competition among the armoured forces of the NATO countries in Western Europe.
The trophy itself is a miniature sterling silver replica of a Canadian Army Centurion tank.
In the 1987 competition held at Grafenwöhr, there were 24 platoons competing (12 from NORTHAG and 12 from CENTAG). NORTHAG fielded teams from Belgium, Great Britain, the Netherlands, West Germany and the United States. CENTAG fielded teams from Canada, West Germany and the United States. The British (3-tank) tank platoons were presented 24 targets, while the other countries’ 4-tank platoons were presented with 32 targets during the battle runs. Scoring was based on target hits, hit times, ammunition bonuses (only if all targets were hit), and hit bonuses (only if all targets were hit), machinegun hits, and penalties with a maximum platoon score of 20,600 points. The main gun targets were at ranges between 1600-3000 meters and would remain standing after being hit until presentation time had expired. No target would be presented twice, so the judges could actually count holes in the targets to verify target hits; “cookie bites” did not count as hits.
