The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. Formed in 1871, the Canadian Stores Department was a civil department of the Canadian Government. This civil service was charged with control of forts, ammunition, stores, buildings and an ordnance depot left by the departing British Military.
The RCOC was responsible for procuring all of the material goods required by the army, from weapons to clothing to mechanical transport (MT, or motor vehicles). The Corps also fulfilled the related functions of scientific development, including weapons research, inventory accounting, and, until 1944, maintenance and repair. In February of that year another corps, the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was created to maintain all mechanical, electrical, and technical equipment, including all tanks and other fighting vehicles. Army formations such as divisions or corps were supplied from depots in Canada or the United Kingdom through Ordnance Field Parks, which carried everything from spare parts to spare vehicles and artillery pieces.
RCOC badge
The crest of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps consists of a belt, with a Kings Crown on top, with the text "Honi Soit qui mal y pense" with six maple leaves around the edge. At the center of the belt is a shield superimposed with three cannon balls and three cannons. At the bottom the text "Royal Canadian Army Service Corps" is written on a ribbon.
When the Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged in 1968 to form the Canadian Forces, the administrative Corps of the Army were deactivated and merged with their Naval and Air Force counterparts to form the Canadian Forces' personnel branches.
The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was combined with the transport and supply elements of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps to form the Logistics Branch.