Registry of Ex Military Land Rovers
Vehicle Research => Overseas Deployments => Topic started by: Tommy on October 13, 2013, 10:45:39 PM
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This Australian War Memorial film shows 112-501 being offloaded from HMAS Sydney, Vunt Tau, SVN. The film also shows 'Chloe' dismounting from a C-130 Hercules.
http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/video/F10076.WMV
Not sure if you have seen this film Dennis but at least you now know what unit (55) 'Chloe' belonged to.
:)
(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe_zps7a7b4b32.jpg) (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe003_zps9e3250a5.jpg)
(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe001_zps945b3b85.jpg) (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe002_zps757c7a77.jpg)
(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe004_zps2508b711.jpg)
(http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe005_zps9d22489e.jpg) (http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q121/tommykm/Vung%20Tau%20Ferry/Chloe006_zps62bbbf91.jpg)
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great stuff, there are a heap of others on there too!!
170-571, truck, Has a 410 tac sign on drivers side (white top ½ horiz over ?? colour) (not listed as having done SVN service)
112-404 swb landy unloading from plane "aq3 badge" on grille (in normal l/r spot), 55 tac, hessian headlight covers, (not listed as having done SVN service)
“3” bwd, Vertical travel bars on windscreen (pre xmas tree) no spare on bonnet, towing no.5
112-386 swb landy unloading from plane "aq1 badge" on grille (in normal l/r spot), 55 tac, hessian headlight covers,
“3” bwd, Vertical travel bars on windscreen (pre xmas tree) no spare on bonnet, towing no.5
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Hey thats fantastic!
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:) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Just saw this. That film is great. Congrats Dennis. What a find. Chloe's restoration story is a real classic ("come get it or I'll dig a hole and push it in") and Dennis' earliest -1999 thru to its first drive for ANZAC Day 25apr2000. http://www.remlr.com/lot359.html
Time to update the Chloe story - she's a movie star now!
This is the AWM Collection film caption:
"HMAS Sydney anchored off Vung Tau, South Vietnam on Tuesday morning 8 June 1965. The 1st Battalion RAR troops disembarked into Dukws; ferried to L.C.U. (Vietnamese Navy) then to shore where they were greeted on landing by the Commander, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, General William Westmoreland and the CO 1RAR, Lieut-Colonel I R W Brumfield. A fleet of US army trucks carried the Australians to nearby Vung Tau air base where they boarded C-130 Hercules and C-123 Provider aircraft for the flight to their battalion positions at Bien Hoa air base, north of Saigon."
See a still photo of the C-123 Landy loading: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/DNE/65/0008/VN/
which is dated 6 June 65, the day of 1RARs first chalk's arrival by air; 2 days before the Sydney arrived. The film shows the unloading of Sydney cargo and troops. Coming off the Sydney are the soldiers of 1RAR B Coy and RASigs, RAE, RAASC, RAEME, RAAOC soldiers. Cargo is off-loaded with slings and barges and the DUKWs ferried the troops. It also shows 173rd Airborne and a certain US Gen. Westmoreland and air base lifts and troop movement by truck with the US 173rd.
Well... as part of the June 65 arrival in country, 1RAR were given a parade on 10th June 65 at Tan Son Nhut, Saigon. The notes say 400 1RAR troops were there. http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/DNE/65/0021/VN/ and http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/DNE/65/0022/VN/
The parade is not in the film at all and that smacks strange; that welcome parade by and for the SVN Government was PR "gold".
...and the film includes a sign at Vung Tau Airbase near the film's end. After the VT airport sign the cameraman gets airborne shots of the Sydney at anchor, then the next scene is the Bien Hoa road sign at the very end.
That VT airport sign may well account for the AWM footage caption: "A fleet of US army trucks carried the Australians to nearby Vung Tau air base where they boarded C-130 Hercules and C-123 Provider aircraft for the flight to their battalion positions at Bien Hoa air base, north of Saigon."
...but was it so?
The airbase involved in 1RAR arriving in country was the one and only Tan Son Nhut, Saigon - here is the 1RAR diary entries for the period. All 5 "chalks" of 1RAR go thru Tan Son Nhut Airbase: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm95/7/1/awm95-7-1-26.pdf
Westmoreland's visits are noted by the 1RAR as 6th June 65 "for 20 minutes" and again on the 8th with the Australian Ambassador and the Sydney's Officers when they are at anchor.
I originally thought that 65 and 66 footage was perhaps spliced together. What threw me a bit is that Gen. Westmoreland is mentioned by the Sydney Captain's letter in the arrival of Op Hardiwood in May 66, but not in the arrival of 1RAR in June 65. Yet the 1RAR diary certainly mentioned the naval officers in the meeting in '65. On deeper looking, AWM has the Ships proceedings about that first trip to Vungers, 8th June 65, but it also mentions a separate Captain's letter about the day: and the AWM doesn't seem to have it.
Back to Chloe. She definitely arrived in SVN early in the war: 0800 8th June 65, on the Vung Tau Ferry.
....and then gets airlifted from Vung Tau Airport to Bien Hoa?
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Well I'm gobsmacked to say the least ;D 8), but first I must say THANK YOU to Stuart for finding this clip and sharing it with us all, I don't know how you do it Stuart you seem to be able to find anything.
June 6th 1965, I knew where Vietnam was and I knew Australia was involved in the conflict and I also knew we were taking casualties/losses, it was my last year at high school, (Marist Brothers (prison) Maitland NSW) 112-501 was 2 years old and in a war zone, I was 1 month + 8 days off 17y.o, 34 years later it came into my possesion as a wreck, but salvageable, 14.5 years on from 1999 and Stuart comes up with 112-501 (Chloe's) indentity unbelievable.
I guess I will have to have some new unit signs made up and remove RAASC signs, now maybe someone might be able to find out how the chassis came to be broken n where it happened at ;) :) anyway cheers Dennis. :)
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55 over a red (infantry) background is 1RAR.
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Well I'm gobsmacked to say the least ;D 8), but first I must say THANK YOU to Stuart for finding this clip and sharing it with us all, I don't know how you do it Stuart you seem to be able to find anything.
June 6th 1965, I knew where Vietnam was and I knew Australia was involved in the conflict and I also knew we were taking casualties/losses, it was my last year at high school, (Marist Brothers (prison) Maitland NSW) 112-501 was 2 years old and in a war zone, I was 1 month + 8 days off 17y.o, 34 years later it came into my possesion as a wreck, but salvageable, 14.5 years on from 1999 and Stuart comes up with 112-501 (Chloe's) indentity unbelievable.
I guess I will have to have some new unit signs made up and remove RAASC signs, now maybe someone might be able to find out how the chassis came to be broken n where it happened at ;) :) anyway cheers Dennis. :)
More than happy to help out where I can Dennis :)
Here is the link to a second film that also shows 112-501 being unloaded from the Sydney onto a landing ship (see screenshot #1 in first post).
Chloe can be seen at the 6:02:47:03 mark :)
http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/video/F10736.WMV
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:) :) :) :) :) :) :)
...but was it so?
The airbase involved in 1RAR arriving in country was the one and only Tan Son Nhut, Saigon - here is the 1RAR diary entries for the period. All 5 "chalks" of 1RAR go thru Tan Son Nhut Airbase: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm95/7/1/awm95-7-1-26.pdf
The "chalks" as listed in the Commanders Diaries did indeed land at Tan Son Nhut airport, where all the inbound international flights landed in Saigon, but the "Sydney" landed at Vung Tau (She would have been a sitting duck trying to navigate the river systems to get to Saigon). Those personnel accompanying the vehicles and stores who travelled over on the Sydney disembarked by whatever means possible including a couple of DUKWs, were then picked up by Yank trucks, transported to Vung Tau airbase then transported to Bien Hoa by C130 Hercs and C125 Providors.
The "Sydney" element would have left Brisbane about a fortnight earlier than the airlift "chalks" and all arrived around about the same time.
Some great footage there and I am forwarding the site address to a number of people I know who will be very excited to see it.
Thanks for putting it up Tommy.
Regards
Glen
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VET should be there somewhere!!!
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I have been looking at the 2nd clip that Stuart uploaded and I noticed a S2 Gunbuggy early in the clip @ 06: 06: 40: 15, but what caught my eye was a Bronze Green S2 ??C/R at the
06. 09 11.11 mark, it is only a quick glimpse but it has all the hallmarks of a S2 C/R, i.e. std height chassis, BUT we only see it for a few seconds and only the front :( anyway still a great clip, cheers Dennis :)
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:)
Still smiling about this. Chloe turns out to be another of the real REMLR treasures. So gooooood.
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Just a quick update, I managed to get a quick set of 1RAR signs made, I should have taken more care in measuring them, but it was all done from memory when I had the chance to have them made, anyway they look OK
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu319/DJM110/IMG_2128_zpsca631898.jpg)
The last time 112-501 was out n about, Minikeg was at the wheel, not that this problem was his fault, the rear exhaust hanger snapped off, so I thought I'd better get n fix it. After ratting through my pile of exhaust brackets etc, I found a suitable donor, it was stripped and parts grit blasted, I think this one needed to be don't you!
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu319/DJM110/IMG_2130_zps16cb98e4.jpg)
after a short period they had all been etch primed and painted Flat Black
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu319/DJM110/IMG_2132_zpsa73a0c50.jpg)
I fitted it up, a bit of a squeeze with the rear wheel in the way, and after looking at the image I have the top steel strips the wrong way round :-[, I will have to change it around tomorrow,
(http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu319/DJM110/IMG_2133_zpsc8459d5b.jpg)
anyway that was part of my day, now all I need is ZD to come up with the information on what formation signs I need for the LHS of 112-501
cheers Dennis :)