Author Topic: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system  (Read 4789 times)

Offline Mike C

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Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« on: October 25, 2013, 04:21:34 AM »
Gents,

There is at least one image of a Land Rover with the early Unit marking of three parallel coloured stripes painted on the windscreen featured on this forum somewhere, but I'm at a loss to locate it. Does anyone else remember it, and more importantly, where it is located, please?

I've been doing some work on the early marking system, and would like to take another look at that image, and any others forum members have kicking around, please, that show the system painted on windscreens or bodywork.

Thanks

Mike C

Offline aussiegregmac

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2013, 06:46:21 AM »
I think it was within the photos showing vehicles going to SVN.  Amongst a bunch of vehicles featured on the Naval Parking Platform.
Greg
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Offline THE BOOGER

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2013, 07:45:14 AM »
carzee put up some pics in this thread

http://remlr.com/forum/index.php?topic=1053.0

post 58 and 27 have clear photos there are probably more in there

« Last Edit: October 25, 2013, 07:47:12 AM by THE BOOGER »
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Geoff C

Offline Mike C

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2013, 10:32:14 AM »
Thanks, Gents: spot on!

Mike C

Offline Carzee

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2014, 06:39:12 PM »
Earlier in the month I quoted a slab from the accounts of the Det 1 Topographical Survey Troop in Nui Dat in 66-67.

Their colour stripes were mentioned here:
quote:
MAY 1966
My diary tells me that our Detachment returned to Sydney on Sunday 1 May [after] departing Canungra...

During our time at Canungra much of our Q Series stores had arrived [at Randwick] including our two long wheel-base Land Rovers and trailers.

All boxed gear still had to be stencilled with our unit identifying stripes (purple and green for Survey) including our soldier trunks and kit bags (sausage variety at that stage). Shiny green issue Land Rovers had to be repainted in dull matte khaki and also adorned with our colour stripes. This was done by hand with a paint brush.

On the 23 Monday afternoon we were given an intense intelligence briefing that gave us a good deal of information on Viet Cong and even communist minded organisations in Australia. The message was – keep our mouths shut – the walls have ears! Having been away for three weeks we were all anxious to get home.....

JUNE 1966
[the day after the VTF ferry arrives with the vehicles]
An immediate task was to sandbag the base of both Land Rovers including the driver and passenger compartments... The sandbags were lightly filled so that they would lie fairly flat on the floor. Their purpose was to afford some protection should the vehicle run over a landmine. Thankfully, that never happened.
unquote



Found a old footlocker today and purchased it.
Dating the item:
I have 8 footlockers at the moment and know the differences in locks and handles etc as they proceeded thru the decades.
Conveniently, most have an NSN and year stamping on the inside reinforcing piece across the inside of the lid. Some have Christmas tree markings.
Todays finding has a marking but is missing that lid piece with a 'year stamp'.
It does have the 1960's colour (bronze green gloss) and the early handles with fixing by spot welding (not hot riveted) and ridges on the topside (its not flat).
In the 70s the colour was drab and the handles were fixed by domed head hot rivets. I have one of those with an NSN etc of 1974. Later footlockers have flat head hot rivets.

Does the owners address give us the clue to the stripes code? - I guess the owner is medical corps and red and yellow are the stripes...?





« Last Edit: April 21, 2014, 06:41:46 PM by Carzee »

Offline Mike C

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2014, 01:39:31 AM »
Nice find, and good deductions about the trunk.

The stripes only give us the second last and last digits of the 5 or 4 digit Unit Serial Number (USN). Red = 1, yellow = 3, hence 'XX13' for the USN. So I would assess that the School of Army Health was XX13 - we just don't know the first two digits yet!

Mike C

Offline Carzee

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2014, 05:38:09 PM »
What was the unit number for 8 Field Ambulance I wonder.
I searched the AWM records for the name on the footlocker and got a result - service in 8 Field Ambulance:

http://www.vietnamroll.gov.au/VeteranDetails.aspx?VeteranId=1273324
Cpt John Lambie
8th Field Ambulance    25/03/1968    31/03/1968
1st Australian Field Hospital    01/04/1968    26/03/1969

Also, in the Honours section:
52884
John Lambie
Rank: Major
Unit: RAAMC
Service: Army
Conflict: Unlinked Conflict
Award: Member of the Order of the British Empire
Honour: New Year Honours
Date of Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 31 December 1979

Offline Mike C

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 01:44:29 AM »
Well spotted!  8 Fd Amb was 1513, so that fits the stripes on your trunk. (1 Fd Hosp was 2501 .... don't know the ASH)

Mike C

Offline Carzee

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Re: Examples of the 'Three Stripes' Unit marking system
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2014, 12:33:07 PM »
 :) well then, thats a good result - I am chuffed I saved this small SVN artifact - it was on its way to being scrap metal, and only about 250m from the AWM Treloar Annex. I wonder if it was an estate item cleared out from a garage in Canberra. It happens a lot.