Vietnam Vet, 164-64? 6x6 Bitumen sprayer

[Diana Alan]

Was going through a photo album of a 1 Field Company RAE Sapper from Vietnam Alan P... (1969) in the album were about four images of a 6x6 International with bitumen tank and spraying equipment.

Only two shots showed the front of the truck and neither showed the complete ARN.  It commences 164-64 the only fragment of the final number is the top left element.  It is unlikely to be a 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 or 0 because there does not appear to be any number fragment across the top of the number area.  The lower part of the number is obstructed, making the most likely candidates:

• ARN 164-641
• ARN 164-644
• ARN 164-646

Alan has promised to send me copies of the images.

Do we have images of the 164 sequence from the blue book?

[Tommy]

Diana, I can't find any International 6x6 ARNs starting with 164 . Am I missing something here

[Mike C]

Tommy,

No, you are not missing anything. But Diana's assessment of the obscured ARNs from the images is possibly a bit astray of the mark?

I have record of two F1 6x6 1,000 gallon bitumen sprayers, both in the 174 series: 174701 (RTA) and 174702 (disposal in country due to contamination: hours to clean to quarantine standards in excess of vehicle value). Never have seen any descent images of them: are you able to post these, Diana?

Mike C

 

[Diana Alan]

Images





Allan suggests the plate was 164 643.  Looks like I was off the mark with the last digit.

I wonder if the plates could have been replaced in theatre after tar contamination?

[Mike C]

Well, there is no doubting that the plate is a 16464X number!! Which leads us to .... what? The 16464X block is part of an series of ARNs not listed in the BBB, but crossed out with the words 'engineers' scribbled across the page. From other sources, it contains mostly stuff like Paterson water purifiers, refrigerator trailers, street sweepers, rock crushers, rock drills, etc etc

Diana, you have opened up a whole new can of worms with this one: well done! I love a good mystery, but I think I might have at least part of the answer to this one already. I have record of only one truck listed among the 164XXX listing that went to SVN:

164643:Truck, 5 ton GS cargo w/winch, F1, 1967, engine 628302159; chassis 17689. RTA in Sept 1971. From your image, it looks like it was actually a bitumen truck, but maybe the bitumen sprayer were discarded in SVN, and a tray fitted for the journey home?  Would seem reasonable when you consider one of the others was too bad to get clean enough to RTA.

Looks like M&D figures need to reduce GS F1 by 1, and increase Bitumen Sprayer by 1!

Well spotted Diana.

Mike C

[Phoenix]

I don't have any from 164 Diana, so no.

Invaluable photos though, a fantastic information score there!!

It does look like 164 in the photos, but the sequence is all wrong.  nicked from a studebaker that had numbers about that range perhaps?  seems odd, but a lot of odd happened in country.

[Phoenix]

Well there you go, a mystery created and a new answer found!

Times like this I love researching these topics!  Looks like I need to add some numbers to the DB as well.

[Diana Alan]

Hi Mike and others.

Have had a number of emails to and fro with Allan today.

In his recollection there was only one other "tar truck" with the Aussies at the time he was in Country.  The other was an old Thornycroft with 17 Construction.

Perhaps the others 174-702 and 174-701 replaced this truck and the Thornycroft. The REMLR records list those 2 vehicles as cab chassis.  Could the bitumen tank be transferred in country and 164-643 returned as cab chassis?

Diana

[Tommy]

This film shows an Inter bitumen sprayer in action.

http://static.awm.gov.au/video/F04329.WMV

The ARN plate starts with 164 as with the other truck in Dianas photos. Unfortunately I can't make out the other numbers of the plate.

[Diana Alan]

Tommy

You've done it again!  I've sent the link onto Allan. Although it seems tobe the same truck working with 17 Const not 1 Field Coy.

Diana

[Mike C]

The back end of the Thornycroft features in a picture on page 220 of M&D (and in the table of types in the appendix). The two bitumen sprayers on F1 chassis that I was aware of also feature in the appendix, but now it looks like 3x F1 Bitumen sprayers plus the Thornycroft. I would venture to say that perhaps the requirement was 2 at any one time?

The Thornycroft must have been hell to keep mobile in SVN: no spares stream for that make and model. Never have worked out its ARN, but probably in the 164XXX range. No evidence of it having been RTA that I've found, so possibly a disposal in country once it got to BER.

Mike C

[Diana Alan]

Hi Mike

Yes I did see the Thornycroft and the two F1s in your book, now I have to look at page 220. 

Diana

[Tommy]

After looking at a number of photos of the Thornycroft, I think it may be a Nubian model from 1958-62. It has the rounded cab with the 'droopy eyed' windscreen (unlike the earlier squared shaped cabs of the 1940-50s), has a slightly protruding radiator and lower placed headlights.

The photo below shows the Thornycroft in SVN looking rather lonely amongst all the other vehicles. The second photo shows an ex airport 1962 Nubian fire tender as preserved by the Wanneroo City Council. The cab shape is very similar to the Thornycroft bitumen sprayer.

[Richard Farrant]

After looking at a number of photos of the Thornycroft, I think it may be a Nubian model from 1958-62.

The Nubian was either a 4x4 or 6x6 and I was familiar with those in British service with Army and RAF. According to Mike's book M&D, the sprayer was a 4x2. I will say it could have been a Swift or Swiftsure model.

cheers Richard

[Bluebell One-eight]

Well, there is no doubting that the plate is a 16464X number!! Which leads us to .... what? The 16464X block is part of an series of ARNs not listed in the BBB, but crossed out with the words 'engineers' scribbled across the page. From other sources, it contains mostly stuff like Paterson water purifiers, refrigerator trailers, street sweepers, rock crushers, rock drills, etc etc

Diana, you have opened up a whole new can of worms with this one: well done! I love a good mystery, but I think I might have at least part of the answer to this one already. I have record of only one truck listed among the 164XXX listing that went to SVN:

164643:Truck, 5 ton GS cargo w/winch, F1, 1967, engine 628302159; chassis 17689. RTA in Sept 1971. From your image, it looks like it was actually a bitumen truck, but maybe the bitumen sprayer were discarded in SVN, and a tray fitted for the journey home?  Would seem reasonable when you consider one of the others was too bad to get clean enough to RTA.

Looks like M&D figures need to reduce GS F1 by 1, and increase Bitumen Sprayer by 1!

Well spotted Diana.

Mike C

An explanation for it all! Check the data base for 171700."truck F1 originally 6247B (truck chassis) transferred to 6ESR for conversion to bituminous sprayer. returned to engineers NOW 164643" 171 699 went through the same process. The chassis no for these two trucks were 1766 and 1768