AWM puts the BBB pages on line

[Carzee]

 

The AWM staff are digitising the BBB pages, all of them, into .pdf files.
 Woohoo!
(These are all the black/white AMF plates, not the late green/white plates).
You can look up your historic military vehicle's ARN record. It starts in May 1940 with plate number "1", a Rolls Royce sedan, loaned to the Army by Mr G.J. Coles.

quote:

In 1982, to assist with an increasing number of public enquiries into army vehicles, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) requested the army transfer its vehicle registration books to AWM custody. The army was initially able to provide those registers not containing any vehicles still in use. Hence, in January 1983, the first consignment of sixteen volumes arrived at the AWM (via the Memorial’s Relics Section), from HQ Logistics Command in Melbourne. These volumes were numbered 1-16 and were accessioned into the Official Records Collection as OW84/2. In November 1984, an additional volume (27) arrived, and was accessioned as OD84/8. In September 1994 ten more volumes (17-26) were transferred to the Memorial, completing the run of volumes 1-27. The series was subsequently designated AWM126.

Content:

The series presently contains twenty seven bound volumes. Within each volume entries are arranged numerically by Army Registration Number (ARN). The entries refer to tanks, assault vehicles, armoured vehicles, machine gun carriers, 15 cwt trucks, scout cars and jeeps. While there are inconsistencies and omissions, most entries provide the following information:
- Army Registration Number (ARN)
- Type and make
- Engine number
- Chassis or maker's serial number
- Details of changes to registration
- Details of eventual disposal of vehicles.

System of arrangement and control:

The volumes are numbered serially from 1 to 27. Each register contains a range of Army Registration Numbers (ARN), by which they are arranged. The RecordSearch entry for each volume indicates which ARNs are covered by each volume.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/AWM126/

For recent auction assets such as Number 5 Trailers... well you can download the relevant volume and look up what is recorded for that ARN.

Land Rovers, Internationals, VW, GMH, Ford, Motorbikes --- plant and equipment, all the B.B.B. is on line.

[kman]

OK. Attached is a photo of a Ford ARN 69 906 we used in 1961. It's entry says:

W/O BofS VP 29/64 2 BOD 11/12/64 983/M402/52 LIST M60/280D/VP/W19

which I assume means:

written off Board of Survey ?? 29/64 2 Base Ordnance Depot 11 Dec 1964 rest does not mean much to me.

I don't see any of the info mentioned in the original post?

Howard

[Carzee]

You mean the chassis number, engine number, year of manufacture details are not there or something?

[lucipla]

Well for 49154 appears just the arn , nothing else , no information at all

[Carzee]

The BBB arn record is for the original black and white plates only.
Later, 1980's vehicles, such as mogs and perenties, were put on a electronic asset record system and not in the BBB. The last BBB written in updates would have been about auction disposals to about 1992. For instance, my trailer disposal is not recorded as it did not occur until 2014.

[kman]

In the two books I looked at, 66913-74560 and 105867-114437, there was only the info I quoted. Maybe the later volumes that are still to be put up have more info.

Howard


 

You mean the chassis number, engine number, year of manufacture details are not there or something?

[2short]

My workshop 113-820 is blank also. It served at K92 so was disposed of in 1993 or later, hence the blank entry I guess. Do we have access to the electronic version?

[AGAS 5]

Mike Cecil might know what the next electronic iteration of vehicle records was.

From what I know...  in about 1994 or so, Army moved onto a program called SDSS for its stores accounting. Then in about 2009 (?) they moved onto another program called MILIS

And no, the general public does not have access to these programs. The obsolete one might be archived IAW the Achive Act, but I imagine that access to it would be difficult, if not impossible....

Cheers.

[Mike C]

The critical date for the BBB is 1972. The BBB contains Army registrations for what originally started as the Uniform Commonwealth Registration scheme in 1939  (and the AIF scheme (1939-1942) in the first volumes). When the scheme started, vehicles already on inventory were rolled over into the uniform scheme, which included all govt departments, not just Army. The scheme was originally administered by the Dept of the Interior, who allocated blocks of registrations to each dept.

The original 1939 scheme was terminated by Army in 1972. The books contain many, but not all, registrations of vehicles used by Army for that period. Many AFVs and engineer plant are not included, for example.

A new scheme was introduced by Army in 1972 to coincide with the issue of reflective number plates. These were in the 5 digit range, from memory starting at 15000. Vehicles still registered under the old scheme retained their original number, hence the need by Army to retain the BBB until either the vehicles were disposed of, or the ARN was recorded in the (1990s) electronic data system. After that, the handover of the BBBs to the AWM was completed (see the prelim comments by AWM staff)

 Mike

[Mike C]

I'm told that the final 27th volume has now been digitized, so expect it online soon (if not already!).

Mike C