The S2 gunbuggy 111660 belongs to School of Armour at Puckapunyal, (according to the Tac signs - the "9" signifies a school and the next two numbers tell you which one) and even though a lot of people who spent time there reckoned that it felt like South Vietnam it was really in Victoria! Not only that but the uniforms being worn date it to pre Vietnam, boots AB and gaiters, and going by the beautifully squarely stuffed old Brit pattern packs I would hazard a guess and say it was a PR shot from the early 60's.
Those steel helmets were just newly issued around the time of that shot, and as it turned out they were an item very rarely seen on an Aussie's head in South Vietnam. They cut hearing ability down perceivably and also made a lot of noise hitting branches in the bush, as well as offering a very easily distinguishable outline (remember the golden rule - SSSSSM) hence the ragged old giggle hat came into its own. Having said that I must admit that our convoy escort gunbuggy crew usually wore them, or at lest the inners, as protection from the ejected hot shell casings from the M60, usually over the driver and sometimes the passenger as well.
But I must add that once the fibreglass inner had been removed, they made a great receptacle for cooking amassed rat pack packets of soup and you could easily feed a section from one helmet full!
All the other shots of gunbuggies on convoy duty are of either 111578 (87) or 110807 (1 Pl.)
Just as a point of interest I was wondering where you found the first lot of shots as the only place I have publicly shown them was on the old REMLR site! Well most of them were mine anyway, not quite all. They are all of 87 Transport Platoon and they aren't even posted on our own site.
There was quite a conversation re the DBG land rover years ago, as in some were wondering whether it was painted black for some reason. It in actual fact carries RAAF plates.
Ross, in the last shot of that particular bracket, the one of the convoy lined up behind the gunbuggy, the bloke on the MG looks a heck of a lot like "our mate". I am not saying it is definitely him but I am pretty sure it is. I know that he did quite a few trips in that position. When you talk to him next, ask about the convoy when he forgot the M60 ammo!!!!!
Regards
Glen
