Can anyone identify this RAAF crane

[Justin Pollard]

Thanks for clearing that up Col,
It certainly didnt make sense to me that it would be a 22 SQN Beau.
Happy that i was spot on with 30 SQN.

I wonder how many more pics are captioned wrong in the AWM archives?.

Justin.

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi Cliff,

I think you might be right about it not being an airborne truck. The tray appears hard up against the back of the cab, where as the airbornes seem to have had a spare wheel carrier put in between cab/tray like a CMP. The windscreen frame on the truck pictured also looks different than an airborne set up.

Cheers,
Ian.

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Ian Fawbert

Hi Cliff,

I think you might be right about it not being an airborne truck. The tray appears hard up against the back of the cab, where as the airbornes seem to have had a spare wheel carrier put in between cab/tray like a CMP. The windscreen frame on the truck pictured also looks different than an airborne set up.

Cheers,
Ian.

Ian the Aussie Airborne trucks were coverted 352 SWB models and not the usual LWB 353 trucks. It is hard to tell from that photo whether the truck is a LWB or SWB judged on the distance between the front and rear wheels. When I enlarge the photo it appears to have a roll bar type set up at the rear of the cab which could be a support for a canvas roof as per the trucks modified by Holden into Airbourne models.

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi Cliff,

I thought they were all SWB, but wasnt sure. I was basing my assessment on this pic of the airborne GMC-specifically the distance between the back of the cab and front of the tray due to the sparetyre carrier. Now you mention the SWB/LWB thing, it does look like the one in Larrys pic is a LWB?



I agree about the bar at the back for the roof. What do you think about the windscreen frame though- it looks too much like a hardcab cut down, not like the specifically fabricated version shown in my pic?

Cheers,
Ian.

[cliff]

Now that I do compare your Aussie Airborne photo with the other the crane truck is a LWB and not a modified SWB. Probably right about the windscreen too as the Aussie airborne GMC one's were just angle iron with the original opening GMC windscreen frame and glass bolted to it. To throw a spanner in the works though is the fact that the US experimented with LWB closed cab GMC's with their roofs removed as Airborne trucks before Melbourne altered the SWB one's.

[cliff]

Here is a photo showing the Aussie Airborne GMC angle iron windscreen frame. This is the remains of a surviver west of Brisbane a few years ago.