Exciting developments...

[Mike K]

Phil has a habit of this sort of thing.


He at one time , owned the 2 pounder carrier as pictured in the official manual .

[Philliphastings]

Yes - and I still have the official manual!

I also located and helped preserve the only Matilda Tank my former Regiment used in action in the pacific and brought home to Australia (the rest were sunk off barges)

1/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers Memorial Museum is now slowly and patiently rebuilding Matilda tank 'Ace' for posterity.

Cheers

Phill

[Philliphastings]

While scanning the Australian War Memorial database I found another pic of the Scout carrier, in the same sequence of shots but this time front on. The remaining camoflage pattern on the front lower armour is once again an exact match.

AWM image 02988 refers.

It also clearly shows the registration number AIF 5325. I have always dreamed of finding the original Australian number. as a museum associate just said "now I can die happy"

I have a few C plates in the shed, I don't suppose one could be 5325 could it...?

Apparently the machine was very good at turning around in little circles for the crowd. Perhaps it was also a tactic developed to confuse the enemy...

Cheers

Phill

[Philliphastings]

- Make that 5329, just like the brass data plate on the front guard says.

Also in the second pic you can see a large bullet hole just at the bottom of the '4' in the bridge class sign. That hole, and another like it on the inside of the guard is still there. looks big enough to have been around a .50 Cal

Cheers

Phill

[Philliphastings]

Another milestone passed today with the pick up of a full set of British carrier track in exchange for a set of very good Australian Pattern track.

After a 700km+ round trip the Scout Carrier is now a lot closer to being complete.

Obtaining this track has solved the dilemna of whether to import newly made british pattern track or to convert to Australian Pattern track. It would be fair to say that I'm a bit chuffed right now

Cheers

Phill

[RichardT10829]

Phill i can give you a couple of wheels the cast is good but will need a re rubber, free to you if you ship them back mate...... just an option see how you get on tracing wheels buddy.

[Philliphastings]

Hi Richard and thankyou very much for the offer of the carrier wheels. The reason I am now more than ever excited about my Scout Carrier project is that I finally have a full set of correct British pattern track, sprockets and idler wheels, as well as enough Army modified Australian pattern roadwheels to get the machine back onto it's tracks and potentially driven around on special occasions in the future.

The main thing was the discovery of the photo's of my machine with this configuration in service. There is nothing like actual photographic evidence to silence the doubting element.

Now I just need to source an armful of track pins and a set of bearings and seals for the roadwheels and we are in business!

Oh yeah and I haven't forgotten about finding a workable system for posting up images on MLU of the project as I go...

Cheers

Phill