Northern Territory pics

[Mike K]

Another library find, a book.

'Territory Remembers 75 years'

These RAAF vehicles are at Coomalie creek airstrip, the CMP has a kangaroo shooting party on board . More pics coming .

[Mike K]

Alice Springs vehicle park and a bike

[Mike K]

This Chevy has suffered a broken back , the bomb crater in the foreground.

And a cab 12 heading North on the main road.

A few aircraft pics in the book and day to day scenes of service people. The book has no text except for basic descriptions of the large format photos.

[Mike K]

Ships burning in Darwin harbour.

The SS Zealandia , pic taken in Darwin early Feb. 1942 . I think this ship was bombed and sunk in Darwin harbour ?

[Mike K]

After reading a little more I discovered the Coomalie creek squadron was a Photo Recon Unit flying Mosquito and at least one Lockheed Lightning which was written of after a landing accident.

This pic depicts a Mosquito fatal take off crash , the pilot killed and the other crew member survived somehow . All of that wooden airframe burning like a torch. This was during the last few months of the war.

[Mike K]

Dodge WC52 at Coomalie with the RAAF boys

Location unknown : Scene with two wireless sets , a 109 and a 101 .

[Mike K]

A 30 cwt Chev at Coomalie , the cab appears to be Nth American origin because of the single piece door glass. The reg. number is likely to be RAAF so it may not be in the ARN books.

The Coomalie strip with the PRU Mosquito parked . Any sign of the strip today ?

[Grant Bowker]

Coomalie Creek lsnding strip still appears to be in use, in private hands based on web search.
http://www.pilotnav.com/airport/YCCR
Sorry it took so long to answer, I'm being lazy today.

[Mike Cecil]

Mike,

Any six-digit Aust military registration beginning with '2' ie 2XXXXX (prior to the 1990s) was an RAAF registration.

Some nice pics there. Good find.

Mike

[motto]

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell flew Mosquito aircraft out of Coomalie Creek with No 87 Squadron RAAF on photo recconaisance missions up into the East Indies in 1945
Bud's post service career in the entertainment industry later made his a household name but he never mentioned his war service most of which was spent on Spitfires in North Africa.

David

[Lang]

I at first thought that Chevrolet might be an American vehicle but it looks like RAAF , not USA, in small letters above the numbers. My Dodge WC53 Carryall only had those small letters for USA near the numbers on the original bonnet/hood markings not the usual large font.

Looks like Mike is spot-on as usual.

The American numbering system is close but not for this vehicle.

The first one or two numbers in the sequence determined the vehicle type.
Jeeps always had the prefix 20, which stood for ‘reconnaissance’ followed by the vehicle's registration number. For the first 99,999 jeeps this was a 5 digit number; later jeeps had 6 digits.

Registration Number Prefixes
Light Trucks 2
Reconnaissance Trucks & Jeeps 20
Medium Trucks 3
Trucks 2.5 - 5 ton 4
Trucks 5+ ton 5
Tanks 30
Tracked & Half-Tracked Vehicles (not Tanks) 40
Armored Cars & Special Command Vehicles 60

Lang

[Ken Smith]

The cab 12 Ford in post number 3 appears to be an ex anti tank portee converted to a load carrier GS with wooden body and canvas roof over the cab. A beautiful clear photograph of this conversion.
The photographer could have taken the photo a split second later when old mate was clear of the number plate on the front bumper.

I can't get a army registration number to fit the 4 or 5 digits showing, 43881 is the only Ford cab 12 and it isn't listed as a portee. If the digits showing are 38811 with a wonky 1 on the end, the only possible army number is 38811 a motorcycle or 138811 which is a MB Jeep.
I assume the registration number is a RAAF number.

Ken

[Lang]

Mike (Kelly)

If you go to Darwin you should spend some time in the library archives. They have a huge collection of NT photos not seen elsewhere.

I believe someone, at some stage, has dragged through all the AWM and other official sources to build the collection plus many direct donations and local newspaper records.

Your book find is a beauty!

Lang

[motto]

Going by the very much modified front mudguards on the Chev in post #7 it has been 'Australianised' but not completely. As Mike K says it is an American cab as evidenced by the one piece side windows. The cowl vent is another giveaway. The truck is RHD.
An anomaly appears in that the fuel filler neck is still on the original (R/H) side instead of having been shifted to the other end of the underseat tank as most were.
The tray body is not the American L/L pattern and is obviously fitted with some form of seating. The fellows in the rear row appear to be standing on their seats and an extra board is mounted on the side to provide a reasonable backrest.
As usual with these trucks the mix and match of components has a 'use what's available' feel about it.

David

[Lang]

David

Do you think it is a tipper with that very big chassis rail reinforcement?

Lang

[Lang]

Well Mike Kelly has inspired me to start looking at NT photos. Below is a small collection of "Darwin" keyword photos only, some actually just prewar.

A huge variety of vehicles.

[Lang]

And more of them

[Lang]

And the next

[Lang]

And more again

[Lang]

And another few

[Mike K]

Just a few notes:

I too noticed the RAAF Chev has the reinforcing plates along the chassis rails . Somebody mentioned this as being an Australian modification on these LL Chevs ?

Yes I noticed the cab 12 is missing its roof and the rear cab panel . I think this would be an army vehicle .

Didn't know about Bud Tingwell flying from Coomalie. Another noted 1960's HOMICIDE TV series actor was a Wellington bomber pilot, Leonard Teale. I read the autobiography of Vincent Ball, another Aust. actor, he was a WAG flying in Coastal Command in the UK.

I will scan a few more pics.

[Mike K]

The CMP towing this Mosquito airframe at Coomalie . They towed this away to the sports ground and to celebrate VJ day, they made a bonfire and burnt this airframe.

A B24 making approach to Fenton airstrip.

[Lang]

Later, he was posted to a photo reconnaissance unit, No. 680 Squadron RAF, and flew 75 sorties in Mosquitos and Spitfires during the North African Campaign and the Allied invasion of Sicily. Other aircraft that Tingwell was qualified to fly included the Bristol Blenheim, Martin Baltimore, Bristol Beaufighter and Airspeed Oxford. He was promoted to flying officer in June 1943 and flight lieutenant in December 1944.[5]

Towards the end of the war, Tingwell was transferred back to Australia. He was posted to No. 5 Operational Training Unit RAAF as a flying instructor and then to No. 87 Squadron RAAF, flying photo reconnaissance Mosquitoes over the Dutch East Indies. On demobilisation in 1946, he was awarded the 1939–45 Star, Italy Star and Defence Medal. Tingwell remained a reservist into the 1950s.

[Mike K]

The Coomalie PRU Lockheed Lightning, the notes state , this was written off after a landing crash 1st Sep. 1944

Graphic image of Darwin on fire.

[Andrew H.]

In post #18 at top left, the front two trucks are Model A Fords.

[motto]

Lang. No, not a tipper.
I have a TM 10-1677 manual that covers models 4403, 4408, 4409 and 4412. On the cover of this manual below the large CHEVROLET title where the truck designation would normally appear e.g. 1-1/2 Ton 4x2 Truck,there is a strip of paper glued on that is printed in red and headed 'SPECIAL NOTICE'. It goes on to say that 'The 160" Wheelbase, Chevrolet Trucks imported by the Commonwealth Government for essential civilian users are equipped with:-
HEAVY 10" x 5/16"FRAME REINFORCEMENTS, AUXILIARY SPRINGS, 7" WHEELS, 7-7.50 x 20 TYRES and have an allowable gross vehicle weight of 14,300 lbs
With a tare weight of 5,488 lbs for the stake side body truck this gives a payload of just under 4 ton for what was initially classified as a 1-1/2 ton truck.
I personally have not seen a 160" wb truck without the reinforcement and it appears that trucks conforming to these specifications were also used by the military.
I thought this was an Australian adaptation but stumbled across a '42 Chev in Washington State (Port Angeles)many years ago which had the same reinforcement. It was identical to an Aussie L/L truck but LHD
David

[Lang]

Thanks David.

Andrew, here is the photo text for the Fords. 1939?

Two 30cwt Ford trucks are hitched side by side in front of a Thorneycroft Hathi tractor and using the power from all three vehicles, the men of the Darwin Detachment succeeded in pulling along the drug (a low wheeled trolley) weighed down by a six inch piece. the success was short lived as soon after the rubber hose on one of the Fords burst and Captain V C Secombe, riding on the running board narrowly escaped scalding. The large number of men seen riding in the Hathi were needed to ensure additional traction on the poor surface of the East Point Road.

Lang

[lynx42]

Where are they now? I have spent many many hours trying to find one of the Thornycroft "Hathi" trucks. Australia had, from what I have been able to ascertain, 8 of these trucks which arrived in the early 1930's were still on the books after the end of WWII.

I would love to find one to restore, so WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Here are a few photos of the Hathi in action.



Lined up at the end of WWII.






Wide enough for 4 to sit across the front seat.



A good photo of one in England on test in 1929.



Please let me know of the smallest part you might know about.

Regards Rick.

[Lang]

Rick

Looks like the photo I put up was taken a few hours after the news clipping railway yard photo. 6 tons was obviously too much to pull so they needed the Fords to help.

It lets us properly date the AWM photo to 1932 not 1939.

Lang

[lynx42]

Another question..

I have searched all through the AWM126 books but cannot find any of the "C" prefix numbers.

Lang, Mike C and Mike K all seem to have access to these earlier ARN's but I do not know where to look.

The Hathi in my last post has "C-205" for a registration number.

Thanks Rick.