Search and Rescue Weasel - Colour scheme

[Mike K]

Still in use in 1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoX3oe9aHd4

[Mike K]

The closer one went to the NSW Govt. Tourist Bureau its listed in the ARN book as a Lorry . Think these ended up at the Thredbo ski resort

Unidentified Australian Women's Army Service personnel sitting in a Studebaker, M29 Weasel, tracked amphibious cargo carrier. Both vehicles have been finished in alpine camouflage and bear the Army Registration numbers 145623 and 139999.

[maple_leaf_eh]

I agree that red is a sign of danger, but it disappears in the dark. Years ago in Alert, NWT where I spend a happy summer as a construction worker, just about everything important was painted bright orange. Marker posts, Bombardier oversnow vehicles, huts, and for our purposes, the plywood utility corridors between buildings. The trucks were factory fleet yellow. And some SMPs were issue Army green. In the depths of a months long high arctic winter, white makes no sense.

[ozm29c]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

The closer one went to the NSW Govt. Tourist Bureau its listed in the ARN book as a Lorry . Think these ended up at the Thredbo ski resort

Unidentified Australian Women's Army Service personnel sitting in a Studebaker, M29 Weasel, tracked amphibious cargo carrier. Both vehicles have been finished in alpine camouflage and bear the Army Registration numbers 145623 and 139999.

Mike,
Both Aussi weasels have been found and are in the hands of a fellow weasel restorer/collector. 13999 has been resurrected from the ashes using a donor hull and 145623 is yet to be restored as it was only found and recovered in 2019. The first photo shows 13999 as found and the second photo shows the hull repairs completed. The last photo shows 145623 as found. Here is a youtube link to 13999's hull after repairs;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl9tq7LncHk
Cheers

[Mike K]

Ah OK. Great to see that those two ARN examples are in good hands.

Only Weasel I have seen in Aust. was owned by Ian Ledwidge , he has the museum at Moama . Ian Grieve, the GPA man, had one too. Were these two post war imports ? Both of these were in running condition at one stage , I saw the Ledwidge one running when the museum was at Pakenham, I helped him getting it started one day

[ozm29c]

Mike,
I purchased my Weasel from Ian G. back in 1998 and I have been slowly restoring it back to a floater weasel ever since. Attached is a photo taken last weekend. My weasel was definitely a post war import. The Moama museum weasel is still there. It made an appearance at
Corowa 2019. You can see it in this you tube clip;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtGj_3avRA
I am not sure of the history for this weasel. Apart from the Antarctic division weasels, there were 5 other amphibious weasels imported post war and they were subsequently stripped of their amphibious gear with exception of the float tanks and were employed as Ski tows on the snow fields. The weasels are long gone but by pure chance I came across most of the gear that was dumped. Photo attached shows the five sets of track aprons as found.
I have also attached a photo of one of these ski tow weasels.

[Mike K]

Ok If the snowfield ones were post war imports then the ARN ones must have had a life doing something with the NSW Govt. tourist bureau... you would think it would be on the snow fields but that's a guess.

I remember finding that book at the op shop , with the pics of the snowfields weasel, it may have been scenes of Kiandra , not sure , I think Thredbo was a later village constructed in the 60's maybe.

[ozm29c]

The Two ARN weasels did end up on the snowfields as shown in the photos below.