Carrier in Darwin

[Lang]

My next door neighbour brought in his father's WW2 photos and among them was this. Taken in Darwin. Might be of interest to the carrier people. They look brand new to me and they obviously had SFA to do with all the rocks painted white.

Lang

I have lightened it up for better detail

[Jared Archibald]

G'day Lang,

That is an amazing photograph!

It shows five (I think) of the ten LP1 carriers that were sent to Darwin in June 1940 for use by the 2/15 Battalion.

Other photos exist but I have never seen the parking areas laid out with the white painted rocks before. It is such a shame he didn't stand a little more head-on to the carriers as we may have been able to read the numbers painted on the right front guards.

The carriers sent to Darwin were consecutive Hulls #33 to 42, with their registration numbers being C6533 to C6542 respectively. Photos of these carriers are very uncommon, and it is even rarer that they show the actual identity of the carrier.

Judging by the heavy grass growth, and the two carriers covered by tarps, I would guess this is mid Wet Season. The track horns are highly polished so it looks like it they were getting some use.

Did the album contain any other images of carriers at all?
Did your neighbor know what unit his father served with in Darwin?

Sorry for all the questions but I have Hull 42 and it is exciting to see another image turn up of LP1s in Darwin.

Jared

[Lang]

Jared

I still have the album being repaired on my table.

I am sure the carrier in the picture is #42! Who can say otherwise?

Will have a look. I think Clint said his dad was in 19th Bn and later went to New Guinea. Must have been the Militia 19th as the AIF 2/19th was captured in Singapore. He stayed in until the 60's and finished a Major and both his sons went to Lt Col (Inf) in the Australian Regular Army 60's to 80's.

Lang

[Lang]

Jared

Confirmed he was in the Darwin Infantry Battalion which morphed into the 19th.

They shifted around constantly during the war.

19th Battalion WW2 History

At the start of World War II, the 20th/19th Battalion served as a machine-gun unit[21] in Sydney before part of it was sent to Darwin to serve as a garrison force in 1941.[20] At this time, Darwin's regular garrison – the Darwin Mobile Force – was disbanded and as a consequence the battalion received a cadre of experience regular former non commissioned officers who were subsequently commissioned.[21] Initially, this force was known as the Darwin Infantry Battalion, but from 1 November 1941 the title of the 19th Battalion was readopted with the unit having separated from the 20th.[22] During their time as part of the Darwin garrison, the 19th provided a significant part of the Army's contribution to the defence of the town against Japanese attacks; they remained there until September 1942 when they were relieved by troops from the 10th/48th Battalion, which had been transferred from the New South Wales south coast.[23] After their relief, the 19th was transported to Mt Isa and then flown back to Nerallan where the troops were given a long period of leave.[24] Upon reconstitution in October, the battalion was re-equipped and a period of training around the Nepean River followed. Consisting of about 750 personnel, the 19th was reassigned to the 28th Brigade, along with the 20th and 34th Battalions. In November, the 19th moved to a training camp near Newcastle where they received amphibious training alongside US personnel to become a demonstration unit for the Joint Overseas Operational Training School. Afterwards, the battalion moved to Woodford, Queensland, where jungle training was undertaken. In April 1943, the 19th Battalion moved to Gordonvale and was reassigned to the 6th Brigade. In July it deployed to the Buna area in New Guinea where it was used on defensive duties carrying out patrols and providing labour for work parties.[20][25] In late May 1944, the battalion was transported aboard the Duntroon to Lae, establishing itself around Buolo.[26]

In December 1944, the battalion was sent to New Britain, embarking upon the transport Francis J. Parkman,[27] and over the course of the next five months they undertook a campaign of harassment operations to keep the large number of Japanese forces stationed there off balance.[Note 5] Using barges to advance up the coast towards the Gazelle Peninsula, the 19th Battalion relieved the 14th/32nd Battalion and on 28 February 1945 crossed the Mevelo River,[30][31] whereupon they began advancing towards the Wulwut River. At this point they came up against the forward Japanese defensive positions that had been dug-in along the Waitavalo ridge,[20] which lay behind the Wulwut and overlooked the Waitavalo and Tol plantations.[31] On 5 March, the 19th attempted to cross the river, but was initially turned back by intense Japanese mortar and machine-gun fire. A second attempt later in the day was successful, however.[32][33]

After this, the 19th subsequently captured a number of Japanese positions before moving on to Bacon Hill, the crest of the ridge where the main Japanese defensive position was located. At this point they were relieved by the 14th/32nd Battalion. After the 14th/32nd captured Bacon Hill further patrols were sent inland and towards Jammer Bay via the coast. The Australians subsequently secured a position along a line between Wide Bay and Open Bay,[29] at which point they changed to a defensive posture, designed to keep the Japanese bottled up on the Gazelle Peninsula.[20][34] As a result, the battalion took no further part in major offensive operations. Throughout the fighting on New Britain, the 19th Battalion suffered 64 battle casualties, which consisted of seven officers and 57 other ranks.[35] In April 1945, the battalion was brought back to Australia in order to prepare for further operations. In July, however, as it became clear that the war was about to end the 19th was disbanded as it became surplus to Australia's military requirements.[20] During the course of the war the battalion suffered a total of 69 casualties, of which 18 were killed in action or died on active service.[20] Members of the battalion received the following decorations for their service: one OBE, four MCs, two MMs and 13 MIDs.[20] The 19th Battalion was awarded three battle honours for its service during World War II; in 1961, it was also entrusted with the four battle honours that the 2/19th Battalion had received for its service during the

[Jared Archibald]

G'day Lang,

Yep, that all makes sense.

And I would love that carrier to be #42!

The ten LP1 carriers were first used by the 2/15 Battalion.
When they were posted overseas they were taken on by the 2/25 Battalion.
On their overseas posting the LP1s were taken on charge by the 19 MG Battalion.

By this stage the records show that the LP1 carriers were not in great shape due to lack of parts and other problems. They were declared obsolete very soon afterwards as large numbers of the far superior LP2 carriers were coming on strength.

[Howard]

Jared,
I'm sure that you are aware, but there is at least one Carrier photo on display in the Darwin oil tunnels.
H