Museum Items

I have been collecting some items for the Vietnam Veterans Museum at San Remo to improve the Armour Display a bit.

One item I was given was an Ammo rack that was fixed behind the Cupola lid on the Centurion. The one below is off a troop tank and holds 10 liner boxes. The Command tank which holds another radio also has another antenna mount that is placed at the left hand side of the Ammo rack. To make room for this the ammo rack is cut down and the section to the right of the radio compartment is cut off allowing only seven liners to be carried. The rack in its smaller shape, is bolted to the original bolts on the right hand side thus making more room on the left hand side, for the antenna. 

I felt it would look good displayed as it was when in use in Vietnam. It held .30 cal liners and a PRC10 pack radio. The radio's were repaired and passed on to the Cadet Corps and so were  very hard to acquire items, but I managed in time to obtain one.

The liner boxes were just about impossible to acquire and in desperation I started to buy some from Disposal Stores. I called into the disposal store in Richmond and explained what I required, and he cut the price in half from $10 to $5, which I thought was rather nice of him. In time I ended up with sixteen liners

The rack with a full set of .30 cal liner boxes - The space is for the PRC10 radio 

I intend to paint the whole thing and obtain a stencil to rewrite the markings on the Liners

Anyone have a quart of army flat green paint, its also very hard to obtain?????????????

I was also lucky enough to obtain some drill rounds and clips, and believe you me, these were bloody hard to acquire. But I contacted Gordon Muddle via the NSW Lancers Museum. Gordon is a collector and licensed so he was able to not only supply some dummy drill rounds but also paperwork to make it all nice and legal.

They came with clips to make up a belt and as a bonus some empty blanks cases. I had to drive to Albury to pick up the ammo as it could not be sent by mail. On the way back I called into Wangaratta to take some photos of the Dozer, ARV and Bridge-layer there, but alas they have now been moved. I wonder if they have gone to the scrap metal dealer like the ones at Gerogery? No it took two days but have traced them to Winton Raceway, Tim Vibert owns a property there and they were shifted over there, at least they are still intact.

I hope one day to have this set-up on 169016 with a dummy .30 cal Flex

I have the base mount for the .30 but am looking for the other section that clips onto the gun

As the .30 is obsolete this year I am hoping someone will donate one to me?????

IT IS FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The Vietnam Veterans Museum - San Remo - Victoria

Directions to the new Museum

This shot of the new Museum was taken last year. It has progressed a lot since then. The place is now at lockup and the office and entrance was ready for the plaster lining to go in when I was last down there. Watching it being built brings home just how much work is involved in the construction

A copy .30 cal machine gun - it is cock and click and exact in every way

A fully reconditioned Rolls Royce V12  Motor

Note the "Wine Rack" ammo storage in the front and also it shows above the centre roadwheels, the under floor storage for the 20 pounder ammo

169073

While on the Museum bit I have some more information on the 8 /13 Victorian Mounted Rifles Centurion at Bandiana. I was given some photos over a period of a couple of years

This one of a Cent on fire in Vietnam but nothing with the photo to id it or any information on the cause 

I later obtained this photo also from Vietnam, but again  without any info. My thoughts at the time were that it was a photo of the tank in the background taken under the fuel tank for effect. But I was  later informed that it was in fact a shot of a damaged fuel tank on Call Sign 31A. It had been hit by friendly fire and took a .50 cal in the tank.

It was later still when I found out that it had caught fire and was in fact the tank on fire above!

I was later to find out that 31A was in fact 169073 and remembered it was at the 8/13 VMR Museum at Bandiana

While I had seen this particular tank on many occasions, I only had two photos as Security at Bandiana would not let me take any photos. Really do not know how I got these two

Then I started to wonder if the original tank was still fitted so it was another trip to Albury. On this occasion there were no security at the checkpoint so I just drove up and had a look, and sure enough there was the old bolt covered by much paint, but still doing the job after 35 years!

As it was now an unsecured site? I was able to take a couple of photo's

And so another small mystery has been solved (For me anyway)