The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
The first heavy Australian tanks to be used in the Vietnam war have arrived at Nui Dat, Headquarters of 1st Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy Province. Equipment was checked, weapons were cleaned ready for immediate action, and ammunition was stowed aboard the giant Centurions, before members of C Squadron, the 1st Armoured Regiment, based at Puckapunyal, VIC, boarded the 50 ton leviathans. Then the tanks moved off across Vung Tau beach, to be loaded into American landing craft by huge floating cranes for their river trip to Baria. Baria is the Province Capital, and the tanks will be based nearby. The Centurions carry 20 pounder guns which pack a terrific punch, and also are armed with .50 and .30 calibre machine guns. During their trip aboard the US landing craft the machine guns were test fired to make sure they were in perfect working condition. Taken to Vietnam aboard the Jeparit, the 15 Centurions will use their great firepower to support infantry on operations mounted by the Task Force. The arrival of the Squadron in Vietnam is part of the planned increase of the Australian Task Force. The Squadron's base will be among rubber trees and shady jungle, and the tanks are expected to provide a lift in the offensive capabilities of Task Force combat units. (identified personnel: 38277 Lance Corporal Robert Edward Jay of Ouyen, VIC)
Eleven more Centurion tanks have arrived in Vietnam for service with the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province. The tanks, which each weigh fifty tons, were unloaded from a United
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. 1968-02. Second Lieutenant Bob Owens of Liverpool, NSW, sits behind a .50 calibre machine gun on an armoured personnel carrier (APC) near Baria, the capital of Phuoc
The Army's soldier-sailors and its 'iron men' combined recently to show the growing flexibility of the Army in South Vietnam. Aboard the landing-ship Harry Chauvel were men of the Royal Australian Eng
Australian troops of 'A' Squadron of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps, have just taken delivery of a troop of self-propelled guns from the United States in Vietnam. These weap
The 1st Australian Task Force based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, has probably the greatest firepower back-up ever known to Australian troops fighting overseas. Besides its own bat
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. 1968-02. Captain Bernard Sullivan of Puckapunyal, Vic, supervises the landing of newly arrived Centurion tanks from landing craft on the outskirts of Baria, the capi
