The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Informal portrait of two members of the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Company (65 AASL Coy), later retitled 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Battery (65 AASL Bty), near Darwin, with a 150 cm anti-aircraft Searchlight No 2 and supporting equipment: Frankie Lees (left) and Snow Younghusband. The first anti-aircraft searchlight elements deployed to assist in the defence of Darwin from Japanese air attack in the Second World War were Royal Australian Engineers companies. On 1 May 1943 these companies became anti-aircraft searchlight batteries of the Royal Australian Artillery. The lack of protective sandbagging, digging-in, and no camouflage indicate that the equipments had either just arrived at what was to become a permanent operational site or they were temporarily redeployed for operational or training purposes.
Fred Hillier standing guard in front of a Lister generator producing power for the operation of a 150 cm anti-aircraft searchlight No 2 (not pictured) of the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Company (65
A group portrait of members, probably of the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Battery (65 AASL Bty). The soldiers identified, left to right, are: Back row: F Skelly; Ray White; unidentified; Scottie (?
A 60 inch 800 candlepower Sperry searchlight of the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Company (65 AASL Coy) Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), later the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Battery (65 AASL Bty
Two members of the 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Company (65 AASL Coy), later retitled 65th Anti-aircraft Searchlight Battery (65 AASL Bty), Ray White (left) and Rudy Major, standing in front of the
A Lee-Enfield rifle and a slouch hat, the puggaree of which appears to bear an anti-aircraft searchlight colour patch, hanging from a sign indicating 'Prohibited Area: out of bounds to all troops'. Th
Port Moresby, New Guinea. 1942-43. Station 13, an Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Battery (AASL Bty) site at Vabukori in the Port Moresby area belonging to the 73rd AASL Bty. The site is behind a number of
