little ray

Hi there, I would need it to come to Sydney NSW, send me some details please... Ray

I would like to buy some parts for my FV439 such as road wheels and track parts and filters. The cost to post is out of the question and general freight would take a arm and a leg to get it to Sydney, any ideas ? ..Ray

Yes Terry, its on the way now and the postage came to about eighty quid but we now have to get past the dirt police and customs

Hi Terry, I just purchased a roll of Trakmark for the APC in the UK last week, so it there to be found

Hi, now I have seen some of those titles around the old book sales and swap meets but here comes the big "But" would they be the same as the Australian Army use or would ours be different. Most of the equipment out here is American or European so that would be a change... Ray

You are most probably right again and I am cross eyed, it would be "EA" But I will walk over the field were it is parked and check it out. I spent a hour rubbing the paint back just to find and numbers under neath. I still have to work out the paint but in hind sight with other vehicles running around it will be sand and black. Why would there be Blue on some spots coming through.

Hi, I had a good look at the paint today and its a over spray of Black on sand on grey with blue under neath, I also found the army registration number under the black, (16 AE 75 ) so Im not sure what to paint now or were to find out about the number.

This is one version, its an American paint acording to the net but I was led to beleive the Japs invented it. Radar-absorbent material, or RAM, is a class of materials used in stealth technology to disguise a vehicle or structure from radar detection. A material's absorbency at a given frequency of radar wave depends upon its composition. RAM cannot perfectly absorb radar at any frequency, but any given composition does have greater absorbency at some frequencies than others; there is no one RAM that is suited to absorption of all radar frequencies. A common misunderstanding is that RAM makes an object invisible to radar. A radar-absorbent material can significantly reduce an object's radar cross-section in specific radar frequencies, but it does not result in "invisibility" on any frequency. Bad weather may contribute to deficiencies in stealth capability.

Hi Clive, what do all these letters mean please as I have no idea what you are after.. eg AC, ACI, AESP, AO, COSA, CR, DCI, EMEC, EMEI, EMER, EMPL, EMPS, ER, JSP, LoC, LTI, MAOS, MRA, RAOS, REA, VAOS, WMTI, etc, Army & WO Coded publications in paper or fiche.

It was invented and it bent the beam, it was invented by the Japanese because there were so many bridges on the river through Tokyo and the barges were causing problems in the 1970's, a 4 gal drum would be nearly unliftable due to the weight. It then just was not on any paint list after that as Nato took it and no more was said, I saw a drum of it on the Army base and I could just lift it but not steal it as I wished I could. It was grey in colour with a metal filling through it. A plane would not lift off if painted with it and a car could not carry it.

I will check tomorrow as its mid night now but it looks sand so I will get some close up photos in full light, were do we get the radar reflecting paint please as I can use it on my 4Wd on the free way.

One other thing I noticed is that were the paint has lifted to the bottom coat it is blue, any ideas why.

Thank you and I will sit down when I go to ebay but I will check some of the trimmers in this country to see if there is any thing close, I will go with the sand and black but is it just standard paint with out luster.

Photo would not load so here is another try

Hi again, well I have been checking the beast out and I think it needs some paint and LTC, so can any of you tell me the paint schemes for the vehicle and were one can get the paint from please also is there a company that can supply the vinyl trim cover so I can replace the damaged parts on my 439.. dose any one know of one being parted out? As you can see from the photo it is a mass of colours so I would like the sand and black if that is correct.

Hi Guys, here is photo of the ID plate off the APC and it tells us its a 439, as a question through, who would have spares for one of these 430 series vehicles or who would be wrecking one for odd bits I will need to make it a good looker please.. I would just love to take it through the McDonald's drive through and ask for a soft serve.. Ray

I hope my pass is still good, as I use it at the RAME barracks in Sydney ever so often. I will head to the base with the dumped stuff next week if I can not use my pass and do some metal detecting

Hi Adrian, there were 45 parked at Bandiana with tarp covers on them and the two I inspected that were on offer had the engines and transmissions removed as well as the air conditioners. The officer in charge told us they were removing the same from the others for spares and welding the hatch's but the clean out would cost $60k each, the turrets were still movable. here is the photo of one that was going to Victor Harbor in SAas far as I could see by the paper work as the RSL that it was given to rejected it on insurance ground and the there is no holes in the barrels and it had no power pack and the turret could still be moved but I did not go inside. I was there the day it was loaded and on its way. I could be on my way to Melbourne very soon so I will drop in to the tank museum and look.

You want turrets, well here is a bed time story that I do not have a ending too but I do have a area location so lets make you cry some more. After the Vietnam conflict there were a few thousand SLR's put into storage and a heap of other war left overs on a Army base with large warehouses and a rail track into it for mass loads and storage. Now some one in the Defence department came up with a bright idea in the 1980's/90's, lets get rid of them and dont tell any one but we will get a civilian contractor to do the job. They just forgot to tell the contractors not to tell any one, well they dug a few big hole on the base near the store area and with cut off saws lets cut the rifles into 3 pieces then dumped them in the hole but some one kept a souvenir and while sitting in his work shop with him telling the story I saw these gun parts on the shelf so when I laided them out I had half a SLR. At this point I now knew his story is real but now her comes another spitfire in boxes type story, now as they cleared out the stores sheds they came across around 90 very large packing crates on pallets of the same size in a shed adjacent to the rail line so the broke some open and in side was bare centurion turrets as that what was marked on the boxes so his story goes. In another spot on the base close by there was another great hole dug and they were packed into it and covered so now we have a very interesting question, are they really there and were was the spot for the hole. Well I have found a area were the metal detector is going off its brain and the land now is owned by the state government or a private company with big signs to keep out so were do I go from here and whats your views on this. bed time or should we dig?

There were 35 given to the RSL's and many turned them down due to insurance reasons so they were re donated to other RSL's who in most cases have put high fences around them, this branch is brave as it takes one idiot kid to fall off and the law suits will follow. They all should have been put into long term storage as a strategic reserve and that was to happen but then they came out as we took the yank tanks to replace then, lots of problems here but when our pollies kiss the yank pollies butts that what you get. there were 105 of them give or take a few and 3 I am told were destroyed the they were made redundant. Half of them where really past the use by date but In to storage and then the Lib government got this bright idea, lets give 55 away with no motors or gear boxs and maybe 35 to RSL's and the rest to public collections or museums. Now here is were it goes banana shape as there were 2000 plus tenders for them and the cull started. We went through 4 culls and it was cut down to 50 of us for 30 odd tanks, now up comes the election and the labor won and no more was said. After a few weeks we all started to ask whats going on and the reply from the defence department was read the last section of the tender document. The last clause was that the gifting would only take place if the libs had won so no tanks. Now the fun starts as the RSL's start jumping up and down for there promised vehicles and they kept it up for a long time till the government gave in but the wait was to long for some and insurance killed others. Now we have all these new rebuilds coming and a paddock full of unwanted tanks in Victoria so the brains in Canberra said lets sell them to the islands army's of the Pacific and a sales team went out with a ticket price of $600k each. now what can you do living on a coral island and will this 64ton tank fall through so no sale and if any one wants to pay $60K to have one decommission and there was no takers so what do we do now, a new bright idea came out!!! lets strip the wrecks and non goers for parts and store the bits, the good ones let send to Darwin to the tank unit and whats left tow out onto the range an shoot at them, the big excuse was that the German government had the last say on who got them and had sad no private sales or gifts as reported by a labor minster. so that were it should end but it gets more of a joke. Now with the RSL's calling foul and political backing they got theirs. Now all these nice new rebuilds turn up in Melbourne and after unloading they were to be taken to Darwin, just put them on transports and go,"WRONG" again after checking the rail tracks over the bridges to get there could not hold the weight so lets send them up be truck, "WRONG" again the roads and road bridges can not hold them so they had to load them back on to a navy ship and sail them up to be with the remaining Leopards.

Bob, If they have the cement in them then that is on the spot decision as it would go with the insurance problems as they had no motors, no transmissions, no breach blocks, the hatches welded shut in some cases before or after delivery to stop the mugs getting in as we had the vehicles to be supplied not welded.

Hi Richard, the story is not that simple, what happened turned into a political bum fight, and OH&S night mare also and insurance problem for any of the RSL's that have taken them, would you like the story as I was in it up to my neck on the block... Ray

these photos may be better

Here are the photos of inside this unit.

Hi fellow members, sorry for the delay in getting back to you but the Mrs spent another day in hospital so I just sat and waited all day, now to answer some of your questions, it had generators or one mounted on the top, the top hatch is welded shut so thats a job to reopen. As to the data plate,I dont know till it gets here on Tuesday then all will be revealed, I watch that TV show escape to the country and the buyers complain if they have to go 30 miles, this thing is coming 4000Kms in 4 days, that like Moscow to London and back to Poland, as Richard said distance to us is in hours not miles so we are just waiting as I have asked for it to be on the truck backwards so it can drive off but if all else fails we will hook the big tractor (500HP) and tow it off. this was the other vehicle that was for sale with it and it has gone to a guy 50Kmls away.