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Monthly Meetings Are held at Campsie RSL - 25 Anglo Rd Campsie

On the first Tuesday night of each month at 2000Hrs. http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/amvcs_nsw/

THERE IS NO MEETING IN JANUARY

“PRESERVING YESTERDAY’S TODAY

FOR TOMORROW’

2009/2010 Issue 12

AUGUST 2010

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Springw ood Vietnam veterans day march. Picture courtesy of the editor (Brett Nicholls).

Ready to topple…. Ferret in a little bit of a jam! Picture courtesy of Bill Sjoblom.

!!!!!!!!!URGENT VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!! Vehicles needed for RAAF Williamtown Air Show. Numbers and vehicle types in-formation needed for RAAF to set a side suitable display area. High attendance is

also needed as the RAAF specifically invited the AMVCS. For further information contact John Oldenmenger (President).

A M VCS “ROUG H TRA CKS”

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Advertiser Service Provided Phone. Page No.

Pope Batteries Old style batteries 02 9622 3223 4

Ian Thorburn Jeep Parts 02 9879 7682 5

Automotive Surplus All models car parts 03 9873 3566 10

M.V.Spares Reproduction Parts 02 96542412 2

ADVERTISING QUICK FIND INDEX

AMVCS Committee 2009/2010 PO Box 221 Gladesville NSW 2111 http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/amvcs_nsw/ President John Oldenmenger Phone (02) 4572 5672 Mob. (0425) 253 253 Vice President Ray Kickert Secretary Ken Whyte (0418) 260013 Treasurer Neil Cameron-Smith (02) 9484 8862 (0414) 013 237 Editor Brett Nicholls (0407) 229 396 Email: [email protected] Public Relations Glen Cairncross (0408) 803587 Club Plate Registrar Laurie Winney (02) 4578 1531 CMC Delegate Gary Beers ALT/Delegate Vacant First Aid Officers Certified - Jan Thompson (02) 99697607 (0412) 078 096 Corowa Information Jan Thompson (02) 99697607 (0412) 078 096

COMING EVENTS for the A.M.V.C.S. What’s Coming Up

August · 29th August – 30th British Car display day, The King’s school, Pennant Hill road, Parramatta, 1500-1700 vehicles

expected September

· 12th Orange Blossom Festival, at Bull & Bush Hotel, form to be completed, attendees will receive speci al medallion be there 8.30 - 9.30am, finishes 2.30pm

· 18-19th Rego Day – Clarendon, camp over, vintage tractor pull · 19th Burwood Show and Shine · 18th/19th RAAF Williamtown Air Show NUMBERS and VEHICLES NEEDED · 30th September to 3 October 2010 - Jeep Jamboree - Lardner Park, Warragul, Victoria. Visit website

www.lardnerpark.com.au October

· 16-17th Menangle steam museum · 24th October – Convoy for Kids

November · 20/21st Warren Brown trip to Taralga, located between Oberon and Goulburn, via dirt roads, Tommy agreed to map out

route · Last weekend – Christmas Party – Menangle

December · 1st - Special Kids Christmas party – Rose Hill Gardens


MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING OF THE A.M.V.C.S. HELD AT CAMPSIE R.S.L. ON TUESDAY 3rd AUGUST 2010

Meeting Opened at: 20.14 Apologies: - Bill Sjoblom, Neil Cameron-Smith, Ken Whyte, Ray Kickert, Steven Smith, Glen Cairncross, Fred Reeves, Kevin Burne, Lau-rie Winney, Les Bell, Mark Weltner, Mick Jericevich. Visitors: Brian Healy Minutes from Previous meeting: – Minutes were read and were accepted. Proposed to Accept: David Taylor, Seconded Ken Stacey. Correspondence “in”: None. President’s report: Received phone call from Dennis Deering about invitation to RAAF Williamtown Air Show on the 18/19th Sept. Phone call from Ken Whyte 15th Aug. Re-Kokoda Memorial V.P. Day. Paul Tiberti, Tony Playle will participate. The recently mailed vote form was a SAMPLE-ONLY and should have been marked as such. A vote on the weapons issue will take place after the AGM. Vice Presidents report: Not present hence no report. Treasures Report: Not present hence no report. Public Relations Report: John Oldenmenger said the winter rally would be as usual. Both John and Garry Nesbit spoke about the late no-tice of rallies. John read out futureEvents and dates. A question was raised about Landy expo dates. John needs numbers and vehicles of those to attend the upcoming Air Show at Williamtown 18/19th Sept. Camping at Warwick Lords was suggested but would need definite numbers confirmed so as to possible hire a port-a-loo and maybe split the cost. Dave Taylor suggested the club pay for the hire. John took seven nominations. John also made mention of an upcoming military expo. For further details on events please see the events list on page three. Club Plate Registers Report: 1st country club plate registration has been received and processed. The member is located in Bomaderry. Garry Nesbit questioned about country members attending club rallies. Keith Adam asked if a secondary club outing or event attendance counts as an outing towards the primary club. C.M.C report: Garry Beers reported that the 10/10/10 Concourse is open to anyone. 1854 persons have registered for the East ern Creek weekend. No camping. 7am gates open. John has no offici al notice of no camping. Swap meet is held in the pit area. The AMVCS track time is 1.45pm. Club to vote on Isuzu Bellett Club. All British day 29th/8. Truck and Bus museum has moved to Leichart from Tempe. No notice on opening and now is mainly just about buses. General Business: Ian Fawbert objected to a line in the newsletter and suggested it inappropriate for the committee to make. John re-sponded stating that maybe Glen had worded it incorrectly. Tom Rolfe raised questions over the lack of correction made with regard to the section of minutes left out which occurred in June and not printed in the July edition of the newsletter. Heated discussion then ensued with input also proved by Dave Taylor, John ‘O’, Keith Adam. Keith Adam then bought up discussion over the Pro’s and Con’s of the forth com-ing Weapons vote. Garry Nesbit made suggestion that the club trophies maybe warded for other good reasons. Jan Thompson made sugges-tion we take nominations for trophies/awards now. Dave Taylor suggested that the nominations be shown in the For Sale/Wanted’s. The award handout was discussed. Garry suggested handout at Dinner and that a short background to trophies be printed in the Newsletter. Jan Thompson spoke about Corowa 2011 British and European Vehicles. KVE held AGM. Place to visit and suggestion were made to go to the Chocolate/Wiskey factory which also has a pizza oven and café.. A visit to the Shearing shed at Toccumwal on Thursday. Friday was a visit to Oaklands. Friday night a guest speaker. The usual parade on Saturday. Catering is awkward for Saturday night. Rotary want ideas on ways to help. A submission has been made for a tourism grant. Forms will be out shortly. John spoke about Scott Weeks. He said that he is doing well but his eye sight is still a problem. His foot is well and he is get-ting hydrotherapy. It is slow on the mend but is getting better. John suggested taking him to the Air show for a day out and Jan suggested Menangle. Garry Nesbit re-mention the donation tin. Meeting closed at. 21.52 Next meeting 7th September.


Historic Vehicle Registration for Country Members The following is an example of a recently completed restoration of a ex army Landrover which is now on historic vehicle registration with the AMVCS being the primary nominated club. The first part is details submitted to the registrar and the second part is the detail surrounding the restoration kindly written by Ian Williams.

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Examples of pictures needed for historic consesional registration from country members. Note the JP’s intitials on the pictures.


Bradley the Landy IN August 2008 I was over at a fellow collector’s house, when he remarked that I should buy a Land rover. Now thinking he was purely mad I wondered why I would take on another challenge as I had my Ford Blitz and yet another vehicle at my place would be just that. I really could not see the advantage of owning a Land Rover. I could remember my father’s Series IIA with its ‘elephant’ trunk under the bonnet. When you are 4 and told that this is what it was, it stays for li fe. Not many photos of his IIA but I recall its lovely white rims, the yellow & red levers on the floor, its Galvanised bumper bar and me rid-ing in the less than comfort able ‘dickie seats’ on so many dirt roads. (Is that why my back aches now??) I was keen to purchase a Willys or Ford Jeep and kept on looking for a suitable vehicle. Having me $50 ready, I found very little in my budget range. Today, most unrestored jeeps are fetching from $3000 to $5000 at most Farm auctions. I had my ‘Brains Trust’ in Victoria and after many, many emails I was growing frustrated trying to buy such a vehicle. In April 2009 I was having an eBay moment but couldn’t come to the prices asking. I was surprised to see a Panel Van on there and did a quick search of the internet and a website caller REMLR. This explained that there was indeed a Panel Van used by Army, but they were quite rare. I was later to learn that only 29 were ever procured. So at the time the risk seemed minor. I agreed on a very conservative price on the provision the roof was re-attached to the vehicle as it was lying right way up in the nice Lighting ridge mud. I was given a bonus, some spares to go, another engine gearbox & transfer case (this was as the current en-gine had a bad knock and the deal was to include a replacement). The deal now struck, I planned a trip.

I decided I would drive the vehicle back from…… Lightning Ridge. Seemed like a good idea, lots of straight road, and no problems I figured. It would be a straight Bus up & drive back… Then I realised that it was about 9 hours drive one way at 100km/h. Imaging how long it would take at 50Km/h. Where’s your sense of adventure I hear you ask??? After some thought I decided to have the Landrover freighted from the Ridge to Liverpool via two freight companies. I was a little dubious of this but knowing that I had seen many vehicles on semis over the years I didn’t see any large problems. Arrangements were made & the two connecting truck companies were negociat ed. Time, dates and weights. The Land Rover would end up at Liverpool and I would retrieve it with a car trailer. I had everything planeed fai rly well, and decided I would take a winch in the event it wouldn’t start. Seemed like a fair idea, as I really didn’t know what I was buying. (hindsight is a wonderful thing, but honesty was a major part of it). Anyways things seemed to be going ok, when I got a call from the second leg trucking company who informed me that the propshaft was bent. By a zealous forklift driver in Lightninig Ridge. Ahh well, not that I could do much. I said well just laod it as it is! I got a phone call on the Thursday and had the trailer booked for recovery. I drove to Liverpool to retrieve the old fellow. It was sit-ting in a large warehouse at the back, but looked much bigger than I had imagined with a full length roof rack and some odd tyres, flak-ing old paint, and a wooden block on the seat frame for a make do seat!


I attempted to start it, but to no available. I was assisted by depot staff to get the land rover lined up with the trailer and com-menced winching. I was very glad I had taken a winch. The recovery was going ok. Now loaded, to my dismay, I noticed two of the car trailer tyres were almost on the rims!!! I had forgotten to check the pressures (hire trailer) and it was used to towing a car, not a Land Rover chock a block full of spares and a second engine gearbox etc. I had a slow drive through to Narellan where I managed to find a service station I could drive into with a car trailer on, and pump up the light truck tyres to a respectable 40PSI. Suddenly I had the ability to move, turn and roll.

After a quick lunch, I set out to return home. Almost an eventless journey, but as happens everytime I use a car trailer it rained. I arrived home at around 4:00pm. Enough was enough.

Next day I unloaded, and pressure washed the whole thing, removing in a conservative amount perhaps 20-30 KG of red mud under guards, in the cabin, and under the seats. The rust was minor and I was quietly pleased. I let it dry off and refl ected on my purchase. For the money it seemed ok. Data plates intact, everything seemed to be there by & large, so I figured it wasn’t a big job for resurrection…. At the same time…. My resourceful son was clearly in the know with my local scrap metal dealer, he had procured many parts at scrap cost to run his small car. I began to wonder when this would end, and was he being financially exploited. I gained some insight into this case when I was informed by my sone that a gearbox was around $40 or its weight as scrap. This was when metal was fetching $250 a tonne. I began to take an interest in the scrap metal dealers and ventured to one of the three in Nowra. I observed a very large pile of twisted metal, engines and timber. Looking closer I realised I was seeing was several Dodges (AB160’s) and two Chev Blitz chassis. I asked the owner what had transpired and he remarked that they had ‘cleaned out a sawmill down the coast’ Some 20 or so blitz’s had made the journey to Port Kembla steelworks over the past month. Some engines had been claimed by Hot rodder’s but the majority of steel was long gone.


I sighed a big sigh, and turned to scrutinise the pile. Not one part was straight or untwisted, most of the parts were be-yond the scope of even the work of the most skilled metal basher. I did notice a nice gear knob on a truck and salvaged it at no cost! I jumped back into my Nissan Patrol & drove away. Still wondering where my son was obtaining the plentiful booty of spares support. On the way home I noticed another scrap yard and a 25 metre high pile of cars about an acre in size. AHHH! That was the end of it until…. My Son came home one day and says: Hey dad, there’s a Jeep at the Scrappy’s & he wants you to look at it. My heart jumped. I was chuffed. I was excited, I was keen to look. But it was well past 5:30 on a weeknight so I could only visit the yard the next day. I was shown a blurry mobile phone photo which was no good to me. It looked about the right size and resembled a CJ5. (Things were looking up!). I hardly slept all night, already dreaming I was going to own a Jeep. At last! And saved from the scrap to boot! Next day I duly arrived at the scrappy’s. First introductions went well, and I was surprised that my sone was on first name basis with the man. I explained that I had received the news. Donning workboots (the mud in the yard pales even the most hardened war veterans and resembles a landscape not unlike that portrayed in Sir Frank Hurley’s photographs of WWI. I was ushered ‘out the back of the large sorting shed, where I was presented with two Series Land rovers. One a Series II and the other a Series IIA. The II was largely intact but had suffered slightly at the arms of a forkli ft. It was clearly dark bronze green under a lighter shade, and I figured the risk outweighed the loss. With a quick exchange of cash I was the humble owner of two series Land Rovers. Delivery was late in the week. My front lawn was now strewn with two rovers. One was sporting dead flat tyres, a myriad of scrap in the tub, and the other had been disemboweled its varous parts, but the engine & gearbox remained, along with a Fairy winch. I did some enquiries as to the serial number of the complete series II which was in excellent condition for its age. I was informed that my purchase was not an ex-army Landrover. After salvaging the winch and a lot of parts from the series IIA which was also a civilian vehicle, As I was new to the game I only took some useful parts and left the rest. I quickly made the decision to sell it on and found a new owner within 3 days. After the stripping and disposal of these Rovers, I was contacted again by my local scrappy. He had taken possession of another vehi-cle (in this case a 109” General Service Landrover.) missing its engine with fork lift tyne customisation and sporting a few extra parts in the back. I exchanged more money and it duly appeared on my lawn. This vehicle/Christmas tree has been very helpful in bringing my GS panel (Bradley) to life. Parts included, dash switches, door han-dles, hand brake handle, station wagon parts (fitted aft er service), Tac holders, bonnet catches, wiper motors, windscreens, wheel nuts, all wonder of small parts and screws. Sadly its not economical to repair, and will be eventually stripped totally to support another pro-ject which I have already acquired. Some 14 months later I have achieved success !


Many issues included: Getting a prop-shaft re-manufactured and balanced (below cost of a replacement) Sourcing four servi ceable rust free Army rims Sourcing original service manuals Replacing Main bearings Replacing the starter switch (the root of all evils) Replacing the fuel pump Replacing the carby Finding a period water washer bottle! Getting lights to work Getting the ignition to work reliably Replacing the handbrake Bleeding the brakes Re-building both Lucas wiper motors (yes they work now!) Getting the exhaust re-routed Fixing several bad earths and shorts. This is the short version of events. The whole saga would fill ten pages. After a test drive it appears I have donemost things correctly, I have had to adjust the rear brake shoes but everything seems to be ok otherwise. I look forward to attempting to make club runs noting I have to drive at 65Km/h it makes for a fairly slow journey, but then again, I might just spot another Land Rover. Menangle is looking promising. Ian Williams


VIETNAM VETERANS DAY - SPRINGWOOD

Panoramic picture of vehicles lined up in main street (above) including the Vietnam Vets mobile museum bus. Bottom center picture is of those in attendance (L to R) Roly Davey, Glen Caircross, Tom Rolfe, John ’dutchy’ Oldenmenger and myself Brett Nicholls. The vehicles that were on display included Dodge Weapons carries both 4x4 and 6x6, Two Jeeps and a Landrover.

Event Report: The Sunday morning started with a early drive to Kevin Burnes to pick up a 6x6 dodge weapons carrier and then on to Springwood by 9.30am. Many people travelling a lot further - some as far away as Newcastle. I was the last to arrive which made parking a little awkward as the 6x6 is a little hard on steering. The weather was sunny at first and later by march time we received a shower along with a little small sized hail there aft er the skies cleared for an otherwise great day. The displays included a mobile Vietnam war museum which took donations for entry. Rotary provided great food asking only for a gold coin donation in return. All in all a good day out and I hope this event continues to grow fostering more respect for what the diggers have done. Regards, Brett Nicholls - AMVCS Editor.

From: Jan Thompson Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 9:15 PM To: AMVCS Subject: Bob Dimer

Hi all, Bob Dimer from WA passed away on Saturday 17th July. He had been ill for over 12 months. His funeral will be held on Monday 26th July at 3pm in the West Chapel of the Fremantle Cemetery, WA. Many people will remember him from his associations with Back To The Track in 1995 and he was the organizer of the 2005 Trekkers Trip from WA to Alice Springs. In 1999 he organized for Hal f Safe to attend the Corowa Swim-In. Please forward this to people who knew Bob and Jenny. Regards, Jan.

From: Jan Thompson Sorry to have to inform you that Lynda Toohey from Coffs Harbour passed away on Saturday morning and that her funeral is to be held on Friday 27th August at the Hogbin Drive Crematorium and Memorial Gardens, Stadium Drive, Coffs Harbour at 11am. She had been battling cancer. After the loss of Peter in January 2010, Lynda presented the Jeep Action awards at Corowa in March 2010. Regards, Jan.

Vale Bob Dimer (W.A.) and Lynda Toohey (Coffs Harbour)


FOR SALE I have a 1945 WC-62 (6x6 Dodge Weapons Carrier), that I would be open to selling for the right price and home. It is in good running condition, just resprayed and just needs some tidying up. I believe it is one of only 3 or 4 in original running condition in the country. Currently parked in Windsor.Interested parties may give me a call on 0400 080595. Michael FOR SALE: NOS winch cable off an International Acco. Approx 75m still wound up with hook attached. $200. Chris Hill 0417 240 522 New 1200-R 20 18 PLY Dunlop PC50 NATO PATTERN TYRES. $400+ GST. Please contact Stephen Ford on 0428647436. FOR SALE One complete Clansman C42 radio ground station ready to mount into a B vehicle eg Landrover. Also used in Ferret, Saracen, Saladin and Centurions. Includes spare power supply, Antenna tuning Unit, headsets, microphones and vehicle harness items - $500. Two Type D telephones and reel of D10 telephone cable [400 yards] $ 150 Contact Stu Dossetor Phone 02 4421 3354 FOR SALE 623 Mountainous Acres at the locality of River Lea - between Lithgow and Capertee. Call Laurie on: 0245781531 Ford 1942, 3 tone, ex-army truck, side valve V8. Unrestored reasonable condition. Ph 02 6778 7222.

WANTEDS: Fittings for Bren Gun Carrier fuel tanks. I need, one filler cap and one complete set of fittings for a fuel tank. i.e. Filler, fuel pick up and drain plug. If you have an old rusty tank and do not need the fittings, I would like them complete with the mounting flange soldered and riveted to the tank. Please contact Martin Ryan on 07 40868162 or [email protected]. I am also chasing a crank handle. 7.50 X 20 sized Tyres, bar tread pattern . Contact Brett 0407 229396 Kaiser Wrecker 816 PTO for front winch. Have cash or front winch to trade. Ph 0264521701 or 0408 232273

PLEASE NOTIFY EDITOR IF ADVERT NO LONGER NEED

Wanted - Information/Help The message was posted by Big Joe (from 110.175.208.56). Subject: infamous Bren Gun Carrier Email: [email protected] Instant Messenger: Message: Hello: I'm trying to track down(pardon the Pun!) whatever happened to a Bren Gun Carrier that was bought from "Jab Jeeps" in the mid-1970's, ended up on "Sunfell" Bungonia Rd, Goulburn, NSW where the eventual Byron Bay "Love Guru" with his Wives & Children lived, running a Disposals Shop in Auburn St Goulburn("SHPunas Disposals")I'm told it was Sold at Auction & may of ended up at Puckapunyal in a Military Museum? The BGC was Spot welded, not Rivets & in a Desert Camo. At one time a Gentleman came all the way up from Sydney to visit & encountered strange long haired Hippie types dressed in Army Disposals Fatigues,driving ex-Australian Army Land Rovers. He knew the History of this particular BGC, indicating that it had appeared in a Movie with John Mellion. He also recounted interesting tales about the "Jab Jeeps" Pro-prietor. The then "CIB" of the NSW Police took great interest in the Sect/Commune as apparently, they weren't the only ones dressing up as Soldiers & driving around in Military vehicles in the Goulburn area, at the time!Anyone with any info, Please lets know? PO Box: 3058 West Kempsey NSW 2440 BIG Joe

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FOR SALE…………..

AUCTION: naval vehicle to be auctioned at moorebank not date yet of when. Carlo Paola.

WWII Russian tank with German markings uncovered after 62 years. WWII Buffs will find this interesting. Even after 62 years (and a little tinkering), they were able to fire up the Diesel engine! A Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer pulled the abandoned tank from its tomb under the boggy bank of a lake near Johvi , Estonia . The Soviet-built T34/76A tank had been resting at the bottom of the lake for 56 years. According to its specifications, it's a 27-ton machine, with a top speed of 53km/hr. From February to September 1944, heavy battles were fought in the narrow, 50 km-wide, Narva Front in the northeastern part of Estonia . Over 100,000 men were killed and 300,000 men were wounded there. During battles in the summer of 1944, the tank was captured from the Soviet army and used by the German army. (This is the reason that there are German markings painted on the tank's exterior.) On 19th September, 1944, German troops began an organized retreat along the Narva front. It is suspected that the tank was then purposefully driven into the lake to conceal it when its captors left the area. At that time, a local boy walking by the lake, Kurtna Matasjarv, noticed tank tracks leading into the lake but not coming out anywhere. For two months he saw air bubbles emerging from the lake. This gave him reason to believe that there must be an armored vehicle at the lake's' bottom. A few years ago, he told the story to the leader of the local war history club 'Otsing'. Together with other club members, Mr. Igor Shedunov initiated diving expedi-tions to the leader of the local war history club 'Otsing'. Together with other club members, Mr. Igor Shedunov initiated diving expeditions to the bottom of the lake about a year ago. At the depth of 7 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3 me-tre layer of peat. Enthusiasts from the club, under Mr Shedunov's leadership, decided to pull the tank out. In September of 2000 they turned to Mr. Aleksander Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva Open Pit company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the company's Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer. (Currently used at the pit, the Komatsu dozer was manufactured in 1995, and has recorded 19,000 operating hours without major repairs.) The pulling operation began at 09:00 and was concluded at 15:00, with several technical breaks. The weight of the tank, com-bined with the travel incline, made for a pulling operation that required significant muscle. The D375A-2 handled the operation with power and style. The weight of the fully-armed tank was around 30 tons, so the active force required to retrieve it was similar. A main requirement for the 68-ton dozer was to have enough weight to prevent slippage while moving up the hill. After the tank surfaced, it turned out to be a 'trophy tank' that had been captured by the German Army in the course of the battle at Sinimaed (Blue Hills) about six weeks before it was sunk in the lake. Altogether, 116 shells were found on board. Remarkably, the tank was in good condition, with NO RUST, and all systems (except the engine) in working condition. This is a very rare machine, especially considering that it fought both on the Russian and the German sides. Plans are underway to fully restore the tank. It will be displayed at a war history museum in the Gorodenko village on the left bank of the River Narv. Preparing to pull it out

Found after 62 Years.


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Komatsu D375A-2 is ready to go.

Through the muddy bank of the lake…..

People from the nearby village come to watch.

Here it comes...

Pretty amazing...

Incredibly, after a few minor repairs, they were able to start its diesel engine.

Hosing off 62 years worth of 'muck.'


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DUKW Tour Vehicle Sinks: Two Dead Struck by empty barge being pushed by tugboat July 14, 2010 An empty, unmanned and unmotorized barge being pushed by a tugboat on the Delaware River, struck and sank a WWII DUKW used by as a tourist attraction in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 7, 2010. The Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle, occupied by 35 passengers and two crew members, rolled over and sank in 40 feet of water. Philadelphia police say the boat had just entered the water south of the Ben Frankin Bridge and was to make a routine loop of the Delaware River when it suffered a small engine fire, rendering the boat helpless. It dropped anchor and was awaiting assistance. Ten minutes later, a barge used to transport sludge pulled by a private tugboat struck the DUKW. It is unclear if the duck boat sent out a distress signal. The Coast Guard says it did receive a distress signal around the time of the collision, but it is not clear if the signal came from the duck boat or some other vessel. Eyewitteness both in boats and on a shore initiated a frantic rescue effort . The DUKW had experienced mechanical problems and was disabled without power. All occupants on the DUKW were rescued from the river, except for two young tourists from Hungary. Rescu-ers located the sunk vehicle in 40 to 50 feet of water by using divers and SONAR. The bodies of 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem and 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner were recovered. Schwendtner and Prem were among 13 Hungarian students, two Hungarian teachers, four U.S. students and three U.S. teachers on a tour hosted by Marshallton United Methodist Church in suburban Philadelphia. Ride the Ducks is a Georgia corporation that has about 90 vessels in several cities. It has operated in Philadelphia since 2003, where it currently operates 15 vehicles. In a brief press conference around 9:00 p.m., the 'Ride the Ducks' company gave a state-ment concerning the accident. "I'd like to share with all of you that 'Ride the Ducks' extends our heartfelt feelings to the families of the guests who were on our vehicle today. It is their comfort and wellbeing that is our first priority. We will continue to work with the au-thorities on the recovery effort," spokesperson for Ride the Ducks, Sharla Feldscher, said. The barge involved was city-owned and was being pushed upriver by a private tug company, K-Sea Transportation Partner LLC. K-Sea

is headquartered in East Brunswick, NJ. The com-pany said that the tug's crew of five all had proper Coast Guard licenses. The Philadelphia Water De-partment uses the barge to transport sludge from a sewage plant in northeast Philadelphia to a recycling plant down river. The DUKWs are subject to a variety of local, state and federal laws and regulations and are regulated as a business operation by the City of Philadelphia. They are subject to the motor vehicle laws of Penn-sylvania while on streets and highways. Afloat, the Coast Guard regulates the DUKWS, mostly by con-ducting inspections for safety compliance. This tragedy will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. The boat was lifted from the water about 100 yards from shore by a crane. The DUKW will be first taken first to the Coast Guard station in Philadelphia and then moved to another secure location for inspection to determine the cause of the engine fi re and failure. National Transportation Safety Board Investigators immedi-ately began to reconstruct what went wrong. They expect ed to spend more than a week working in

Philadelphia before heading back to Washington, D.C., to continue their investigation.

Editors Note: The last I had heard this particular DUKW is in fact a copy vehicle of sorts built along a similar design as the original WW2 vehicle.

An INVITATION to ATTEND the

30th BRITISH CAR DIS-PLAY DAY

In conjunction with THE KING’S SCHOOL

Art Show Bring the Family have a great day.

Sunday 29th August 2010 No change in case of rain

At the picturesque THE KING’S SCHOOL

Pennant Hills Road Entry via Masons Drive

North Parramatta Gates Open 7am

Breakfast (7-00am), Lunch, Wine Tasting available

Further details available from: Robert Brandes 0427 274 004


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LOG CABIN CHARITY CAR SHOW - PENRITH Pictures courtesy of Ken Whyte


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EASTERN CREEK 2010 Pictures courtesy of Jan Thompson, John Oldenmenger, Ken Whyte.


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