| Accession Number | P04665.991 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Digital file |
| Maker |
Gibbons, Denis Stanley |
| Place made | Vietnam: Phuoc Tuy Province |
| Date made | 29 August 1970 |
| Conflict |
Vietnam, 1962-1975 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
On the first day of Operation Massey Harris, an M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) of B ...
Description
On the first day of Operation Massey Harris, an M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) of B Squadron, 3 Cavalry Regiment, has run over and detonated a large enemy anti-tank mine. The explosion lifted the APC some 2.5 metres off the ground and dropped it onto the rear of a Centurion Dozer tank of A Squadron, 1 Armoured Regiment. The blast killed one South Vietnamese bushman scout aboard the APC and wounded fourteen Australians and one New Zealand soldier. Casualties could have been far worse but for the fact that the APC, with serial number 134305, call sign one three alpha (13A) and nickname 'The Nympho', was the first to be fitted with belly armour and sponson reinforcement. (This image was published in Ashley Ekins and Ian McNeill, 'Fighting to the Finish', page 463.)