Oil Bottle from Long Tan battlefield : 6 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment

Russian metal oil bottle. Round bodied with two screw top spouts on top (missing lids), impressed at the bottom. This bottle contains two compartments separated by an internal divider running down the middle, the bottle was soldered together. On the front are two Cyrillic symbols separate by a line down the middle. The symbol on the left is the Cyrillic symbol of Shcha which is to denote that this side is for solvent. The symbol on the right is the Cyrillic symbol of En which is to denote that this side is for Oil. The screw thread on the spouts contain dried up chunks of red mud from the Long Tan battlefield. The entire object is rusted and is covered in dried mud.

On 18 August 1966, 108 men from D Company 6RAR were engaged in a battle against an estimated 2000 enemy soldiers at the rubber plantation of Long Tan. The battle lasted for four hours and was fought under a tropical downpour.

D Company was eventually reinforced with Armoured Personnel Carriers, and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces withdrew, leaving behind 245 dead. D Company had suffered 18 killed and 24 wounded. D Company received the United States Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the battle.

In 1969 6RAR returned to Vietnam. On 18 August they erected a cross at the site of the battle. They collected items from the battlefield, including this Russian oil bottle.

The oil bottle was used by the Viet Cong for the maintenance of their various types of AK-47 based assault rifles.