Can anyone identify this RAAF crane

[cliff]

Originally Posted by ozm29c

Try the beam photo again

post war modification.

[lynx42]

Take a trip to Wilson Cranes in Mildura, Australia, and you will see around 8 to 10 of these dinosaur cranes. Another fitted to a Aussie softcab GMC is just out of Ballarat still fitted with it's crane.1
Regards Rick

[cliff]

Originally Posted by lynx42

Another fitted to a Aussie softcab GMC is just out of Ballarat still fitted with it's crane.1
Regards Rick

Rick is the GMC the later standard model GMC soft top military cab or a closed cab with it's steel roof replaced with a demountable canvas roof like that in the original photo in this thread?

[Lang]

There was an identical crane to this sitting at Sumner Park in Brisbane for years until the late 80's. Still had all the RAAF Base Amberley markings from the 50's but the interesting thing was that the truck was not a GMC but an FWD. What happened to it?

[lynx42]

Cliff,
It was a soft top cab and the tray was filled with concrete. I do have a photo somewhere but it will take an age to locate it. They also had one with an International Mk3. 4x4. I must find the address again and check them out.
Rick.

[Justin Pollard]

Hello All,
Thanks for posting this interesting pic Larry,
If it is taken in 1945 then i doubt it would be a 22SQN aircraft as they were using Bostons.
It would most likely be a 30 or 31SQN Beau.
As an aside i spent 1 1/2 years with 22SQN in 2004-05.
A SQN that is very proud of its history.

Regards
Justin.

[Larry Hayward]

Regarding the caption - this came straight off the AWM web site and not knowing much about the RAAF I took it as gospel!

I think the RAAF left Balikpapan in 1946 so thats the latest date it could be I suppose.

[JFL]

Originally Posted by lynx42

Take a trip to Wilson Cranes in Mildura, Australia, and you will see around 8 to 10 of these dinosaur cranes. Another fitted to a Aussie softcab GMC is just out of Ballarat still fitted with it's crane.1
Regards Rick

Actually Rick, the cranes in Wilsons junk yard are G-Well's They are different to the picture as they have a single hydraulic ram to lift the boom whereas the crane pictured is all cable operated.
As for the cranes near Ballarat I presume you are referring to the two at Rokewood Junction. The GMC there was owned for a period by Rickey bros Ballarat. I drove it many times in the late 70s. Prior to that it was owned by "Barney the wrecker" in Sebastopol.He used it in his wrecking yard and contracted with it. The Inter crane was previously owned by a tank maker in delecombe, It had a cab-over prime mover before the inter. It may have been a foden, but I'm not sure. I don't know who made the cranes as there was no makers plate that I know of, but I was told they were left behind by the Americans.Rickeys were big buyers of war surplus trucks and machinery and there was still a lot left in use until the early 80s.

[lynx42]

Thanks JFL for that info. I didn't realize that there was a difference between the cranes.
Welcome to the Forum. I see that this is your first posting.
Who is JFL? We would like to know more about you. You look like you have plenty of knowledge to share, and this is the place to share it.
Regards Rick

[JFL]

Thanks for the welcome Rick.
I worked for Rickeys in Ballarat over a period of 11 years,. Besides the CMG crane He had two fwd's ,one was a crane and the other carried a drill rig , a cletrac tug , a dukw, a Mack (e model I think)a k10 international and the pride of the fleet, a 604 federal.All of these were operational and there were many more trucks that were not in use. After the death of Huey Rickey everything was sold at auction , including sheds full of new spares brought from the post war auctions in Darwin. After that I worked for Bob Davies, also in Ballarat, who had a number of Ford blitz cranes. Some time later I was mining in north west NSW and part of my plant was an NH Mack, which is now located in Broken Hill .

[motto]

Back in the 70's there was one of those huge cable operated cranes in a yard out towards where Melbourne airport now is (Tullamarine). I was more interested in the truck it was attached to, a GMC 6x4 which is a rare vehicle in this country. It was originally a hard cab but had the roof cut off similar to the one in the photo. From memory it was all cut up and scrapped where it stood.
There is a similar crane attached laterly to a Studebaker US6 just south of Coober Pedy where a fellow intended quarrying red granite. He was lifting a rock with it that he estimated at about 20 tons when the 4 inch diameter solid steel axle broke off next to the wheel bearing. Strangely enough he had a spare axle assembly for it.
JFL, I have Hue Rickey's M2 Cletrac. He had two in fact. He broke a track on the one he was operating and bought another one with a broken track to get the remaining track from. John Bellfield got that one, I got the one he had been using.
David

[lynx42]

Its about time you joined MLU David.
Welcome, It's good to see your finally part of this great WWW forum. You have plenty to share I'm sure.
regards to Maggie
Rick