16 February 1942. Muswellbrook, Australia.
The Australian Army Ordnance Depot had become a very busy place. Workshops had been opened to prepare tanks for delivery to the various armoured units under construction. In early 1941 there were so few tanks in Australia that the idea of building a large facility to service tanks had seemed almost laughable.
Over the last few days, a series of trains had brought the latest batch of M3 Grant tanks from the docks at Newcastle. These tanks had been the output of the three American factories during the month of December. Fifty-seven had been built by Baldwin Locomotive Works Eddystone, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thirty-seven from Pullman Standard Car Co. in Hammond, Indiana. Forty-two from Pressed Steel Car Co. in Hegewisch Station (south Chicago, Illinois).
The previous batches of Stuart and Grant tanks that had arrived had been processed in the same way. This began by removing the various efforts to prepare them for a sea journey. Once that had been done, the fitters and mechanics had to check each and every system and nut and bolt. Once all those jobs had been done, the armament artificers fitted the various guns that had been shipped with the tanks. The two fixed mounted .30 calibre machine guns weren’t added, the holes being filled up and the guns being set aside for other uses.
Once the tank was declared fit, it was tested and driven to a holding area. When another train arrived, the tanks were loaded onto the flat cars and then the train departed to Seymour in Victoria where the 2/1 Tank Transporter Company would collect the tanks on their Ford V8 truck and trailers and deliver them to Puckapunyal.
Brigadier John Clarebrough’s 2nd Australian Armoured Brigade’s (2nd AAB) three armoured regiments (2/8th, 2/9th and 2/10th) were excitedly waiting for the tanks to take another step towards operational readiness. Each armoured regiment needed forty-six tanks, so, along with the ten they had on hand already for training, would give them their full quota. Clarebrough had replaced Brigadier William Locke who had trained his men assiduously, getting the tanks would now allow them to put into practice all the theory they had learned.
The tanks were all powered by the Wright 975 Radial engine, which produced 340hp. Like the M3 Light Stuart’s Continental R-670 radial engine, the Australian army was learning that it required a great deal of training, even on the basics. For that reason, at Muswellbrook, there were drafts of mechanics from the Armoured Brigade’s second echelon who would, by helping get the tanks ready for use, would learn the skills they’d need eventually to keep the tanks operational.
In parallel to 1 Armoured Division, the Australian experience in Malaya, and beforehand in North Africa, had led to the decision to establish an Army Tank Brigade to be used in the infantry support role. The Headquarters of 4th Motor Brigade had been re-tasked 3rd Army Tank Brigade at the beginning of January. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tank Battalions were all under formation in Gretna NSW, with many of the officers and NCOs on various training programs at Puckapunyal or some of the other training establishments. The Other Ranks were also being instructed in the various skills needed as tank crew. Wireless, gunnery, mechanics, driving were all schools that the Other Ranks had to complete so that each tank crew could, if necessary, cover one another’s roles.
The Jumbuck tank, armed with the 25-pdr, was the tank which the Tank Battalions hoped to be equipped with, but pre-production trials were still being carried out. The Canadian Ram version was further ahead, but they had the advantage of having built Valiant tanks previously. A request from the Australian Government to the British War Office for Infantry Tanks had been approved. Because so much of Valiant production was being shipped to Russia, 180 Vulcan Matilda II tanks, originally meant for Murmansk, were being shipped to Australia, expected to arrive at the beginning of March.
The Armoured Division’s ‘fighting echelon’: six armoured regiments and the support group (recce, armoured car, motor battalions, attached artillery) was usually the focus of attention. These couldn’t move or fight without the B echelon, which consisted of a lengthy list of Intelligence Sections; Field Security; Air Liaison Sections; Engineer Field Park Squadrons and Field Companies; Signallers; the Australian Service Corps’ Brigade and troop moving Companies; Medical Corps’ Field Ambulance and field Hygiene Sections; Ordnance Corps Workshop and Sub Parks; Light Aid Detachments; mobile bath and laundry units; Postal unit; Pay Office, Provost Company; Salvage Unit; Tank Transporter Companies. Two training regiments were running the various schools necessary to have all the recruits learn their trades after they had finished their basic training.
Altogether, the Armoured Division would need almost 11000 fully trained soldiers, the majority of whom had been civilians not that long ago, and almost 3000 vehicles (including 342 tanks). Since the Armoured Division and Tank Brigade were designated for the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, the men were aware that they’d likely be sent overseas as soon as they were ready. With 6 and 8 Infantry Divisions already bloodied against Italians, Germans and Japanese, and 7 Division likely to be at the sharp end soon, getting the Armoured Division ready was amongst the highest priorities of the Australian High Command. Now that the tanks were arriving from America, another step towards that goal had been taken.