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| Australian
Army 2/6th Armoured Regiment  Frank Anderson 1973  Justin Taylan 2000 |
Tank History Built as M3 General Stuart Tank hull number 2300. Shipped across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the Australian Army, 2/6th Armoured Regiment. No known nickname or markings. During December 1942 eight M3 Stuart tanks were shipped to Milne Bay then transported by barge to Oro Bay then towed to Hariko. Overnight, the tanks were driven up the north coast with one track in the sea to their jump off position for use in the Buna-Sanananda area. By the middle of the month, the tanks moved into a jump off position on southern Duropa Plantation at the eastern end of Buna New Strip (New Strip). On December 18, 1942 on the Warren Front at 6:00am an Allied artillery bombardment begin for 30 minutes concluding with ten minutes of heavy fire, followed by Vickers machine gun fire and mortar fire. At 7:00am the tanks started their engine and moved into position for the assault. The tanks would support the advance of Australian Army 2/9th Infantry Battalion advanced northward towards Cape Endaiadere from the east to west: D Coy, A Coy, B Coy and C Coy on the western edge on the eastern end of Buna New Strip (New Strip). During the action, this tank fired at Japanese soldiers moving towards the point of Cape Endaiadere and opened fire with the main gun and hull machine gun picking them off. Afterwards, called back to support 18 Platoon further inland and drove through heavy scrub and became separated from friendly infantry. A Japanese Army soldier was able to sneak up to the tank and attach a magnetic mine on the rear of the engine compartment. When the mine exploded, the Japanese soldier was injured with their arm blown off and the tank's battery was damaged disabling the radio. Moments later, the tank bellied onto a coconut log near a Japanese bunker and was unable to maneuver. Trapped inside, the crew fired through the view ports to keep the enemy away. As the crew attempted to abandon the tank, a Japanese sniper fired keeping them pinned down inside. Another M3 Stuart tank under the command of Barnet arrived and provided covering fire allowing the crew to escape. Afterwards, the tank was abandoned on the battlefield. Wreckage During the middle of 1973, this tank was recovered from the Buna then transported by barge to Port Moresby. Salvager Vince Sanders stored it for a number of years at his premises in Boroko before it went to the PNG Museum around 1979-80, where it is displayed to this day, and occasionally repainted every few years. References The Vital Factor: A History Of 2/6th Australian Armoured Regiment 1941-1946 (1999) by Paul Handel as details on the crew and wartime history of this tank Hell's Battlefield (2012) by Phil Bradley pages 134-136 (December 18, 1942), 439 (Appendix 1: Casualties 2/6 Armd Regt), 452 (Chapter 9, Footnote 43) 483 (index 2/6 Armd Regt) Thanks to Bruce Hoy and Douglas Hubbard, Jr. for additional information Contribute
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