The Landy Rover and the AN/KPQ-1
The AN/KPQ-1 Radar in Vietnam
The mortar locating system employed by the Australian forces in South Vietnam (SVN) to locate, identify and produce data on enemy mortars, comprised three components. The listening posts (LP's) which were the physical 'eyes and ears', who initiated the sequence of events by a mortaring report (mortrep), which contained magnetic bearings to the sound or flash of an enemy mortar when heard or seen firing. The Task Force Artillery Intelligence Office (TFAIO) plotted on large scale maps the incoming data supplied by LP‘s and other data received from all arms reports.
Each Radar Section contained seven Land Rovers, one with the Section Commander (a general service vehicle long wheelbase), three with each Radar Detachment. This was augmented by Det 131 WKSPS supplying a radar special purpose vehicle for the radar mechanic. The three radar detachment vehicles included a general service (GS) vehicle capable of carrying troops, although when loaded left little or no room for passengers, (see following photo of the GS vehicle fully loaded) and a trailer fitted to carry the generator, and two special purpose radar vehicles to carry components of the radar. They were capable of carrying only the driver and a passenger in the front seats.
For the Landy Rover, her Army record shows ARN 111-387 as a "Truck, Flatbed, 3/4 Ton, GS, Radar Set AN/KPQ1, No 2 Loading" and she is a 1960, Long wheelbase (LWB) Series 2. Based on the description above and the wiring components that were still in the land rover when I purchased her, records would suggest that she was one of the three 'special purpose' vehicles that carried components of the radar.
There is also a reasonable probability that she should have been based in Nui Dat, Vietnam in the 131st Divisional Locating Battery.
According to the Army Museum Bandiana... Manufactured in the USA, this MLR (Mortar Locating Radar) set was introduced into the Australian Army in the early 1960s. It was used to track the flight path of incoming, high trajectory projectiles and the attached computing system was then able to extrapolate back to the point of origin. This information provided the gun battery command post with an immediate target for counter-battery fire. The radar was capable of detecting incoming rounds out to a range of 8.515 km. While very capable when tracking individual mortar rounds, the computer tended to get a bit muddled when tracking multiple rounds from multiple sources, which reduced the system's effectiveness.
The AN/KPQ-1 MLR detachment consisted of 11 soldiers - the Detachment Commander, 5 radar operators, 3 signallers (2 of whom also acted as drivers), a radar mechanic and a driver. The complete equipment was carried in 3 modified 3/4 ton Land Rovers and trailers. The first vehicle carried the crew's personal kit and towed a trailer carrying a generator. The second vehicle carried the various interconnecting cables on their reels and towed the special trailer with the tripod for the radar antenna. The third vehicle carried the antenna pedestal and towed a trailer carrying the antenna assembly.