A VINTAGE 1945 Royal Australian Air Force ambulance is now on display at the Catalina Flying Boat Museum.
“Because it’s a 1945 model, it’s quite quirky,” Lake Boga Lions Club member David Mark said.
“It’s a six-volt system. When the starter motor broke down many years ago, it had to be replaced, so now it has a twelve-volt, but everything else is original.”
The vehicle has been loaned by the Thompson family from Point Lonsdale. It has been in the family since 1961, when it was salvaged from a Geelong scrap metal yard and saved from being turned into a crane.
“The woman who owns it has gone into care, and her children didn’t want it to get run down collecting rust and dust, so they brought it here,” Mr Mark said.
Mr Mark told The Guardian the museum is ecstatic to add this to their collection.
“It’s just a lovely exhibit to have, and it will be here for two years on a lease arrangement – it may be absent for a weekend because the family is allowed to take it for a military parade if they wish,” he said.
“They were a good little workhorse, and after the war, a lot just ended up on farms to be used with farm work.
“It’s basically in perfect condition. It just purrs and runs really well, so it’s great for us to showcase something a little bit different.”
Visitors will also be able to see the inside of the ambulance, which hasn’t changed since 1945.
“The interior is exactly what it would have been in 1945, and as people will see, there’s not much room between the bunks,” Mr Mark said.
“Also, you’d likely fall out sideways if you went round a corner too fast – there are no straps like modern ambulances.”
The Allied forces used this version of ambulance in most theatres of the war, including Europe and the South Pacific, but it was particularly popular in Australia.
“They were a very standard vehicle – we actually have photos of them running people to the military hospital from the base,” Mr Mark said.
The ambulance is valued at $70,000.
