1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron ( Australia ) The 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron ( 1 APC Sqn ) was an armoured unit of the Australian Army raised for service during the Vietnam War . Raised in 1965 , the unit was deployed to South Vietnam in May 1966 to join the 1st Australian Task Force . After that 1 APC Sqn was involved in numerous operations in support of the 5th and 6th Battalions , the Royal Australian Regiment , with the most notable action coming on 18 August 1966 when the squadron was involved in the Battle of Long Tan . In January 1967 , 1 APC Sqn was redesignated as ' A ' Squadron , 3rd Cavalry Regiment . History . Formation . 1 APC Sqn has a convoluted history . Officially the unit was first raised at Puckapunyal , Victoria , on 1 July 1965 ; however , the squadron also draws lineage from 1 Troop , ' A ' Squadron , 4th / 19th Prince of Wales ' s Light Horse ( 1 Tp A Sqn 4 / 19 PWLH ) . 1 Tp A Sqn 4 / 19 PWLH was a Regular sub unit of a primarily Citizens Military Force light cavalry regiment . In June 1965 , this unit was converted from Saladin armoured cars and Saracen armoured personnel carriers ( APCs ) to M113s and sent to South Vietnam as part of Australia ’ s initial commitment to the Vietnam War . Working primarily with 1 RAR , the troop was placed under the control of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade , operating in an area to the north of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province . Under the command of Lieutenant ( later Captain ) Robert Hill , initially the troop was deployed with only eight carriers as at the start of the Australian commitment to the ground war in Vietnam , the Australian government intended to limit the size of Australia ' s forces to a single infantry battalion tasked with maintaining security around the American base at Bien Hoa . In September , however , as it became clearer that there was a wider role for Australian ground forces the size of the troop was increased to 13 personnel carriers and two mortar carriers and after that the troop was used in a variety of roles including infantry mobility , manoeuvre , direct and indirect fire support , casualty evacuation and providing a medium lift stores transportation capability . In March 1966 , 1 Tp A Sqn 4 / 19 PWLH was redesignated as the " 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Troop " ( 1 APC Troop ) and it subsequently completed its tour of Vietnam in June 1966 . At that time , 1 APC Sqn arrived and all of 1 Troop ' s vehicles and some of its personnel were subsumed into the squadron . While 1 APC Troop had been conducting operations in Vietnam , 1 APC Sqn had been training in Australia in preparation to relieve the overworked troop . On 9 March 1966 , the Australian government announced that it would increase the size of Australia ' s ground forces in Vietnam to a task force consisting of two infantry battalions , a squadron of armoured personnel carriers and a number of ancillary units . Additionally , it was also announced that the Australian Task Force , known as 1 ATF , would operate as an independent force from the Americans and would take primary responsibility for an area inside Phuoc Tuy province . Deployment to Vietnam . In May 1966 , an advanced party from the squadron arrived to take over 1 APC Troop ' s vehicles , while the rest of the squadron , travelling upon the troop carrier HMAS " Sydney " , arrived at the 1 ATF base at Nui Dat on 9 June 1966 . Under the command of Major Robert Hagerty , who had previously served in Vietnam with the AATTV , the squadron consisted of seven officers and 109 other ranks . Some of these men were national servicemen , although most of the officers and NCOs were regulars drawn from the 1st Armoured Regiment and from ' A ' Squadron , 4 / 19 PWLH . Upon its arrival , 1 APC Sqn ’ s first task was to help secure the task force base at Nui Dat by erecting defences and clearing the area ; however , once this had been done , the squadron took on primary responsibility for ensuring that the road between Vung Tau and Saigon remained open . In order to achieve this , a number of cordon and search operations were undertaken focusing on the villages surrounding Nui Dat . On 21 June 1966 , 3 Troop was deployed with 6 RAR on Operation Enoggera , a search and destroy mission that focused upon the village of Long Phuoc , which had long been a haven for the Viet Cong ( VC ) . As 1 ATF did not possess any tanks at that stage , the APCs of 1 APC Sqn were in high demand and were required to undertake many different roles in this time . These included both cavalry and armoured personnel roles , such as fire support , reconnaissance and offensive manoeuvre , as well as serving as infantry command and control vehicles , troop transport , stores portage , and casualty evacuation . Whilst 1 APC Sqn was involved in many operations in the six months that it was in existence , probably its most notable action was on 18 August 1966 in what later became known as the Battle of Long Tan . 1 APC Sqn ’ s involvement at Long Tan came at a very crucial moment in battle , but nevetheless their involvement in this battle has received little acknowledgement . 1 APC Sqn ’ s first task during the battle was to transport ' A ' Company , 6 RAR to the battlefield to relieve ' D ' Company , which was holding out against desperate odds in a rubber plantation to the west of Long Tan . This task fell to ten APCs from 3 Troop under the command of Lieutenant Adrian Roberts . Having picked up ' A ' Company from their lines at Nui Dat , the column set off across country in the pouring rain at 17 : 45 hours . Fording a flooded creek , they shook out into assault formation astride the plantation road . The move took just over an hour , as the column had to fight its way through pockets of enemy and brave the heavy defensive artillery barrage that was being put down around ' D ' Company ; however , by 19 : 00 hours they reached the beleaguered company . Upon arriving at the plantation , 3 Troop advanced through ' D ' Company ' s position , carrying out a quick sweep of the area through which the attacking Vietnamese were forming up for another attack , catching the enemy on their flanks and inflicting heavy casualties . Upon seeing the arrival of the APCs the enemy broke off its attack , the survivors melting away back into the jungle and leaving the Australians in possession of the battlefield . The Australians suffered 18 men killed and 24 wounded . Of these , one of the men that had been killed was from 3 Troop . The man was Corporal Peter Clements , who died on 27 August 1966 after succumbing to the serious gunshot wounds he received during the battle . For their actions during the battle , two men from 3 Troop received gallantry awards . Corporal John Carter received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions in neutralising an enemy anti - tank weapon , while Lieutenant Adrian Roberts received a Mention in Despatches for his leadership of the troop during the battle . Following the battle , 1 APC Sqn continued to operate in the area , supporting 5 and 6 RAR . As a part of the follow - up operations , during Operation Crows Nest , one troop operated in a cavalry role as part of a combined infantry / armour sweep either side of Route 2 . They continued to operate in this role , providing fire support and transporting troops across the battlefield for the rest of the year . Redesignation . In January 1967 , after a re - organisation of units of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps , 1 APC Sqn was re - designated as ' A ' Squadron , 3rd Cavalry Regiment . This squadron subsequently rotated with the regiment ’ s second squadron , ' B ' Squadron , as the 3rd Cavalry Regiment maintain a squadron on operations in Vietnam up until November 1971 . 1 Troop remained even longer , staying on until March 1972 .