Sydney  - The bodies of the last two Defence Force personnel missing in Vietnam have returned to Australia nearly 40 years after their fatal bombing run.

A Hercules military transport plane carrying the remains of Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver, both 24, touched down at Sydney's Richmond air base Monday.

Their Canberra bomber went missing during a mission over Vietnam in November 1970.

Wreckage was found earlier this year and the bodies recovered last month. More than 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam and 500 died there.

When the Defence Force withdrew from Vietnam in 1971 there were six soldiers unaccounted for. All have now been found and their bodies repatriated. (dpa)