Visited Tank Museum at Bovington, in deepest Dorest with my son on last Friday (booked as part of my 60th birthday back in July, and had I known I would have turned 60 several years ago !!).
This is a museum I have threatened to see for years and a cracking time it was.
I took so many photos I am convinced my phone feels heavier !!
Highly recommend for any 'tankie' types as its a super day out and well worth the ticket price (£19.50 for online day ticket).
The museum is 99% indoors (outside areas used for Tank Days and Tank Fest events) with decent cafe and shop.
Being adjacent to Royal Tank Corps Training Depot it is kind of 'in the middle of nowhere' (especially coming from N.Ireland) but easy to find once nearby (we drove from sons abode in Chelmsford area previous day area - so about 3+ hours - with stay overnight in Poole and a rather longer 4+hours return after visit - I swear I seen more cars on the London Orbital route than exist in N.Ireland !)
All exhibits are well presented many with audio-visual extras and all with information boards and are housed in several large hangar style exhibit halls, one simply follows a trail of footprints to go from WW1 through to contemporary kit.
I took a full ton of photos but will only show a selection here (too lazy to stick them all on plus not sure all would want to see the third sprocket wheel on a type)
First photo was of a Challenger that overlooks the entrance road to museum (nerd genes started vibrating violently).
Another Challenger outside main entrance (Museum open 1000-1700)
An example of the info boards
And of several well done audio-visual presentations (this one from the late great Ken Tout)
Chinese Type 69
Sdz 251 Ambulance
Sherman crab in Normandy section
View into troop compartment of a Buffalo (this is a huge beast)
Daimler Armoured Car
One of my favourites a Royal Tiger (this is another huge hunk of metal)
A34 Comet
One of the highlights (and a genuine Hollywood star) of the museum the Tiger 1 another favourite.
The following day was a 'Tiger Day' event so this was due to be running along with several other mobile exhibits (an outdoor one day show at around £40 I think ?)
Mark II Churchill in Dieppe raid markings
Carden Lloyd Carrier one of the smaller vehicles on display
Array of tank guns
JagdTiger another giant slab of machinery
Archer SPG alongside an M24 Chaffee
Frontal shot of the Tiger (nerd genes exploded at this juncture)
Panzer II Luchs (which was literally dwarfed by Tiger II alongside)
Churchill Crocodile
Business end of Hetzer
Humber Scout Car (M10 Achilles lurking behind)
Said Achilles (was hard to get a full shot of this one)
M4A1 with 76mm
Leopard 1
Little Willy on a rotating dias in WW1 section (viewed from ramp up to cafe area)
T62
Saladin armoured car
Sherman from 'Great Swan'
Interesting Tetrach in its Glider Cradle
Sdz 234/3
Panzer 1 Command vehicle
A battle honours display board for my Dads old Regiment
M13/41 in desert garb
A Centurion in section related to 'Tanks in Toys and Film'
Panther Ausf G so clean and sleek (dare I say sexy) lines
Mark V Chieftain upgraded with 'Stillbrew' armour
A flipping massive Lanchester armoured car
Jagd Panther looking all 'Panzer Blitzy'
A WW1 Command Dugout (one of several such displays)
Another view of the Leopard 1
Mark IV with cutaways to show crew placement
DD Sherman with flotation canvas erected (amazing that this actually worked !)
Cromwell
Early War Panzer tunic
WW1 display of German MG position this one had lights and sound effects
WW1 kit (have forgotten whether these are 'Male' or 'Female' types)
A diorama of Cambrai (there are several scale models and dioramas in museum)
Italian flamethrower tankette
Humber armoured car
Nice disection of a Centurion (other half is opposite)
Views of 'Main' hall from cafe concourse (Sherman Firefly visible)
Staghound armoured car (several of the ACs are much bigger than expected)
M5 Stuart
A Remembrance area for Royal Armoured Corps personnel
An early T34 captured by Finns in 1941
T72 with snorkel erected
Challenger 2 again
M48 Patton (thats my son in shot who is 6' 4" to give some idea of size)
Better shot of the Firefly
Pz IIIN and a Grant in Western Desert section
A Matilda II with somewhat ironic name
Universal Carrier
Churchill AVRE
Panzer IV which I assumed was an H/J but is actually an upgraded Ausf D
Stug III with 'Pigs Head' mantlet
And alongside a Churchill III in garb of North Irish Horse in Italy (making this another highlight pour moi)
T34/85 from Korean War
More tank weaponry
Another view of Jagd Tiger (hard at times to get some vehicles fully in frame)
An S35 Somua in eye catching paint job
My lad trying out a mock Centurion driver position
Centurion in 'main' hall (cafe area above)
Flag flown at siege of Tobruk
Japanese Ha-Go
Valentine bridge-layer
Profile of Tetrach in its cradle
Panzerfaust on display
Scorpion
Singularly odd AMX-13
View in WW2 Hall (the 'tank teeth' had a couple of model dioramas hidden within)
The Crocodile (very long with trailer attached)
Desert Pz III
More of the Panther......................just cause...................
Crocodile from front
Matilda I by far the ugliest tank I saw
Crusader III
Better views of Shermans
There is an outside area based around the Vehicle Restoration Centre which is not always open (apparently filled with various vehicles in need or in process of being restored) and was mostly closed off due to upcoming Tiger Day but we did get to see some vehicles that were being prepped to accompany the Tiger onto display arena
Several British modern light types (these were beyond a fence line and our reach)
And a hangar with several tanks (and what looks like a Leopard 1A4 on left)
However we did get up close with other kit including this massive and ungainly FV4005 (1 of only 2 prototypes made)
A functioning Chaffee
Another film star the 'Fury' M4A3E8
A Comet ready to roll
The outdoor arena that hosts Tiger Days and Tankfest
Adjacent to the car park we found a couple of outdoor exhibits
Lastly but not least here are parting shots of my lad Steven and I with the big cats. Recall he is 6' 4" and I am just under 6' for some perspective of size of these hulking beasts.
Great museum visit and excellent pictures. Do they still have the ride around the display area in cargo carrier?
ReplyDeleteOne very minor point- I think the Daimler Dingo is actually a Humber scout car.
Correct re Humber (they do have a Dingo). No ride ons when I was there (lots of prep for Tiger Day) but they do offer ‘Premium’ tickets which include guided tours and additional access to selected vehicles so may be with those ?
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Wiltshire I was a regular visitor with various friends. You used to enter via WW1 trench with sound effects into the WW1 hall. You could walk through a Mk V? VII? Which was open. Gave a perspective on being in one with an engine running in the middle. They used to have a Panzer III that was cut open and you could climb inside; it was very cramped and I'm not a big bloke. Vision via the slits was very limited. When a load of kids got in I was very claustrophobic! The Jagdtiger had scaffolding so you could look down on it which gave an idea on size.
ReplyDeleteLast visit was more recent, still quite a few years ago; they had opened the hall below the cafe and expanded, some things had changed. It was summer so they were doing drives and various vehicles driving around. The one that got me was the BRDM-1; it was virtually silent! Very useful for a recce vehicle!
I loved the Panther - very sexy beast. Also the Italian tanks; the CV33 is tiny! How a couple of grown men fitted in it is beyond me.
My kids tried testing me on tank ID and were amazed when I knew them all!
Neil
The WW1 hall is unsurprisingly the first hall on chronological tour with trench exhibit. You could walk through a Mk IV/V but cramped indeed. No scaffolding on Jagdtiger but there was above Churchill IV and the T34/76. No moving vehicles that I saw bar a Dodge truck some re enactors were bringing in as I was leaving. Non BDRM that I could see. Seems some exhibits go on loan or are lent to museum (They had a Ferdinand on loan at one stage) The size of several vehicles is surprising at either end of scale. My Dad was stationed in Bovington in 1960s (trained to drive in Centurions) and visited museum often. Says it was basically a single large shed with vehicles crammed in rows (sounds like the restoration centre nowadays) but most able to be clambered upon/inside. Believe current configuration with all the extra media stuff dates from 2021. It was all new to me. Suspect I turned my offsprings head to mush with all my rivet counting and waffle about the vehicles etc :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is a fabulous museum, I have visited on several occasions. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Iirc the Panther in rust brown camo is one built after the war by the British Army for UK trials, assembled from parts in the captured factory. Wrt the WW1 tanks, the "male" ones are the ones with guns, the MG armed ones are "female". My command Panzer 1 is painted exactly like the one in the museum.
ReplyDeleteGreat place. The Panther and Jagdpanther were both built post war at German factory under Brit supervision according to blurb. There can't be many Cmd Pz1 left ?
DeleteMagnificent photo's. It certainly is a brilliant place to visit for any gamer or anyone who loves history. Its quite shocking seeing just how big the Tiger is compared to some of the other tanks isn't it. You just can't get the perspective unless you stand there and see it for yourself. Cool post!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Ray (hope you are feeling better), really a great museum, have seen several AFVs up close before but yes direct comparisons are awesome.
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