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There are too many pictures for one page! Please select one of the following;
The Tank Museum at Bovington Camp
U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii
US Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground
The American Society of Military History
M47 Patton Walk Around - Barstow California
Military Vehicle Technology Foundation
M60A3 Patton Walk Around - Pittsburg California
Fort Lewis - Washington

The Tank Museum at Bovington Camp

Here are some pictures of vehicles in the Bovington Tank Musuem. The Tank Museum is located in Bovington Camp, Wareham, Dorset, England. Bovington Camp is home to the Royal Armoured Corps and has a history dating back to the first use of tanks in the First World War. The musuem houses a unique collection of armored vehicles from around the world and includes many modern weapons as well as examples from the two world wars. A visit is highly recommended for any armor enthusiast and the many interesting exhibits may well make an enthusiast out of even the most casual of visitors!

I lived in Dorset in my youth and and there are some pictures here dating back to the late 1960's, easily spotted since they are black and white. I also visited the museum in the late 1990's and thus was born a unique opportunity to show "then and now" pictures of a few subjects.

All pictures were taken by myself and are shown on this page with the permission of the Tank Museum. Note that the musuem has an extensive collection of historic photographs that are available for purchase. The museum is set up as a registered charity organization, not a for-profit venture, and all proceeds go to the preservation of historic artifacts. Please visit their web site for more information.
The Tank Museum - Bovington

 

Crusader Crusader Mk III. The vehicle has been repainted in the typical British camouflage pattern used in North Africa. The Crusader was designed as a "cruiser" tank, and thus was fast and mobile. However, that meant it lacked armor and firepower. It also suffered from being rushed into service due to the desperate need for tanks at the time, and thus proved somewhat unreliable mechanically. This was a big handicap in the wide open desert.

Tiger II Tiger II - King, or Royal Tiger (Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B). In a defensive position the Tiger II dominated the battlefield with its powerful long-barreled 88mm. It was extremely heavy however, and could easily be left behind in fast moving mobile warfare - the blitzkrieg pioneered by the Germans early in WWII.

Chieftains Chieftains. Actually in this case I think the vehicles are not the same, the "old" one being a Chieftain prototype, whilst the "new" one is a production model.

 

Panzer 2 Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf G. The Ausf G model of the panzer 2 introduced larger interlapping readwheels and torsion bar suspension. Later models retained the suspension but had a larger hull that extended over the tracks to accomodate a larger turret.

 

SU-76 Soviet SU-76, late model. A self-propelled 76.2mm gun mounted on an extended T-70 light tank chassis, the SU-76 was really a stop-gap. Nevertheless, it was produced in large numbers out of desperate need and even served post-war for a number of years.

 

Chieftain M109 Action at Gallows Hill! Chieftain and M109 show their paces. I remember the noise being deafening. I also remember asking a Chieftain crew member how they were doing with the laser rangefinder. When the Chieftain was introduced, it used a machine gun to get accurate range-to-target information. The laser promised to be quicker, more accurate, and quieter. I remember the crew member saying, yeah, we're using it but we're not supposed to talk about it! Interesting!

AMX-13 AMX-13 post war French light tanks first developed in 1946. This example looks to be a 105mm armed version.

 

EBR This is a post war French armored car mounting the same turret as the AMX-13. This is EBR-something - I've not yet identified the exact model.

 

Churchills Here we have a Churchill Mk VII and a Churchill bridgelayer. The bridgelayer was a turretless Churchill II or IV fitted with hydraulic equipment that could lift and deploy the bridge.

 

Churchill in primer Now here's something you don't see everyday - a pink Churchill tank! An important part of the Tank Museum's work is the preservation of historic vehicles. Here a Churchill VII sits in glorious primer, awaiting its more conventional top coat of paint. With its track guards removed this looks like an earlier Churchill, but note the round escape hatch in the sponson side.

Comet Comet. Armed with a redesigned 17pdr gun, the Comet was issued to the 11th Armoured Division late in the war in March 1945. Though fast and reliable it was issued too late to play a prominent part in WWII.

 

ME A picture from the 70's. Yikes! That's me in front of the Soviet T55.

 

Mk 8 Mark IX supply tank sits outside the Tank Museum in the late 1960's.

 

Side 1 Side 2 A blast from the past. The Tank Museum Guide from around 1970, or even earlier. You will see various vehicles have been marked for special attention.



Bovington Outside 2006

Challenger prototype Challenger prototype Challenger prototype Challenger prototype parked outside the Tank Museum entrance. The last picture shows the same tank but dates from 1998 and includes the family!



Challenger I Challenger I Challenger I Challenger I Here is a Challenger I tank situated outside at Bovington Camp.



Chieftain Mk11 with Stillbrew Uparmoured Chieftain Chieftain Mk11 with Stillbrew armour on the turret, parked right outside the entrance to the Tank Museum.



Churchill Mk I Churchill Mk I Churchill Mk I. Check it out. Now THAT'S a tank, baby!



Conqueror OP Conqueror tank at Bovington Conqueror tank outside at Bovington - the first coverted to a command vehicle for the live vehicle shows, and the second parked outside the barracks.



Bovington Boneyard

Here's a segment I call the Bovington Boneyard! All these photos were taken in 2006.

Centurion AVRE Centurion recovery vehicle First pic is a Centurion AVRE under wraps (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers). 2nd shows the rear of another vehicle with spade and rubber pads fitted to tracks.



Chieftain Chieftain Chieftain Chieftain tank parked outside at Bovington- first 2 in desert sand finish and then in a European paint scheme!



Chieftain with Challenger turret Chieftain with fascine Green Chieftain with tan turret! At least, that is how it appears to me! I assume this was some kind of test vehicle. Also a Chieftain with fascine.



Churchill turret Churchill turret quietly rusting away



Cromwell rusting Cromwell hulk Rusting Cromwell hulk. Notice the double-walled hull which housed the springs for the Christy suspension. This effective narrowing of the hull using this type of suspension prevented the fitting of a large turret ring.



Crusader turret Rusting Crusader turret A very beat-up looking Crusader turret.



Centurion AVRE I'm guessing that this was something dragged home from Iraq, assuming that this was an ex-Soviet personnel carrier. However, I have not been able to confirm this. I see a lot of wheeled APCs but haven't yet seen one with the distinctive blunt nose seen here.

 

Centurion AVRE FV434 REME Fitters Vehicle/ Maintenance Carrier. Although the lower half of the FV434 looks the same as the FV432 the suspension is hydraulic. This allows the operator to lock the suspension when lifting heavy loads.



Do not know Unknown Not sure what this is! It looks like a T72 turret under ERA armour, and the front kinda look like a T72 too. But this has 7 road wheels - could it be a T80 chassis? But the wheels don't look right! More clues can be found here: Preserved Tanks - Bovington

 

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