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Bovington Tank Museum Visit 2020

Discussion in 'Armor and Armored Fighting Vehicles' started by von Poop, Sep 22, 2020.

  1. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Doubling up pics a bit from 2T.
    I went to Bovington for the first time in a while.
    Some pics etc. Some ramblings probably repeated elsewhere.

    Don't stray from the path!
    (No, really... just don't.)
    IMG_20200816_112637552.jpg


    They've tarted up the outdoor bits & pieces somewhat.
    Labelled & be-gravelled. IMG_20200816_113153333_HDR.jpg

    IMG_20200816_113217481_HDR.jpg

    Mmmmm. Bison.
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    IMG_20200816_160605000_HDR.jpg
     
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  2. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Even the fenced off hulks now labelled.

    A beast so magnificent it must be kept caged.

    IMG_20200816_113548537_HDR.jpg
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    Though when you potter around the back you quickly see why it's not exactly a straightforward restoration...
    IMG_20200816_113613673_HDR.jpg


    Everybody loves BARVs, right? IMG_20200816_113742041_HDR.jpg IMG_20200816_113753050_HDR.jpg

    Look carefully, they've even got a ladder inside.
    IMG_20200816_113804078_HDR.jpg
     
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  3. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Into the museum itself.
    Pointless face nappy on & faintly disappointed the Vehicle Preservation Centre is currently closed.

    Little Willie! The original & best.
    Any other museum got one of those? No, of course they haven't.
    The Proto-tank. It makes me feel funny inside, despite being less accesibly displayed than it used to be.
    IMG_20200816_115208764.jpg
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    Lots of tidying of machines seems to have gone on.
    No idea if their delightful FT prototype looks so good because of Weald Foundation contributions during their dual restoration projects, but it's a theory - now nicely finished in a most fetching Dark grey.
    IMG_20200816_115253939.jpg
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    Pleasing plaque on a Whippet.
    Very much of it's time in style terms. IMG_20200816_115806846.jpg

    Ah, Lanchesters!
    Always surprised by the size of them. You tend to associate them with RR ACs, but really a different beast altogether. More than adequate for suppressing a 1930s Middle-Eastern marketplace that's kicking off.
    IMG_20200816_120043180.jpg

    The oldest tank with a fighting history in the world.
    Mk.II Female 'The Flying Scotsman'. Always wonder if that front damage was done by the same hawser that bent Little Willie's frontage.
    IMG_20200816_120446998.jpg

    Another favourite.
    The up-and-coming 30s dictator was barely playing the game if he didn't have at least a passing interest in Vickers Export models.
    IMG_20200816_121005110.jpg
     
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  4. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Another of the museum's finest.
    Unrestored, nor should it be, as it bears the original plumage of the only German Panzer Division not to have fired an angry shot.

    Dunno what this crap is. Maybe some half-arsed Zimmerit.
    IMG_20200816_121813204.jpg
    IMG_20200816_121826134.jpg

    Preservation over restoration... It has a place.
    IMG_20200816_121837108.jpg

    Gentleman's racing Panzer.
    What Blitzkrieg really rested upon.
    IMG_20200816_121845336.jpg

    Say what you like, but Mk.VIs were beautifully made.
    IMG_20200816_121941418.jpg IMG_20200816_121949618.jpg

    'What the bloody hell is that?!' said Mrs Poop as we rounded the corner to 131.
    Not much more to say, it being so well-covered, but that reaction from a knowlesswoman alone perhaps says more about the obsession with bleedin' tigers than pages of discussion.
    IMG_20200816_123101598.jpg

    BFG that stood outside Shrivenham for a long while.
    When you picture just how hard it must have been to manoeuvre, cruciform platforms start looking a lot less over-engineered,
    IMG_20200816_123338728.jpg
    Note Mrs Poop/The Fishwife, doing very well at feigning more of an interest than I'm sure she felt.

    76. We need more 76s. Too many 85s out there.
    Bloke on FB trying to get one rolling: T-34/76 Tank Restoration
    IMG_20200816_123740494.jpg
     
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  5. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    British Panther.
    Captain Hadlow's work. Well, Captain Hadlow's men's work.

    IMG_20200816_123944456.jpg

    Arty wank... For reasons.
    IMG_20200816_124029946.jpg

    How to do a plaque properly. IMG_20200816_124435571.jpg

    Strange shot, but wanted a view of that incredibly thick front plate.
    IMG_20200816_124513417.jpg

    More arty wank.
    IMG_20200816_124835399.jpg
     
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  6. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Their WW1 hall remains one of their finest things.
    Unchanged for a long time, but nowhere else has quite the same collection of c.100 year old tanks.

    Became fascinated by wheel steering gear again,
    IMG_20200816_134717107.jpg

    More splendid plaque.
    IMG_20200816_134910286.jpg

    Things I would very much like to steal...
    IMG_20200816_135217930.jpg IMG_20200816_135233356.jpg

    Hands across the ocean.
    IMG_20200816_140146286.jpg


    IMG_20200816_140317922.jpg

    More things I would very much like to steal.
    IMG_20200816_140357705.jpg IMG_20200816_140403489.jpg IMG_20200816_140417432.jpg

    Tried to understand its controls.
    Couldn't.
    IMG_20200816_141159047.jpg
     
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  7. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Poor old Independent still sits in stygian gloom, hence potato quality picture.
    Told it's complete, and thus a potential restoration candidate.
    We can but hope.

    IMG_20200816_141633673.jpg

    IMG_20200816_141751687.jpg

    I know, history etc., but how much is it bloody worth?
    IMG_20200816_142430849.jpg


    Tell me again, oh Internet tank fiend, how the UK failed utterly at tank design. No, really, it's fascinating. No progress at all in six years from a standing start against opposition that have been actively preparing for war...
    Glad they did this. Used to marvel at the panzer lineup from I-VIb and how it showed the progress. It wasn't just the Germans taking things bleedin' seriously. IMG_20200816_142602080.jpg

    Her Majesty's armoured car.
    IMG_20200816_142811127.jpg

    Arty Rolls Royce wank.
    IMG_20200816_142823028.jpg

    Yay! Bison.
    Clambered about underneath looking for the hatch, but fear they may have ommitted it in this recreation.
    IMG_20200816_143016323.jpg IMG_20200816_143028020.jpg IMG_20200816_143042437.jpg

    RR rear.
    IMG_20200816_143225595.jpg
     
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  8. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Nice Eyetie thing.
    IMG_20200816_143452545.jpg

    The controversial Jagdpanther paint. Painting the Jagpanther - The Tank Museum
    I liked it, and don't care.
    (Another postwar REME-built machine.)


    IMG_20200816_143717867.jpg

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    Stug. Isolated.
    IMG_20200816_144313754.jpg

    Poor old TOG Covided behind a pile of stuff & hard to get to.
    Restore it, I say, by way of apology.
    IMG_20200816_145044023.jpg

    DSC06570.jpg

    Mrs Poop thinks Tortoise is silly.
    I think she's silly.
    IMG_20200816_145346323.jpg
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    Some big German lump...
    (All the Tigger stuff has benefited from the recent exhibition. Tidied & tarted up.)
    IMG_20200816_150938748.jpg
     
  9. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Classic:
    IMG_20200816_151056996.jpg

    rare shot of an M22 not upside down. IMG_20200816_151100232.jpg

    Blah-di-blah German thing.
    IMG_20200816_151440563.jpg IMG_20200816_151457094.jpg


    IMG_20200816_151857198.jpg

    The World needs more flamethrowers.
    Whether you'd fully trust one with Italian electrics... your call.
    IMG_20200816_151934640.jpg

    The II that stood outside for a long while.
    IMG_20200816_152025459.jpg

    Bov's only Japanese tank.
    Playing hunt the doorbell disguised as a rivet was fun. Again.
    IMG_20200816_152201617.jpg

    Think this only ever served in a training establishment, and no I don't know why I only took a pic of its arse.
    Very neat & tidy, though.
    IMG_20200816_152443542.jpg

    Things the Germans got right.
    Can somebody please organise an 8-Radfest, please. Thanks.
    IMG_20200816_152729911.jpg
     
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  10. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Modern stuff's big.
    Really big.
    Heavy has been redefined really. DSC06561.jpg

    Watch yourself in high winds.
    DSC06566.jpg

    T55 training machine.
    Actually left the depot already cut away for instruction.
    Seems to be a runner.
    Cramped!
    IMG_20200816_152922756.jpg IMG_20200816_152929906.jpg

    IMG_20200816_153212577.jpg

    An exhibit that crops up a lot, so tried to get some crisp pics.
    17pdr into test plate.
    IMG_20200816_153045144.jpg IMG_20200816_153055177.jpg IMG_20200816_153057484.jpg
    And rounding off with the old cutaway Cent.
    Something that's entertained me since childhood.
    IMG_20200816_153505495.jpg IMG_20200816_153512523.jpg
     
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  11. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Vids.
    Potato quality... Really don't use my phone video camera much.









     
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  12. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    Superb stuff. Don't remember the turrets outside, but last visit was 2016 I think. Can see quite a few changes.
     
  13. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    Tanks for that..very nice.

    Does the museum have:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Apparently only one in existance...so probably not. This one at the AWM.
     
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  14. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    They have a replica, I believe. It occasionally features in outdoor battles with a replica MkIV Male.
     
  15. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Mephisto's a lovely thing. We did have one in the UK, but scrapped it in the 20s. (Aside from The A7V, Oz's Armour collection growing strongly under the Cairns seafood magnate. Impressively manic collecting going on there.)
    One of the German Museum's (Munster?) built a replica using many of the original firms to make parts. Solid article on it in Wheels & Tracks.
     
  16. George Patton

    George Patton Canadian Refugee

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    Great pictures but one problem: not enough Shermans!

    (I may be a bit biased...... I like Shermans....... )
     
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  17. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    Mephisto was captured by the Australians and promptly sent back to Australia from memory...War booty!
     
  18. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Braggart

    BTW, this was pointed at VP.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2020
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  19. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    To an extent, as I genuinely believe Bov may be the world's best armour collection (largely due to that WW1 aspect, and little Willie).
    Though some remarkable things going on in the US lately. Armor & Cav collection moving some of the old Aberdeen stuff under cover. Their Twatter good for updates:
    https://twitter.com/ArmorCollection?s=20
     
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  20. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I will have to plan another jaunt over to Fort Benning and see that. Looks like much has been changed since I was there 4 years ago.

    @A-58 Bobby, whutcha think?
     

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