Visit to Bovington Tank Museum 2020

Hello There! I have been busy again with work. The lock down did not keep me in as I work in the NHS but during my annual leave I visited the Bovington Tank museum. Here are a number of photos of many of the exhibits there.

One of the problems of using a blog provider is that they have a habit of changing their program o their system is revised and you are left having to learn their system all over again. This revision is usually uncontrollable, (as the provider does what they want), and the user is left with the consequences. The user is left to struggle with the consequences which slows the use of their blog. So here goes, here is my first blog post with this new system which I am told is for my 'benefit'!

I shall include the exhibit description at the start of each group of photos

I find it incredible that the designer of this tank thought it was a good idea to totally expose the tracks of this vehicle and can only put it down to the lack of money for design and construction which was prevalent during this period.

I took this picture to highlight the white recognition squares. Something I see illustrated in my copy of 'Armor, Camouflage a& Markings of the British Expeditionary Force France 1939-940 Part 1 1st Army Tank Brigade by Robert Gregory and published by Model Centrum Progres.  

Next a lovely example of tank crew uniforms. I have not seen these exhibits before and they were very nice to see.

Here another Matilda I with a different camouflage.

 

I am sure clicking on these photos will make the captions clearer. I have no idea how these items have been stored and how this has affected the colours of them but on close inspection of the display cabinet contents I could not see any evidence of fading.

While not really interested in the time right after the evacuation from Dunkirk I did like this 'Heath Robinson contraption which was something new for me to see.

Made out of concrete this lorry transportable bunker reflects the desperate times at this period in our history.

I remember this recollection of Peter Vaux being on a television documentary about ten years ago. It was very touching and included Corporal Burroughs being unable to get across the river and Vaux blaming himself for not being able to hold on to the corporal.

His story included being in a GERMAN convoy at night but he believed that the similarity of the British tank beret to the German one, in the dark, meant they were not recognised as the enemy. Due to fatigue their tank went up the back of a German car and after a lot of swearing in German Vaux instructed his tank off the road and out of the convoy so they could find somewhere safer to lay up for the night.

It was touching to be reminded of this programme while walking around the museum.

Next the start of the German vehicles. I have recently completed one of these for the desert and I believe I have one for the early was as well. It is incredibly small and would not fit anyone above five foot six inches tall!

I notice that they painted it in the two colour grey and brown camouflage pattern. Something I neglected to do for my early war Germans. I have seen that the black and white photographs do not show this change in colour up as these two colours are a very similar tone so is not easy to see.

If you can read the caption board for this vehicle you will read that the tank here was captured by the Germans and used by them. This is why there is a German cupola on this item.

Next up a Guy armoured car. This item was one of the first to be made.

Something I always like to see is some Italian examples and here is an M14/41 which according to the board above did not see any action being abandoned before it saw the front.

I have no idea if the paint on this vehicle is original but it is a very worn dark shade. The turret looks like it was painted more recently with its markings.

Here I do not appear to have taken a photo of the description board of the Matilda II. Please do not take the rendition of the Caunter camouflage as gospel here because many people at Bovington say they are not to be taken as references.

In comparison to the Italian 14/41 it is a lot larger and certainly more formidable!

I have been reading about the early British tanks and it was nice to get a close look at this vehicle. 

Around the museum there are a number of boards that introduce you to a number of characters who were in the tanks I was hoping that these would lead to some biographies in the gift shop at the end but I was disappointed. I am sure that these would be available for purchase online. Seems like the museum missed out there!

Due to the coronavirus the medal trays were off limits to the public but some of the display cabinets held things like this.....

This close support version of the A 10 spent its was at the School of Tank Technology before going to the tank museum.

I am slowly plodding through some Valentines. I have six done for the desert so far, in 20mm, and have three more on the go. Two of them are from a sale of a wargamers collection many decades ago and I have only 'just' got around to doing them. They were already built so just have to be tidied up. There is a lot of extra glue and cracks to fill in.

There is another Valentine at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and the comparison in size to the German vehicles nearby in the museum really brings it home to you what our soldiers were up against in the desert.

Staying in the desert this Union flag flew over Torbruk during the siege. A real piece of history right there!

I must admit I did not get the origins of this swastika but it did have the names of a number of  men of the Royal Tank Regiment.

Two items which were very interesting. First a British mine detector which made me reminisce about the old Airfix 1/72nd Eighth Army figures which had the mine detector men in them.

Then some German mines. The tellermine has seen better days but the glass mine was new to me and very interesting.

Now a vehicle that even a child would have a problem fitting into! Amazing that men were expected to fight in this! This must be a rare thing as well?

Here a trackless and cut away Pz III N shows you how the vehicle worked and the space it provided.

This appears much more grey than it is in real life.

This 6 pdr armed Crusader is towing an extra fuel trailer which I do not recall ever seeing in 20mm.

I made a point of photographing this Tetrach Tank as a wargaming friend of mine is currently working on some British Paras.

The museum has the history of the tank in chronological order so the larger tanks do not come until later. There is a pathway through the museum but the front and back of this vehicle are in different parts of this pathway.

This is not as clean' a vehicle as the one at Duxford. As the war went on these vehicles were upgraded and here it still has the attachments and clips over the turret and chassis.

The Universal Carrier is a particular favourite of mine as you have the opportunity to make them look lived in and do some basic conversion work on them too. Although a bit fiddly it is worth the work and many figure suppliers offer a supply of stowage. I use a stock of Skytrex, left over from a large purchase from the and Sgts Mess as well.

I was surprised to see any Japanese items on show, thinking they are so rare. The rear shot of this vehicle was difficult as there was very little lighting in this area.

We have now gone to the next hall which houses some of the more popular and bigger tanks. This Lynx has had some heavy conversion to fulfil the reconnaissance roll.

Now for the start of the 'big boys'! This Tiger IIB really is massive and has to be seen to be believed! The gun is so large. I am surprised there were any bridges able to take the weight!

Again the lighting was poor in some of the hall.

The only 8 rad I saw on the day. I tried to get a photo of the interior with mixed success.

To yet more shame I have a few of these waiting to be made in my metal mountain.

I got a 1/76thth model of this from the now long defunct C A Atkins models who supplied a range of armoured cars from a number of countries. that seems a long time ago now as it is now available from a number of sources,

This has recently been repainted, (although admittedly not very accurately). Again another very large tank and very intimidating.

Although I have no description board for this T134/85, mainly because I have many pictures of the one at the Muckleburgh collection it is still an impressive size alongside its contemporaries.

Again with no close up of the description board buy I managed to get some close up shots of this lovely Stug. The  zimmeritt is purported to be original.

I have only ever seen the 'Cromwell' ? dozer for sale in 20mm from the now finished MMS range. A loss to the wargaming world as is the passing of Barry Warby, its owner.

An Archer! or a back to front Valentine. What a treat to see this up close!

If I remember rightly there is a hetzer also in the IWN Duxford.

Another big beast here, again with original Zimeritt. Although missing a road wheel it still looks massive. Also it is complete with brackets along both its sides.

Here is a mortar which would have been housed in a sturmtiger.

Hard to image a shell big enough to fit in there!

Here we are entering the start of the tank hall which opens out into a much larger space.

The S-tank is one of the few modern tanks I am aware of  due to its 'quirkyness' than anything else.

Probably someone fired this gun with their finger blocking the end of the barrel!

An example of where cutting corners and meeting an inadequate design brief gets you. I have seen a picture of a desert workshop which shows a covenanter in it so at least one was used over seas although it may have just been used for training.

I told my daughter that this 'cutaway' was made by someone in the army being punished by being given the job f cutting a tank in half using a junior hacksaw. It took him years!

Here are a few views of their panther. The camouflage pattern is very circumspect!

This example of a panzerwaffe jacket appears original but appears remarkably unfaded and detailed.

I do not recall seeing this at Bovington before  but goes well with the examples I have seen at Samur.

Here is the start of the blitzkrieg display, along with the Char B above, first time I have seen the two colour camouflage shown rather than the plain grey.

Here an A13,one of the vey similar early war British tanks I am always mixing up!

Here a vickers light tank. Something that appears so small only midgets or children could crew it!

The DAK display had many items of interest and I photographed these  two items. Faded and worn but still a good representation of the colours I feel.

Here is something that needs no introduction! I would love to see this running on a 'Tiger Day'! 

A kettenkrad with the markings of the German Ramke parachute Division. 

The Panzer III looked a nice example showed what colour the rubber rims on the wheels was and provided some good views of the engine deck.

This Marmon Herrington was also a nice surprise and went well with the example at Samur.

Here is their 'Montgomery' display which included his jumper and a few items of personal memorabilia.

A Cromwell, of which I have a number of in my plastic mountain of shame!

A Guards Armoured Division Firefly which I found described here

A 17pdr shell, something else I have not seen before. Looked BIG!"

The museums Sherman DD tank.

A Churchill Crocodile with trailer. There is also one of these at the Muckleburgh Collection in North Norfolk.

I photographed this Sherman to get a better idea of what the large tank numbers looked like on the turret. I have some transfers from Dan Taylors modelworks with some of these large turret numbers on which one day may get used! 

Well I hope you like this long, and incomplete tour of the Bovington Tank Museum. I have missed out a lot and there are many details I just did not have the time to photograph. To view everything properly you need a good day and that is not on a special day as during a 'Tiger Day' you will be viewing that as well.