The Tank Museum

The Tank Museum The official page of The Tank Museum, Bovington (UK). Home of the tank. Unrivalled in scope and depth, we care for 300 vehicles from 26 nations.

Disclaimer: In reflection of our charitable objectives, our content may show weapons of war and/or historical imagery for educational purposes. The Tank Museum holds the finest and most historically significant collection of fighting armour in the world. These range from `Little Willie`, the world’s first tank, through to the British Army’s current Main Battle Tank, Challenger 2. Support The Tank Museum on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum

05/09/2026

Rare film of the Panzerkampfwagen E-100 super heavy prototype. E-100 was designed as a parallel development to the Porsche 205 Maus, being built by Adlerwerke of Frankfurt.

The incomplete and turretless hull was discovered at Henschel’s Haustenbeck testing facility when it was overrun by US troops in April 1945. When Haustenbeck was handed over to the British Army shortly afterwards, the hull was brought back to the UK for evaluation.

Weighing 140 tons, the E-100 was intended to mount the 15cm KwK44 L38 gun with a coaxially mounted 7.7cm KwK 44 as secondary armament in a turret similar to that of the Maus.

The eventual fate of the E-100 is the subject of speculation, the hull either being scrapped, used as a range target or possibly even buried at the Tipner scrapyard, Portsmouth, when the post-war drop in the price of steel made scrapping uneconomical.

A discovery for the future?

When British Cavalry Regiments began mechanizing in 1928, this Lanchester Armoured Car was one of the first vehicles the...
05/09/2026

When British Cavalry Regiments began mechanizing in 1928, this Lanchester Armoured Car was one of the first vehicles they operated.

The first regiments to mechanise were the 11th Hussars and 12th Lancers. Veterans remembered that although cavalrymen may not have welcomed mechanisation, ‘they did it and got used to it.’ It was clear that the entire cavalry would be mechanised sooner or later, and there were advantages to ‘getting in on the ground floor.’
There was however one aspect of mechanisation that was very welcome - armoured cars don’t need mucking out!

Our example is the only remaining example of its kind.

Throughout the Second World War, the Allies (and British in particular,) were looking at innovative mine-clearance metho...
05/09/2026

Throughout the Second World War, the Allies (and British in particular,) were looking at innovative mine-clearance methods for their vehicles.

This one (mounted on a Valentine hull,) might have been a little too innovative.

The board reads: ‘JET MINE CLEARING METHODS. GAS TURBINE (2000lb THRUST)… JET PIPE’.

04/09/2026

The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle - it may be small in stature, but it has a sting in its tail!

It was a three-man light tank built of welded aluminium and powered by a 4.2 litre Jaguar XK series engine. It entered production in 1972 and was an immediate success.

Light weight resulted in a very low ground pressure (less than that exerted by a human foot) and the powerful engine, linked to a seven-speed transmission, made it highly manoeuvrable. Armed with a 76mm gun it was capable of firing a variety of am******on with considerable effect.

What’s your favourite Cold War tank?
04/09/2026

What’s your favourite Cold War tank?

September 1967, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA. These two tanks are at the cutting edge of armoured warfare, but...
04/09/2026

September 1967, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA.

These two tanks are at the cutting edge of armoured warfare, but as later service would reveal, each had a significant shortcoming.

On the left is the American M60A1E1, an experimental vehicle developed into the M60A2 production model. Its XM81 152mm combined gun and missile launcher was troublesome in service, as the missile was unreliable and the gun am******on proved volatile when exposed to high heat.

On the right is a British Chieftain Mark 2. Chieftain’s shortcoming was the L60 engine, which would prove to be chronically unreliable.

In the North African desert during the Second World War, the British used these ‘sunshields’ to disguise tanks as trucks...
03/09/2026

In the North African desert during the Second World War, the British used these ‘sunshields’ to disguise tanks as trucks.

The most widespread use of this and other deception techniques was Operation Bertram in September 1942. The aim was to convince the Germans that the British attack, to be launched at El Alamein on 23 October, would in fact be launched further south and at a later date. The deception was successful.

A huge shout out to all of our hard working workshop team, and all of the volunteers who help us to bring shows such as ...
03/09/2026

A huge shout out to all of our hard working workshop team, and all of the volunteers who help us to bring shows such as Tiger Day and TANKFEST to life.

We couldn't do it without you!

Arriving in France in late September 1944, the first M4A3E2s were delivered to US armoured units in North-West Europe by...
02/09/2026

Arriving in France in late September 1944, the first M4A3E2s were delivered to US armoured units in North-West Europe by mid-October.

The M4A3E2, or ‘Jumbo’, was an up armoured assault variant of the base Sherman tank, with up to 177mm of frontal protection at its thickest point.

This made it far more sturdy than regular M4s, fitting for its intended role to assault the Siegfried Line. The weight of the vehicle caused a host of mechanical issues, but by 1944 the standard Shermans were beginning to show their age, and a Jumbo’s additional protection was welcomed by their crews.

Read more about the M4A3E2 in our latest edition of Tracklink - the official magazine published by The Tank Museum.
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Wareham
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