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

01/06/2026

Rolling into June in style! 😎

Who else is counting down the days until TANKFEST 2026?!

01/06/2026

Designed by Colonel Stewart Blacker, the spigot-mortar was mounted on Churchill Mark III and Mk IV AVREs with the intention that it would be used to fire its powerful bomb, the 40lb `Flying Dustbin’, at fortified target such as pillboxes.

The `Flying Dustbin’ would be loaded into the spigot mortar by the co-driver through a hatch above his position. This operation usually occurred away from the enemy as the co-driver would be unprotected and exposed to enemy fire.

When fired, the bomb would be projected towards the target along the spigot by the ignition of the propellant charge which would also have enough energy to force the recoiling spigot to re-cock the firing gear to allow another round to be loaded.

In action, the M46 was an improvement on its predecessor and - apart from its gun - a good match for the British Centuri...
31/05/2026

In action, the M46 was an improvement on its predecessor and - apart from its gun - a good match for the British Centurion.

American crews found the tank easy to handle in mountainous terrain and many of them painted fearsome Tiger faces on their tanks in the belief that it would frighten the enemy.

31/05/2026

It's like breakdown cover, FOR TANKS! 🔧

The Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle – or ‘BARV’ came into being in 1943 - intended to help amid plans for Operat...
31/05/2026

The Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle – or ‘BARV’ came into being in 1943 - intended to help amid plans for Operation Neptune – the amphibious landings on the Normandy beaches.

Intended to recover vehicles stuck on the beach and in the waters off-shore, they were modified for towing – though winches were omitted in order to simplify conversion and production time.

Built by REME technicians on M4A2 hulls, BARVS were capable of wading through water up to 9ft deep. 52 were delivered by D-Day, where they proved highly successful.

30/05/2026

The Churchill AVRE was able to carry and deploy a range of specialist pieces of equipment to help overcome obstacles – one of the first of which to be invented was the Bobbin - a 3m wide reel of canvas, which could be laid as a trackway across soft mud or sand, and/or to overcome barbed wire obstacles.

The fabric trackway was reinforced with scaffolding poles running through it. The Bobbin would be unwound as the tank drove forward – the roadway stretching out behind the tank, and as soon as the last bit had fallen from the bobbin, the crew members inside could detonate exploding bolts, which would detach the frame from the tank – and the tank then went about its business.

The Bobbin’s Hessian Roadway was a temporary measure - as the tide came in, water would wash it away, and screw it up. It was a temporary solution, put down quickly to deal (predominantly) with the soft blue clay beneath the Normandy beaches. Later, sappers would come along and lay a metal roadway so that tanks and lorries could pass.

30/05/2026

Our Rolls‑Royce Armoured Car returns to The Tank Museum following a fantastic recent outing to the centenary Bicester Scramble.

At over 100 years old, the Rolls-Royce is the oldest member of our running fleet — a remarkable piece of living history.

King Tiger V2 Restoration Project – What colour will we paint the vehicle once restored?In 1944, when the Tiger II was b...
30/05/2026

King Tiger V2 Restoration Project – What colour will we paint the vehicle once restored?

In 1944, when the Tiger II was built, German tanks were painted in RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) at the factory - and frontline units were issued with tins of RAL 6003 (Olive Green) and RAL 8017 (Red Brown) paint in the form of concentrated paste. Crews would then paint over the Dunkelgelb themselves, creating a three colour camouflage pattern. This meant that while the colours on German armoured vehicles were standardized, the camouflage pattern was not.

As King Tiger V2 spent the war with trials units at the Sennelager Training Area, and was never used by a frontline unit, its Dunkelgelb was never painted over.

Over the decades, the vehicle has been repainted several times – it was green at one stage as part of an early display here at The Tank Museum.

For many years, it was painted in a slightly inauthentic camouflage scheme, and bore the spurious number “300” on the turret – as seen in these photographs.

The current Dunkelgelb finish was applied to the vehicle back in 2017 for our ‘Tiger Experience’ exhibition – this scheme may seem less interesting, but it reflects the true colour of the vehicle at the time of its capture.

As part of the restoration project, we’ll perform further paint analysis – with the aim of repainting it as accurately as possible to reflect its appearance when found at Haustenbeck.

🚨STOP SCROLLING🚨This is your sign to pause and take a second to yourself.You made it through another week.You should be ...
29/05/2026

🚨STOP SCROLLING🚨

This is your sign to pause and take a second to yourself.

You made it through another week.
You should be so proud of yourself.
You're doing a really good job.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Address

Bovington
Wareham
BH206JG

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+441929405096

Website

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