The Tank Museum was established in 1947.
The Tank Museum has a very large and varied collection centred mainly on armoured fighting vehicles, but also including related artefacts, archives and supporting objects. Here are the main components of what it holds:
Main Collections
1. Tank / Armoured Fighting Vehicle Collection
- Almost 300 vehicles from over 26 countries.
- Vehicles span from the early prototypes of WWI (e.g. Little Willie) through to modern main battle tanks (e.g. Challenger 2).
- Highlights include:
• Tiger 131, the only operational Tiger I in the world.
• Rare WWI machines (Marks I, IV, V etc.).
• Cold War tanks (T-54, T-62, etc.) and vehicles from post-WWII conflicts and development.
2. Archive & Supporting Collection
- The museum maintains a research archive designated as a Place of Deposit for The National Archives.
- Formats include: documents, technical drawings, maps, photographs, moving images, books, journals, etc., largely centred on armoured warfare and the history of the Royal Armoured Corps / Royal Tank Regiment.
- The Supporting Collection (non-vehicle objects) includes uniforms, medals, flags, weapons and ammunition, models, art, radios, technical instruments etc.
3. Exhibition Halls / Themed Displays
- The Museum is organised into halls by era or theme: WWI Hall, Inter-War Hall (“War Horse to Horsepower”), WWII Hall, “The Tank Story Hall”, plus Cold War / modern era halls.
- There is also a Vehicle Conservation Centre where some of the collection (or parts of it) are displayed in states of restoration / maintenance, giving visitors insight into how conservation work is done.
4. Memorial & Commemorative Components
Country | Location | Museum | Rank | Voting | Website | Type | More | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | Bovington | The Tank Museum | 384. | 127 | Military | More | ||
USA | Bentonville (Arkansas) | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | 328. | 289 | American art | More | ||
USA | Boston | Museum of Fine Arts | 72. | 555 | Art | More | ||
USA | Boston | Museum of Science | 229. | 237 | Science and technology,... | More | ||