Sometimes the best trips
begin with nothing more then just an idea.
And this is what happened
on Friday (13th March).
I was talking with Homer_5
about a possible visit, during the week end, to the Kirkcudbright
Training Area, a local army training area filled with old tanks
used for target practice.
The area is accessible by
people, when no army training is planned, and is possible to see
wrecks of many tanks like Churchills, M4, Comet, Centurion, Cromwell
and also one of the 5 Tortoises ever built.
Is sounded an easy plan
and not too far as we both live in two towns close to Glasgow.
But then Homer said joking
“What about Bovington?”.
The joke had short life as
at first I had a laugh saying “I wish!” but very quickly the
feasibility of the plan started to materialize in front of ourselves
and in no time we were looking for a B&B close to the museum in
the south of England.
We quickly realized we had
no plans for the week end, weather was going to be acceptable, 7
hours driving was not an impossible thing to do and 20 minutes later
we found a B&B: the Sydney
Arms in Dorchester.
It was almost unbelievable
but the change from idea to actual plan was so fast that I was
impressed by both of us, but really please.
I cannot deny a certain
excitement at the idea of paying a visit back to the museum I once
visited when I was 18 and I looked forward to Saturday morning to
start our trip.
Friday night passed quite
quickly and the next morning, at about 8 am I was at Homer place.
We put our bags in the
car, got some petrol and we set off.
I think the excitement for
the trip ahead and the chance to have a talk face to face we did not
have in a long time, both made the journey time pass faster.
We were both quite
surprised when we arrived to Dorchester much more relaxed we though
we would have been.
We dropped everything in
the room and went straight for the town centre for a meal and a
“couple of pints”.
Dorchester turned out to
be a very good choice for the location.
The distance from the
museum is about 10 miles and the town itself is nice.
Morning came knocking on
the windows and after our full breakfast we set off to the Museum.
We were both looking
forward and when we finally got to the entrance there were a couple
of Tanks welcoming you on both sides of the one way road.
I think one was a
Chieftain and the other a T-55 but we did not go back to check.
Once we parked we took a
walk around the north part of the parking place (overflow parking) as
I thought of spotting something very nice and very interesting we we
drove past it.
Apart from the Churchill
tank exposed there and a series of turrets (some heavily damaged), on
the right side of this parking place, behind fences are rusty tanks
awaiting a restoration or to be used as spares.
What I noticed was an
unmissable shape of a Churchill with a massive metal box on it and
when I approached my initial idea was confirmed. We were looking as a
Churchill Gun Carrier.
The semi destroyed vehicle
was next to other chassis.
On his right a Sherman and
a RAM chassis.
On the left some destroyed
Comets...sooo nice... I hated the tank so much in the game I could
not feel happier seeing it rotting away!
It was time to leave the
car park and finally make our move towards the entrance where,
awaiting for us, was the massive Challenger II.
We took a picture to
commemorate our visit and went in to get our tickets.
The cost of a ticket valid
for a year is 13 Pounds.
We headed right away for
the main area and the first thing that welcomes you is the prototype
of a tank made by Leonardo Da Vinci.
The wooden conical shaped
wheel based design is considered the father to all modern tanks.
Moving on you find
yourself in a hall from which you can access all the exhibitions.
At the time of our visit
there were 5 different ones:
- The Tanks Story
- The Trench Experience
- Warhorse to Horsepower
- Second World War and Discovery Centre
- Battlegroup Afghanistan
We headed right away for
the Tank Story which
is the most logical choice.
Here you can see the
evolution of tank construction and notice how much the design changed
according to the needs of the battle.
As you enter this area it's impossible, for people passionate about tanks, not to stop and start
looking around from the height of the ramp you find yourself on.
Right in front of you,
just below, is a Centurion with the 20 pounder and all around you
start to notice familiar shapes everywhere.
When you get at the bottom
of the ramp you find yourself close to the the very first tanks of
WWI.
There is the Little
Willie, the very first British prototype which will later on become
the base for the Mark I Tank.
Next to it you can see a
Mark II with the side cut-out for you to have a peek inside.
There are many holes
in the tanks and, according to what we found out, this is the Female
version.
Basically Male Mark tanks
have guns (6 Pounder) while Female Mark tanks only have machine guns.
Opposite to the Mark II
there is the Renault FT-17.
This tanks is one of the
most famous and was the base on which future tank will be built with
driver in the front, rotating turret in the centre and engine at the
back.
Behind the Renault is the
Mark A Wippet tank telling the tale of Cecil Sewell and how he was
award the Victoria Cross while commanding this tank.
Next to this area you have
an area with few armoured cars and a few more early tanks.
Out of these the one a
mention is worth for the Medium II, the first tanks for the British
line in World of Tanks.
Next to it there is the
VAE, the Vickers tank you can find in the Chinese Tech Tree.
Also the Universal Carrier
on with the 2 pounder is mounted to get the British TD.
Moving on you enter in a
section where you can see the following.
Panzer II , Char B1,
Cruiser II and the Light Vic with modified gun compared to the one in
the game.
Then finally you get to
the are dedicated to the War in North Africa.
I was looking forward to
this as my favourite tanks, the Matilda, was supposed to be here.
Unfortunately we found out
it was removed and transferred to maintenance to start preparing the
tanks that will be shown on TANKFEST.
In it's place there is the
Kettenkrad... one of the most hated vehicles if you ever played
Company of Heroes...
DELUSION!
Nevertheless, awaiting for
us, is also the mighty TIGER I!!!
It's really impressive to
see and touch one of the most famous and deadly tank of WW2.
Compare to the Panzer III
next to it, it's a totally different machine.
Also compared to the
British Grant and Valentine tank in the same section you can really
get the feeling why it was so feared when it reached the battlefield.
You can see from miles you
will not stand a chance against this behemoth of heavy machinery.
It's curious but you can
also still see the marks along the barrel and at the base of the
turret where the shot from the a British tank got wedged between
turret and chassis blocking the turret, reason for which the crew
abandoned the tank which was retrieved from the British and brought
back to the UK.
Next to the tank is on of
the shell used by the might 88 gun.
Again another level of gun
compared to the one of the same period.
The confirmation German
engineering was at it's peak at the time you can have a look at the
Panther which is parked right in front of the Tiger.
Design and engineering
were really paramount for Germany industry and this is even more
evident in the close by T34-85 which is a far more rough tanks
compared to the German counterpart of medium tanks.
This is no news as despite
the efficiency on the battlefield Germany relied a lot more in
quality over quantity as Russia did.
Leaving this part we move
to the modern tank area and welcoming us is a Leopard I and a
Chieftain.
At this point I must admit
I felt detached a little bit as I got so much knowledge about the
tanks I know and played in he game that I did not have the same
feeling about this modern section.
Still the evolution of the
machines is dramatic.
If the mighty Tiger looked
fearsome, this new breed of modern tank looked deadly with the
futuristic technology and armour sloping.
Also impressive is the
collection of barrels against the wall with the selection of ammo
they were usually issued with.
You don't rally appreciate
the length of a barrel until it's removed from the turret.
The thing that impressed
me the most is the huge BNC (Biological-Nuclear-Chemical) filter set
at the back of the Chieftain to allow warfare in contaminated
environment.
I tought i made a picture but I was wrong... :(
There were many vehicles
here apart from these.
A russian made Type 55
from the Iraqi Army captured during desert storm, an M48 Patton, a T72, a Challenger II.
Nice but I liked most the
area next to them we I spotted the Arromanches, a Centurion
Tank.
Having played with it
recently was quite nice to see a real one.
Behind it a Churchill
Crocodile with his trailer filled with propellent for the
flamethrower mounted in the front.
It really is a
Churchill VII.
Next to the Churchill a
Sherman which Homer_5 pointed out to me had the long 17 Pounder.
It's a Firefly!
Lovely tanks for those who
played Company of Heroes!
Next to the Firefly
another masterpiece: the Cromwell with his unmissable riveted turret!
No spoiler at the
back as Homer pointed out.
Finally for this area the
M4 Sherman dual drive.
An attempt (apparently
successful) to make the M4 amphibious by use of a canvass which can
be put in position to encircle the tank and give it buoyancy.
At the end of this section
we had to face the reality that the time we originally estimated we
would need to see the museum was largely underestimated and we went
to a drink and a bit of planning on what was next.
It's a very nice feeling
to touch with hand the real tanks on which the we spent a lot time
with the game but the reality of life in a tank that was soon to come
would really give us an insight on what it really meant.
Stay tuned for the next
episode of out visit to the Bovington Museum - Part 2!
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