skimbo Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hi all Not really sure where to post this, seemed a good as place as any. Anyway all being well I will be visiting bovington tank museum tomorrow - it has (arguably) one of the best tank collections in the world. I will be armed with my iPhone so I can take snaps. Are there any tanks you guys would like some piccies of? An example of some of the goodies they have are a working tiger tank, 2 king tigers 1 of which has a prototype Porsche turret, hetzer, panther, jagdpanther, t34 85, kv1, Sherman the list goes on... Regards A very excited Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Statisoris Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 iPhone, why not take a actual digital camera to such a interesting place? It would be cool to see some close up, detail pictures of the hetzer, jagdpanther, stugs if they have some and the KV1. I've seen lots of coverage of the Tigers I & II, T34s and Panthers already. (Android FoEva! btw) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Ah! I visited Bovington something like 30+ years ago! Cool place. If you do the long walk from the train station to the museum you'll pass a small plaque by the roadside marking where 'Lawrence of Arabia' crashed his motorcycle and died. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Crowley Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Well, the Tiger is not strictly 'running' at this time because it is sans engine. They have test-bedded it and hope to have it reinstalled in a couple of weeks. Skimbo, if you really want to give yourself a treat book a Tank Experience day or an Access All Areas day. The former is a trifle expensive but you get to drive around a two mile course in a tracked APC; get a ride in a main battletank around the arena and get to go inside many of the static display tanks on a guided tour of the main museum. This takes a whole day and is well worth the money IMHO. The other one is half a day and a lot cheaper. You get a tour of the workshops and storage areas, handling their small arms collection and getting to see vehicles that are not on display. You get a tour of the main museum but no access to the inside of any of the vehicles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Could you bring back a Scorpion tank if they have one laying about - good fuel economy, cheap road tax and cheap to insure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Remember to take a coat with you in case it rains.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimbo Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 At statis I don't own a digital camera - iPhone takes perfectly good pics and regarding android - i would rather boil my bottom than own a phone other than an apple product At jim/James i was fortunate enough 30 years ago (omg am I that old?!?!) to go round the entire tank range in a chieftan, courtesy of a captain my dad had done some work for. Suffice to say I was a very happy 9 year old Last time I was there I got to stand in the commanders cupola of the king tiger. Got nattering with the maintenance volunteers and they invited me up - absolutely incredible how tall it is and how empowered you feel. I could only imagine what it would have been like to ride into battle. At mikey d - they have a section in the museum all about Lawrence of Arabia - a fascinating character who for the most part despised the fame his exploits brought him. If you want I can try and photograph some of the info. The place will have changed considerably since you were last there it won a lottery grant and it really is quite swish now! At wicky - they have a scorpion I believe. This is the aluminium light tank 80s era? Also handy for traversing minefields with at mines - apparently it has the ground pressure of a man if memory serves me. Will ask them but not sure if they will be willing to part with an exhibit Regards Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Ah! I visited Bovington something like 30+ years ago! Cool place. If you do the long walk from the train station to the museum you'll pass a small plaque by the roadside marking where 'Lawrence of Arabia' crashed his motorcycle and died. Gack! I went there ~5-10 years ago. I walked back from the museum to the train station. Great road. I wish I'd known the link to L of A. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willshak Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Spent a very interesting 4 hours there way back. My wife spent the same 4 hours snoring in the car. Different pull factors I guess ;-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I went some 20 years ago while they had a sort of military collector's fair (I think they called it a "jumble" or something like that) and nearly left with a surplus Land Rover ambulance. I was ready to cash in my Eurail pass to fund it but then the IRA started ambushing UK soldiers on the continent who were seen riding around in military vehicles. I decided that the L/R camper idea might not be such a wise way to continue my European travels after all. The museum is burned into my eyeballs, though. That was a high. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimbo Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 It certainly is a treasure trove - be off in half an hour excitement!!! They also have a great gift shop chock full of military books and they're all really cheap. Need some reading for my holiday next week. I shall return bearing snaps of armoured naughtiness Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake_eye Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Years ago Bovington was the reference. I dreamed to be able to visit it. Never was able to do so. However, I have visited 2 months ago the French tanks museum in SAUMUR. A TIGER and a splendid PANTHER can be seen there on display and running on exhibit days. I took nearly 300 shots during my visit which took few hours. I was like a kid fulfilling a dream. I really have a wonderful wife, she stood patiently alongside me all the time. She does not like all these things and guess what? She found the exhibit splendid. just that to say about the quality of the Museum. I had seen some of these tanks being loaded on railroad platforms years ago. Some of them specially the Russian ones had been handed over by Israel after the wars in the sixties. Some of them were not in a good shape and engineers really took the time to see into their entrails in order to see what they could learn about their Russian colleagues. To see them again in such a good state (even if, some are not in a functional state) was a surprise to me If some tanks shots do interest you let me know. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimbo Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 Hi all Well I have returned with some snaps of various armour. I will endeavour to upload these tomorrow via photobucket. I would love to do it tonight but my long suffering wife bore the brunt of today's visit needs some quality time - quid pro quo n'all. Got panther, x2 king tigers, 1 tiger with it's engine out, jagdpanther, jagdtiger, stug, Hetzer, pz1, 2, 3, ,4, t26, kv1, t34 85, Sherman m4a1, firefly, m10, m8 greyhound (interesting decals on the greyhound just like one of fusers skins - awesome!!), comet, cruiser tanks, sdkfz plus a load of modern armour. What an incredible place! Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimbo Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Well here is the link to the snaps - seems Flickr is quicker to use than photobucket: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35509139@N03/ I would imagine all the grogs here know there tanks but if there are any questions about the photos I can help with let me know - I'm not the most informed person but I'll try and recall what I read. Please ignore the first photo of the VW T5. We passed this on the way home and it just happened to have the exact same alloys on as were stolen from my garage about 3 months ago. Got the wife to keep driving past it so I could snap it and pass the info onto the police - could be another story developing. Remember you heard it here first, hush hush and on the QT.... ;o) Enjoy the snaps. Regards Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stolly Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Loved it when i went 20 years ago. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Great pictures, Skimbo. Thanks. Must go there myself next time I'm in England. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Well here is the link to the snaps - seems Flickr is quicker to use than photobucket: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35509139@N03/ Enjoy the snaps. Regards Skimbo What is the name of the tank near the end of the photo's? The one with the Nordic looking crew? Not seen that before. Nice photos. Who would have thought 10 years ago that today phones will be taking credible photos... Whatever next... CMx3 on the phone? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Statisoris Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Does that Panther in IMG_0231 and IMG_0230 have a historical paint scheme? It would be interesting to see that on the battlefield. If it is historical, where were the Panther(s) used in combat that had that scheme? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Interesting and obscure fact 100345/B349: Note the Finnish tank captured from the Russians (T26?)... I recall seeing those in museums in Finland. They used the swastika and deathshead symbols before the Nazis appropriated it and I recall the swastika (reversed from the Nazi version) was still being used for decades after WW2 ended. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoex Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 See the Wikipedia entry on swastika - it is, historically speaking, not primarily identified with Nazi Germany or faschism in general. It is most notably a Hindu and Buddhist symbol for good luck (usually in mirror image from the way the Germans used it, but not always), and has been used for millenia as a common symbol in many cultures, even in classical antiquity (Rome, Greece etc.). I'm often surprised at how many people know it exculsively as the symbol used by the NSDAP and modern faschists. Go to south-east Asia and it's everywhere... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimbo Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 hi all @ aragorn - yes it is a wonderful palce and really worht a visit. Got chatting to 2 older gents while I was waiting in the queue for my food - not sure what nationality they were but they had made the 'pilgimage' to Bovington. @ Holien with regard to the phone photos - yup they're not that bad are they? I have an iPhone 3GS - apparently the iPhone 4 takes even better photos - nice. LOL was wondering what you were talking about the nordic crew - just checked through the photos and realised I didnt edit out the non Bovington related stuff. That crew is part of the charity raft race that is held annually in Christchurch, Dorset to raise money for charity - that was our entry ) All the other stuff are pics of my daughter, workmates and pizza box design (I am a graphic designer - that was the Gourmet range pizza box design for Domino's - oops!!). @ statis - sorry I dont know if this camo scheme has a historical significance - what is interesting is that earlier photos of the same tank at Bovington have a different scheme. My guess it has some significance - I should have studied the board a bit more. I got left with the little one at this stage. Was trying to get snaps of her next to the AP round by the tank so you guys could see the size. No dice though - small/fast child and glaring/reflective plastic case made it impossible . If my memory serves me right Erwin the stug in the shots is also Finnish. Regards Skimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 See the Wikipedia entry on swastika - it is, historically speaking, not primarily identified with Nazi Germany or faschism in general. It is most notably a Hindu and Buddhist symbol for good luck (usually in mirror image from the way the Germans used it, but not always), and has been used for millenia as a common symbol in many cultures, even in classical antiquity (Rome, Greece etc.). Also in both versions by many Native American tribes, especially in the US Southwest. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Probably as a result of the many escaping Nazis who were evacuated to the US and became Native Americans esp in the SW. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Probably as a result of the many escaping Nazis who were evacuated to the US and became Native Americans esp in the SW. or perhaps the Natchez nation. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 See the Wikipedia entry on swastika - it is, historically speaking, not primarily identified with Nazi Germany or faschism in general. It is most notably a Hindu and Buddhist symbol for good luck (usually in mirror image from the way the Germans used it, but not always), and has been used for millenia as a common symbol in many cultures, even in classical antiquity (Rome, Greece etc.). I'm often surprised at how many people know it exculsively as the symbol used by the NSDAP and modern faschists. Go to south-east Asia and it's everywhere... You should paint one on your car and try telling people its a buddhist good luck symbol. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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