Tag: history
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Char B1 bis
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 2 Location: The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK Fate of the dinosaurs The Char B1 bis was considered one of the most powerful tanks of its day, but in practice it was not suited for coordinated mobile operations. Its design had been deeply rooted in the experiences of…
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Char B1 bis
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: France Period: World War 2 Location: Stonne, France A slow-paced pet project In 1921 General Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne – the French “Father of the Tank” – had initiated the development of a new principal battle tank. The evaluation of several competing prototypes during the following decade eventually resulted in the…
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SU-100
Type: Tank Destroyer Nation: Soviet Union Period: World War 2 Location: Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Ravensbrück, Fürstenberg/Havel, Germany Inspired by the German turretless StuG assault guns, the Soviet Union had started to develop a similar vehicle based on the T-34 chassis in the summer of 1942. The resulting SU-122 was equipped with a short 122 mm…
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25-pr SP tracked, Sexton II
Type: Self-Propelled Artillery Nation: Canada Period: World War 2 Location: Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie, Bayeux, France The QF 25-pounder gun was the standard towed howitzer of the British and Commonwealth forces in World War 2. Since the artillery needed to keep up with the mechanised formations, an improvised self-propelled 25-pounder gun version…
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Type 95 Ha-Gō
Type: Light Tank Nation: Japan Period: World War 2 Location: The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK During the 1920s the Empire of Japan had aquired a number of foreign tanks such as the French Renault FT and the British Vickers 6-tonner for trials and active service. However, General Sōsaku Suzuki was arguing that Japan should build…
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Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) (Sd.Kfz. 140)
Type: Light Tank Nation: Czechoslovakia/Germany/SwedenPeriod: World War 2 Location: Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, Germany When Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia in 1938/1939, the engineering company ČKD in Prague had just completed the first ten vehicles of their new TNH model, which the Czechoslovak Army was calling „LT vz. 38“ (Lehký tank vzor 38 = light tank model…
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Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E (Early Production) “Tiger 131”
Type: Heavy Tank Nation: Germany Period: World War 2 Location: The Tank Museum, Bovington, United Kingdom The 57-ton Tiger was designed as a breakthrough tank to be deployed in separate heavy tank battalions under army command. With its thick armour and 8.8 cm L/56 gun, it was at no point intended to replace the medium…
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T-34/85 “Rudy”
Type: Medium Tank Nation: Soviet Union Period: World War 2 Location: Muzeum Broni Pancernej w Poznaniu, Poznań, Poland The very successful Soviet T-34 was one of the most well-balanced medium tanks of World War 2. The hull armour was sloped on all four sides which made its interior awfully cramped but offered very good effective…
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Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. F8 (Sd.Kfz. 142/1)
Type: Self-Propelled Artillery/Tank Destroyer Nation: GermanyPeriod: World War 2Location: Bastogne Barracks, Belgium Already as early as 1935, the German Army had demanded artillery guns to become more mobile so that they would be able to keep up with the advancing troops. The first five prototypes of the Sturmgeschütz (based on the Panzer III chassis) were…