Musée
des Blindés (Tank Museum) Saumur
Something you would not immediately associate with the
'garden of France' that is the Loire Valley is a large
collection of military hardware...but here it is! The
'Tank Museum' in Saumur is located near the town centre
and is well signposted from the visitor information
centre making it easy to find.The museum has the worlds
largest collection - with some 200 exhibits ranging from
the 1st World war to contemporary battle tanks on
display at any one time. They are able to change their
display annually having over 800 examples at their
disposal.
The museum is
very well organised, with each 'hall' covering a
different period or country. Every display has a
three-language (French, English & German)
information-panel next to it with interesting background
information and the main characteristics of the item on
show Why is it here? The French cavalry school has been
in Saumur since 1768 and of course cavalry regiments
have long since abandoned the horse in favour of horse
power, so we now have the location for the French tank
school. The collection was started by gathering deserted
post war tanks from the battlefields for study
programmes and took off from there...but it's not all
tanks. There is the parachuted 'car in a box' , the
'scooter with bazooka' plus displays of ancillary
vehicles...and equipment
What they have here is the perfect attraction for boys
large and small and although you cannot clamber about
the displays there is a small selection for the
kids...young and old and who wouldn't want to sit up
front and poke their head up through the hatch
Probably the most famous tank of WWII, the American
'Sherman M4' tank is featured and it remains for the
French, a symbol of their liberation.
There is a modest cafe
with a vending machine and a shop selling military
related items - the women might have to spend longer in
here than they would like but at least it offers some
refuge
Open
every day except Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
October to April 10am to 5pm, May to September 9.30am to
5.30pm
External links:
https://www.euro-t-guide.com
Lot of good photographs here.
https://en.wikipedia.org
The museum
on Wikipedia
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