Tanks

Spent an awestruck day at the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK. My appreciation of all military vehicles is heightened beyond normal enthusiasm when you're up close and personal with them. The scale of the exhibits against oneself, being such a attractive draw to me, I can fully let my imagination run riot, when I'm up close with these precious fragments of a history gone by - as always putting yourself in the position of the men who manned these rolling guns. How cramped the internals are, how large the guns are, and how thick the armour. With an audio commentary on most of the larger pieces on show, along with side displays that allow people to understand the most basic functions of these weapons, you get a full sense of appreciation of the technology and the sheer power behind these steel beasts.



There are too many stand out exhibits to list, but seeing the DD sherman (the skirted amphibious ones that sunk just outside of Omaha beach during the normandy landings), or the Tiger, or the captured Iraqi tank, just knits armoured vehicle history together and takes you from the trenches of WWI and the crude gun boats through to the massive Tortoise of WWII, and on to modern day tanks, the likes of the Leopard or the Challenger.

Amongst the excitement, I was able to 'have a go' with the sidelined gun games, shooting an RPG at tanks and bunkers, or taking in some target practice with a Bren machine gun or a Lee Enfield rifle. Ashamed at my poor accuracy on the Bren (a gun my Grandfather once wielded in WWII), I redeemed my self esteem on the Lee Enfield rifle, pulling out a marksman score. A highlight of the whole tour. The guns were suitably rigged up with compressed air mechanisms to simulate recoil in the stock, and being modified originals gave you an accurate impression of the weight. At 1 pound sterling a go, it was a small price to pay for a few moments of immersion.

With spirits high, it will take a lot of will power to keep me away from the Tank Museum, on the forthcoming Tankfest Event, to witness some of these Steel Beasts rolling around..