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The “Cisco Kid” is a famous, fully restored M5A1 Stuart light tank. It was used by the U.S. Army during World War II.
It took part in Tankfest 26 at The Tank Museum.
The M3 Stuart, officially Light Tank, M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version entered service as M5. It was supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war.
This Sherman tank is the star of the film Fury and was one of the stars of the Tank Museum’s Talkfest 26.
A M4A3E8 Sherman was used by the film makers and Bovington have kept the Sherman tank as it was in the film, complete with weathering, props and the name Fury painted on the barrel of the main weapon. TheM4A3E8 Sherman has much wider tracks than other Shermans and this makes the tank look much taller and bigger than other Sherman tanks.
Most of the film was shot in Oxfordshire (and not Germany). The German town used in the film was built completely from scratch, which isn’t too surprising considering what happens there.
I really enjoyed the film and thought a powerful interpretation of the last few months of the war and the defiant last stand by the Germans despite knowing they faced eventual defeat, with the Americans wanting to finish quickly so they can go home. It has to be said that the end of the film leaves something to be desired, but remember this is Hollywood.
The T-34-85 was a Soviet WW2 medium tank, crew of 5, powered by 12-cylinder diesel engine, armed with 85mm gun and two machine guns. It went on to be used well beyond the second world war in major conflicts across the world, and is still in service today.
This T-34-85 was on display at Tankfest 26 at The Tank Museum.
The T-34, a Soviet medium tank, had a profound and lasting effect on the field of tank design. At its introduction in 1940, the T-34 possessed an unprecedented combination of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness. Its 76.2 mm (3 in) high-velocity tank gun provided a substantial increase in firepower over any of its contemporaries while its well-sloped armour was difficult to penetrate by most contemporary anti-tank weapons. A project to develop a new tank following the introduction of improved German Panzer IVs with the high-velocity 75 mm gun, was started by the Soviet Union. The T-43 was designed to have improved armour, better suspension and a bigger gun. However it was decided that manufacturing a new tank would cause a significant slow-down in production so it was cancelled. However the T-43 turret was then modified to fit the T-34 and was armed with a new 85mm gun. The T-34-85 was a compromise between those in the Soviet Union who wanted to build as many 76mm armed T34s and those who wanted to build the new T-43 tank.
The T-34-85 gave the Red Army a tank with better armour and mobility than the German Panzer IV tank and StuG III assault gun. While it could not match the armour or weapons of the heavier Panther and Tiger tanks, its improved firepower made it much more effective than earlier models.
The development of the T-34-85 led directly to the T-54 and T-55 series of tanks, which in turn evolved into the later T-62, T-72, and T-90 that form the armoured core of many modern armies.
Reading the Hot War books from Harry Turtledove inspired me to think about gaming some scenarios from the books. British Comets and Centurions versus T34-85 and T54 Soviet tanks, along with American M26 Pershing and M48 Patton tanks. In the book there are also Sherman tanks manned by (West) German forces.
Alongside this idea I have been working on some tanks from the Operational Unthinkable game.
The Mowag Piranha 8×8 stands as one of the most successful and influential families of armoured fighting vehicles ever designed. This Mowag was on display at Tankfest 26.
Developed by the Swiss company Mowag (now part of General Dynamics European Land Systems), this highly adaptable eight-wheeled platform has served as the baseline design for numerous major military vehicles globally, including the US Army’s Stryker and the US Marine Corps’ Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV). Engineered for maximum versatility, its modular design allows it to be configured for a vast range of roles—from standard infantry trundling and command posts to specialised ambulance, mortar carrier, and heavy direct-fire reconnaissance variants. Driven by an independent suspension system and an all-wheel-drive configuration, the Piranha combines excellent off-road mobility and high road speeds with robust protection against small arms fire, shrapnel, and mines, making it a cornerstone of modern mechanised infantry units worldwide.
This FV432 was at the entrance to Tankfest 26.
The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army’s FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefield. At its peak in the 1980s, almost 2,500 vehicles were in use. This British tracked armoured personnel carrier has a crew of 2 with capacity for 10 personnel, powered by Rolls-Royce 6-cylinder multi-fuel engine, armed with one machine gun.
A slightly battered Centurion Tank welcomed visitors to the Tank Museum’s Tankfest show.
I couldn’t identify which mark of Centurion it was, but the main weapon indicates that it is a Mk5 or later version.
I attended Tankfest 26 at the Tank Museum in Bovington.
One of the highlights was the first public appearance of the Challenger 3 main battle tank.
It’s not yet in service and there are issues that need to be sorted.
Alongside the Challenger 3 , was a Challenger 2, and a first generation Challenger.
The Kampfpanzer Leopard is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service in 1965.
Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard design focused on effective firepower and mobility instead of heavy protection. It featured moderate armour, only effective against low caliber autocannons and heavy machine guns, giving it a high power-to-weight ratio. This, coupled with a modern suspension and drivetrain, gave the Leopard superior mobility and cross-country performance compared to most other main battle tanks of the era, only being rivaled by the French AMX-30 and Swedish Strv 103. The main armament of the Leopard consisted of a German license-built version of the British Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm rifled gun, one of the most effective and widespread tank guns of the era.
The Kettenkrad SdKfz 2 started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. The vehicle was designed to be delivered by Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, though not by parachute. The vehicle had the advantage of being the only gun tractor small enough to fit inside the hold of the Ju 52, and was the lightest mass-produced German military vehicle to use the complex Schachtellaufwerk overlapped and interleaved road wheels used on almost all German military half-tracked vehicles of World War II.
This Kettenkrad is on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.
Having pre-ordered some TOG I tanks I was reminded that I had seen the evolution of that tank, the TOGII* at the Tank Museum down at Bovington in Dorset.
Weighing 80 tons the TOG II* is the heaviest tank at the Tank Museum. It was designed on the premise that World War II would evolve in the same way as the First World War.
The Heavy Tank, TOG II, was a prototype British super-heavy tank design produced in the early part of the Second World War in case the battlefields of northern France turned into a morass of mud, trenches and craters as had happened during the First World War.
The tank was fitted with four different gun turrets between 1941 and 1944, ending up with the type of turret designed by Stoddart and Pitt for the A30 Challenger Heavy Cruiser Tank. This mounted a 17pdr gun, making the tank a TOG II*.
In the end it never went into production, but as part of the Flames of War Mid-War Monsters range you could buy it and use it in alternate history games. I bought a boxed set of three.
See the workbench feature on these huge tanks.