Category: bovington tank museum

Whippet Medium Tank

This Whippet Medium Tank was on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

While the heavy tanks were designed for direct attacks against enemy trenches the Tank Corps also wanted a lighter, faster tank to work with the cavalry over open country. Designed by Sir William Tritton and built by Fosters of Lincoln the Medium A, or Whippet, was the only such tank to see service with the Tank Corps, starting in 1918. Though originally envisioned with a rotating turret, the production model had an armoured housing for three to four 303 Hotchkiss machine guns, which could be relocated between four gun ports. Approved in June 1917, roughly 200 vehicles were produced starting in October 1917. This was the only type of medium tank to see action in World War I.

The Whippet was a difficult tank to drive; it had two engines, two clutches and two gearboxes but it was fast, by 1918 standards and very manoeuvrable in skilled hands. Even so experience soon showed that it was incapable of working with the cavalry and, in truth, should have been seen as an alternative. The Whippet was powered by a pair of Tylor four-cylinder engines, the same type that would be found in London buses of that period.

I do think that this tank would make for a great base for vehicles for an alternative Great War. It could be converted into a turreted tank, or a self propelled gun. One other idea is to use the tanks for A Very British Civil War background, those in storage are taken out of retirement and used by both sides.

French Renault FT-17

The Renault FT or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917, inexactly known as the FT-17 or FT17, was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history.

The FT was the first operational tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret, and its configuration with the turret on top, engine in the back and the driver in front became the conventional one, repeated in most tanks until today; at the time it was a revolutionary innovation.

Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States (M1917 light tank), in Italy (Fiat 3000), and in the Soviet Union (T-18 tank).

France still had several thousand First World War Renault FT tanks in 1940. Over 500 of them were still in service in independent bataillons de chars de combat (BCC) tank battalions in the front lines. Although adequate for infantry support, they were totally outclassed by German tanks in a mobile battle.

The tank appears to have been part of the Imperial War Museum collection after the First World War and arrived at the Tank Museum as part of an exchange of exhibits in 1965. The tail skid turned up about 20 years later, having been discovered in a store at IWM Duxford.

It is one of my favourite tanks, I have always had a fondness for this little tank, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Renault and the Char B1 when I was young.

As I am creating an Early War French army I got some of these little tanks for Flames of War.

Leopard I Main Battle Tank

Leopard I Main Battle Tank

The Leopard 1 is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard focused on firepower in the form of the German-built version of the British L7 105-mm gun, and improved cross-country performance that was unmatched by other designs of the era.

Australian Army Leopard AS1 Tank

The Tank Museum’s Australian Army Leopard AS1 Tank was on display at Talkfest 26.

Australian Army Leopard AS1 Tank

The Leopard AS1 was a custom-modified variant of the West German-designed Leopard 1 main battle tank, brought into Australian Army service in 1977 to replace the aging Centurion fleet. First entering original service in 1965, the brilliantly engineered Leopard marked a fundamental shift away from WWII-era heavy armour, prioritising cross-country speed, agility, and high mobility alongside a powerful 105mm L7 rifled gun—a combination that made it an immense success on the international export market. Australia’s bespoke version, designated AS1 (using the NATO country code ‘AS’ for Australia), incorporated localised adaptations, including advanced SABCA fire-control systems, tropicalisation kits for heat management, tailored air filtration, and specialised storage for long-range operations in harsh environments. Although the Leopard AS1 never saw active combat during its three decades of operation, it served as the core armoured punch of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps until its official retirement in 2007, when it was succeeded by the American-built M1A1 Abrams.

Vehicle Conservation Centre

The Vehicle Conservation Centre at The Tank Museum in Bovington is a purpose-built, 4,000-square-metre facility designed to preserve, restore, and house the museum’s reserve collection of armoured fighting vehicles.

I was pleased to be able to view the Vehicle Conservation Centre during Tankfest 26

Opened in 2009, the climate-controlled building moved over a hundred historically significant tanks and armoured cars indoors, protecting rare prototypes, secondary variants, and unrestored machinery from environmental deterioration. Beyond serving as a state-of-the-art workshop where skilled engineers and conservation specialists undertake painstaking repair and maintenance work, the Vehicle Conservation Centre features a public viewing balcony that allows visitors an overview of the reserve fleet and active restoration projects below, offering a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes engineering required to maintain the world’s finest collection of military armour.

Panzerkampfwagen III

This Panzer III was in the arena at Tankfest 26 at Bovington.

Panzerkampfwagen III

The Panzerkampfwagen III, commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support similar Panzer IV which was originally designed for infantry support.

Panzerkampfwagen III

However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, more powerful anti-tank guns were needed, and since the Panzer IV had more development potential with a larger turret ring, it was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun.

Panzerkampfwagen III

The Panzer III effectively swapped roles with the Panzer IV, as from 1942 the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 that was better suited for infantry support.

Production of the Panzer III ceased in 1943. Nevertheless, the Panzer III’s capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun until the end of the war.

Churchill VI Infantry Tank

The Tank Museum’s Churchill VI Infantry Tank in the Conservation Shed.

Churchill VI Infantry Tank

The Churchill Mark VI was a crucial mid-war enhancement to the British infantry tank lineage, introduced in late 1943 to resolve the multi-role limitations of its predecessors. While earlier marks like the Mark III and IV carried the anti-tank dedicated 6-pounder gun—which lacked an effective high-explosive shell for infantry support—the Mark VI was built from the outset with the British Ordnance QF 75mm gun. This dual-purpose armament allowed crews to effectively engage soft targets, anti-tank gun positions, and fortified strongpoints alongside enemy armour. Retaining the composite welded-and-cast welded turret design and heavy hull armour of the late-production Mark IV, the Mark VI offered a valuable, standardised upgrade that saw extensive service during the Normandy Campaign and the subsequent push across Western Europe. Although eventually overshadowed by the heavily up-armoured, purpose-built “Heavy Churchill” Mark VII, the Mark VI served as a vital bridge in British tactical doctrine by providing infantry formations with versatile, heavy direct-fire support when it was needed most.