The Tank Museum

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The Tank Museum

Our M60A1 (RISE)

The M60 is one of the West’s most successful main battle tanks, with over 15,000 having been produced or built under licence since 1960. It can trace its origins back to the M26 Pershing through the subsequent M46, M47, M103 and M48 tanks.

The M60 replaced the M48, which had been criticised for its relatively poor armour protection which left it vulnerable to the Soviet T-54. It also introduced the 105mm gun and a more efficient diesel engine – both of which were later retrofitted to older M48s.

The M60A1 has a redesigned turret compared with the M60. It had thicker armour and the new shape also gave improved protection.

M60A1s formed the backbone of the US Army during the Cold War and were widely exported. Many remain in service. They have seen combat with the United States, Israel and Iran.

This particular vehicle has been through the RISE (Reliability Improvements for Selected Equipment) programme. This began in 1975 and focused on making improvements to the engine.

BOTH of our M60s recently underwent engine swaps – check it out -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjbH1...

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The Tank Museum

The Landwasserschlepper was an amphibious tug, produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig. Three prototypes were built and demonstrated in August 1940.

It could carry 20 soldiers, & was intended for use in Operation “Sealion” - the seaborne invasion of the UK - pulling invasion barges ashore, & bringing supplies in trailers towed behind the vehicle.

The vehicle went through a number of minor modifications – but evolved into a very different vehicle in 1944 when a version was produced with Panzer IV running gear and an armoured cab.

Note the ‘Wa Pruf 5’ on the bow of the vehicle in the first image – standing for ‘Development and testing Group 5’ – responsible for Engineer and Railway equipment.

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The Tank Museum

Our Churchill IV has serial number T31579, and was originally built in 1941 as a Mark I or Mark II, before being converted to a Mark IV.

Its wartime service is unknown, but afterwards it was converted into a ‘Twin ARK’ bridging vehicle.

It was restored back to its wartime configuration by The Churchill Trust and loaned to The Tank Museum in 2018. It is painted in the markings of 3 Troop, A Squadron of the North Irish Horse.

Learn more about this vehicle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mQl...

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The Tank Museum

More than 8,200 Valentines or derivatives were produced, accounting for about one-quarter of all the tanks and derivatives produced in Britain during WWII.

The turreted tank was produced in eleven marks, with main armaments from 40mm to 75mm guns.

Our Valentine IX was acquired after its markings had been removed, but we know it was made by Vickers because only Vickers welded all their Valentines IXs.

It stood as a gate guard in Northern Ireland at the Long Kesh Army base, Maze Prison, and Lisanelly Camp.

The vehicle had been gutted and contained no automotive components. The gun is a dummy.

In the 1990s, it was acquired by Vickers Defence Systems in Newcastle, which restored it to running order, with the engine and gearbox from the Tank Museum’s Archer.

Vickers initially loaned the vehicle to the Museum before gifting it in March 2002 – and it has since been painted to represent a vehicle of 50th Royal Tank Regiment, 23rd Armoured Regiment, in Tunisia around March 1943.

It is maintained as part of our running collection, and can regularly be seen in the Kuwait Arena at Tiger Day and TANKFEST events.

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The Tank Museum

How many British tanks can you find?

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The Tank Museum

The M14/41 was a successor to the lighter and slower M13/40, fitted with a more powerful and reliable engine. The first were built in August 1941 and were used until the end of fighting in North Africa. Even when they were first used, the M14/41’s firepower and armour were outdated against newer Allied tanks.



Our vehicle has serial number 4867, and was sent to North Africa in July 1942. It is believed to have been abandoned and captured soon afterwards. A British inspection did not find any external damage – and it came to The Tank Museum in 1951.

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The Tank Museum

The T-62 first appeared in a Moscow parade in May 1965, and went on to become a symbol of Soviet power.

It was the first tank to carry a smooth bore rather than a rifled gun, more than ten years before the West introduced something similar. The T-62 was longer and wider than the earlier Soviet tanks, and had a larger turret ring which enabled it to mount a bigger gun.

More than 20,000 T-62s were produced, and were supplied to 23 countries around the world.

Our vehicle was captured from Iraqi forces in the 1991 Gulf War, then shipped back to Britain for evaluation. It was later passed to The Tank Museum. Apart from a new coat of paint, it is in the same condition as when captured.

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The Tank Museum

This is Challenger 2 prototype V5, one of 9 built by Vickers in Leeds during 1989 and 1990.

At this point Challenger 2 wasn’t certain to be the British Army’s next tank. An open competition was to be held, allowing foreign designs to be submitted. A combination of political and military factors led to the choice of Challenger 2 in 1991.

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The Tank Museum

America's answer to the Tiger

The M26 Pershing evolved from a design programme that began in 1942. It incorporated many new features when compared with earlier American tanks including torsion bar suspension and rear sprocket drive.

The first of this new generation to be shipped across the Atlantic was the version T26E3, twenty of which arrived in Antwerp in February 1945 – 81 years ago this month - for issue to 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions in the United States Army.

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