News for all things related to Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles
Here is a short video from the National Armor and Cavalry Restoration Center on Fort Benning, Ga showing some of the items they have in their possesion. We look forward to the day when these historic armored vehicles have a home in the new building planned for this museum.
The facebook page for the National Armor and Cavalry Museum is reporting that the turret to what looks like a M1917 tank has been found in the woods at Fort Benning. We have re-posted the content of the post below.
While the NACM’s armor collection is focused mainly around vehicles, they are but artifacts with which we are able to honor the legacy of the Americans that crewed them. After this past week, we are fortunate enough to be able to connect more to the Tank Corps of World War I.
A team preparing a section of woods to be cleared here at Fort Benning happened upon a tank turret. As per regulation, post agencies were informed of a potential artifact, and in turn the musuem was notified. Photos identified the turret belonging to a French-built Renault FT light tank. At the end of World War I, the Tank Corps brought back approximately 200 of its FTs to use along with the American-built M1917. Many ended up at Fort Benning, which became home to the Tank School starting in 1920. As the FTs were phased out, many were de-militarized by simply removing the turrets and selling for use in agriculture or industry. While the NACM collection currently has two Renault FTs, neither of these served with the American light tank battalions during the war. Though not complete and no other remains of tanks have been found at the location, the historical significance of the turret was obvious.
Today, a team consisting of NACM personnel, Marines assigned to the Marine Corps Detachment Fort Benning, and veteran volunteers move quickly to secure the turret. Despite the thick woods, uneven terrain, and rain the turret is now at the restoration shop. It is already being cleaned to prevent further deterioration. It will be preserved in tribute of the early American tankers.
(Photos by NACM Volunteers Mr. David Hobbs and Mr. Jon Potts)
Armor for the Ages website has created a new page and photo gallery for the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank that is kept at the National Armor and Cavalry Museum collection at Fort Benning GA. This particular vehicle was one of two captured by the U.S. Army’s 40th Infantry Division in the Philippines in 1945. It was brought back to the US and resided in California for a while before being transferred to the Patton Museum. A more complete history of the vehicle can be read at the AFTA website here.
Two photo galleries of this tank can be viewed at the AFTA website. Click on the picture to go to the gallery page.
Gallery One (exterior pictures)
Gallery Two (interior pictures)
If you would like to support the work documented by Armor for the Ages, consider donating to either the Patton Museum or the National Armor and Cavalry Museum Foundation.
For those that like pictures of historic armored vehicle, be sure to check out the official digital archive of Fort Benning and the Maneuver Center for Excellence. They have several galleries that should be of interest to our readers. Click on the images below to view the SmugMug page for each gallery.
The Armor for the Ages website has been updated with a new page on the two German WWII era Marder II tank destroyers at Fort Benning. The page includes a description and history of the vehicles as well as two photo galleries. The photos show quite a bit of interior detail of the vehicles and should prove rather useful to anyone working on a model of a Marder II.
Excerpt:
The subject of this article is one of two Marder IIs shipped to the United States after having been surrendered in Austria to the U.S. forces as the war ended. One was sent to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) while the other was sent to the Armor School Museum at Fort Knox which eventually became the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor. Both Marders were part of the 1. Panzer Division in its Panzer Aufklärungs Abteilung (reconnaissance battalion). The 1. Panzer Division was listed as still having 12 Marder IIs as of March 1945.
Here are a couple videos created by the Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia. These films are narrated by Museum director Len Dyer and feature the many vehicles found in the Museum collection. The first video deals with WWI era vehicles while the second video deals with WW2. For more information about the Museum and Len Dyer, check out this interview from 2012.
The folks at Armor for the Ages have launched a new version of their website. Armor for the Ages (AFTA) mission is to provide information on the General George Patton Museum of Leadership at Fort Knox, Kentucky and the National Armor & Cavalry Museum (NACM) at Fort Benning, Georgia and the volunteer programs that serve both institutions along with news on projects, events and exhibits. Information about the volunteer programs can be found in the volunteer section of the AFTA site. AFTA also offers information on the vehicles and weapons that have been or are currently in these museums’ collections. Currently the AFTA site contains profiles for the Panther G, T28 GMC, StuG IIIG, JagdTiger and Sturmpanzer as well as vehicle restoration projects Cobra King, SdKfz 251D/9 and the Patton Command Van. The AFTA site also includes descriptions of the different iterations of the Patton Museum at Fort Knox. Over the past 15 years there have been a number of changes concerning the location and public accessibility of historic armored vehicles in the US. The AFTA website is a valuable resource for people wanting to learn more about the changes affecting these vehicle collections at the Fort Knox and Fort Benning locations.
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