101 years ago from today - 15th of August 1920 the brand new Polish Army defeated the Soviets trying to take Warsaw on their way to help the Germans with their revolution. More on that here:
Since Poland isn’t socialist anymore, and that happened in 1989, the 15th of August is a national holiday and it’s Armed Forces Day. In my home town, Poznań, they have a very special Armor Museum that used to be a teaching aid collection for a military school. For two years that collection is open to the public and today they celebrated the holiday by letting everybody in for free - so I took the trip and made a few photos for you. Now the museum isn’t very big, but it has a very interesting collection, please take a look - I’ll try to show you only the most interesting exhibits:
Here’s a Sherman in running condition - they started the engine for us so we could smell the smoke and listen to the engine roar:
Here’s an original TKS - found in Norway and restored. One of the 4 left.
A StuG IV in running condition!
A SdKfz. 6 half track - also in runnig condition!
A Hetzer:
One of the last ISU-122 that wasn’t converted to ISU-152
An IS-3 - they also have an IS-2 in running condition, only one in the world:
A PT-76 amphibious tank:
A T-70 light tank - one of the 27 left in the world:
So if you have a chance to be in Poznań I recommend you visit the museum, it’s a cool place to see. If I can halp you any please contact me. Thanks for looking and have a nice day
A year has passed and the 15th of August holiday came again, and again I went to our Armor Museum in Poznań to take a look. Lots of people attended, among them also many nice looking women - they are very special, mostly ones that like guys who like tanks…
But I didn’t dare to take fotos of them, instead I photographed some military vehicles for you. I’m glad to say that their collection is steadily expanding. Their newest arrival is a Hanomag Sdkfz 251 ausf. D, it’s currently being restored so I don’t have a photo. Bu they have a Kettenkrad in a running condition - how cool is that?
Drop me a line if you want to see my mini-walk-around of it.
There is also a PzKpfw III Ausf A, I also took a few more photos - it’s also in running condition.
Another new arrival - Centurion Mk.5/2. I heard rumors, that this is going to be restored in Israeli colours. I think I’d rather they leave it in its current colour, just restore it.
A Canadian Ford used to carry the visitors around:
Ex-Norwegian M88A1:
Something for HevyArty - a 2S7 Pion 203mm (8 inch) howitzer:
Mobile battery charging station on a Star 66 chassis - those Polish trucks were also exported to Vietnam and used to carry stuff along the Ho-Chi-Minh trail:
T34 - diagram:
A T-55 engine:
An UAZ-469 truck with a recoilless rifle, used by Polish airborne troops:
I hope you liked my photos - thanks for lookin’ and have a nice day
We are. Visit the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA, the USS Constitution in Boston, Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT, and many others throughout the US. It’s there for anyone who is interested.
Pawel,
Thank you for sharing your photos of a great museum! I wish there was more of the great Polish vistory over the Soviets.
You don’t want to forget the Wiscosin/Nauticus muesum in Norfolk. Besides if you do go there, You’ll see some of my Brass work. All over the model of the “Whisky” ! It was an Honor to be part of her Birth and installation there by B.A.D. Shipmodels!
And this for Pawel! Thank you kind sir for those photos. I see more of why I have to get it together!
Very nice pics of some equipment I have models of or similar too! Oh! Thanks also for the photo of the Very nice looking lady. Polish Women can be very pretty! I know this from growing up in a combined German/Polish/Sicilian neighborhood. Whatta mix ? right. I just wish I had paid more attention to the home tongues. For speaking! I would’ve had a leg up when I went in the Navy!
Pawel, those are some great photos! Thanks for posting them on here. I’m pretty sure that the Panzer III is a N variant, and not an A, as it has looks to be armed with the short 75mm howitzer, and not the original 37mm gun. That museum looks to have a great collection.
And my thanks. Sorry I mispoke. I was more questioning the moving of all the armour from the George. S. Patton Armor Museum to Fort Benning, Ga. I’m looking online now and it seems that the building is under construction. So the collection been warehoused for about a decade now but is going to be back on display in a few years.
