Thursday, July 5

Bovington "Tankfest" Pt. II - The afternoon displays

In this - the second part of the gallery from the Tankfest  Armoured vehicle extravaganza on the weekend of the 30th June/1st July we got to see some pretty amazing vehicles quite literally “making tracks” – read on to see some massive beasts (and some smaller ones) in action from the show.
The second part of the gallery of the Tankfest from Bovington tank museum contains some new vehicles to the museum’s collection and favourites such as the Tiger 131 (a hundred people or more must have asked her mechanics if she was running or not that day)
Part I is here
Afternoon Arena Displays 
(Double click for larger image slideshow)


Late / Post World War Two British Tanks - World War Two British tank design ended on a high, with designs like the Comet and Centurion entering service. One thing that struck me was how very painfully SLOW the Matilda was - a lovely tank but barely above walking speed!
















World War Two Armour - Including British Infantry tanks, British Armoured Cars, and tanks from other World War Two protagonists; including Tiger 131 – the undoubted star of the show – more people came to see this than any other tank I would think – and these people were not let down!
I feel for the tankers in the cromwell by comparison to that Tiger -  but it DID make it over the hill!

Wheeled Post War Armour - British, French and Russian Cold War armoured Cars on show in the arena.






 



The Yanks Are Coming! - A range of US built vehicles, from the Stuart Light tank to the M60 MBT



The re-enactment of a First World War battle complete with an insightful talk thru all of the weapons and tactics used by both sides from very knowledgeable people including a replica Mk.IV WWI tank used for the movie “War Horse”  
Explosions, barbed wire, and drawn bayonets – you name it! Although it was too windy for the Biplanes to fly in for a mock air battle the Challenger II came in and finished the job.
A great big thanks to Dan and Nik for arranging for us to come to such a lovely event. Bovington tank museum is a great place all year around – just a short rail trip from London so if you are considering going then I recommend it!
The last of the galleries – a look inside the museum -  will follow over the next few days…