The Tank Museum
Fun-packed family days out don’t get any bigger and better than this. The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, houses the greatest collection of tanks ever assembled. From the first tanks ever built, or "Churchill’s follies" as they were known, right up to the latest hi-tech Challenger 2.
At the Tank Museum you can see over 250 tanks from across the world. Plus there are always special events, and you can even see tanks in action.
The Tank Story
The Tank Story is The Tank Museum’s new star attraction at the heart of our £16 million redevelopment project, and is an attraction the whole family will enjoy.
It details the role tanks have played from their entry into the First World War right up to the present day. The Tank Museum will even give you a peek into the future of the tank. You’ll also see uniforms, small arms, artefacts and memorabilia that place you right in the front line of what it was like to be part of the crew of a fighting tank.
Tanks at War
Tanks first saw action fighting between the trenches during World War I. Since then they’ve fought in every major theatre of war all over the world, from Italy and France to The Gulf and Korea. But it’s at Bovington that the tank’s story really begins. The tank was a British invention that went on to reshape armoured warfare across the globe, and the rugged landscape around Bovington was seen as the ideal testing ground to put early tanks through their paces.
This was where early tank crews were trained before being deployed to the trenches in France and Belgium. Bovington remains home to the Royal Armoured Corps today – and by extension the 'spiritual home' of the tank.
The "terrible" Tiger Tank
Nothing struck fear into allied soldiers during the Second World War like the German Tiger tank. The Tank Museum’s Tiger 131 is probably our most famous exhibit, which was captured in Tunisia. Follow its step-by-step restoration, which provides a fascinating insight into the history of the "terrible" Tiger.
Hear Tales from the Tanks
Listen to first-hand accounts of what it was like to go into battle in a tank as soldiers tell their stories in their own words. The Tank Museum has a collection of specially recorded podcasts from people like World War Two veteran, David Turvey, who served in North Africa and Italy in a Sherman Tank. He even tells you in his own words what it was like to up against the mighty Tiger tank.
Medals
The Tank Museum is proud to house over 2,100 medals. Browse the collection and discover the meaning of the decorations, and find out more about the men who lived and fought in tanks in times of war.
Education
The Tank Museum runs award winning* education workshops for schools and other groups, and adopts a real "hands on" approach using tanks from the collection to convey the realities of tank warfare.
* 2009, Sandford Award for Heritage Education [more]