Military Museums all over the world!

Please post reviews and pics of Military Museums or Military-related Museums you have visited. As we have members from all over the world we should be able to cover quite some intresting stuff, the more it might come in handy for planning future holidays! Even if you do not have pictures please feel free to post a little description and your own personal evaluation from:


* =Not really worth a visit.

to

***** =Don't miss this one!!!

I thought I would add quite a few photos, so those that will never have the opportunity to visit can also apppreciate the museums a little bit!

I hope many of you will give it a hand!!!!!

 

***
The museum is situated half an hours drive from the city of Trier in Germany, near the border with Luxembourg. It is quite a nice private collection, most of the displays are outside and alltough some of the aircraft are real gems a few of them are in dire need of paint and repair work. The majority of the aircraft are military, but among some other civilîan aircraft, there is also a Concorde on the range.

Generally speaking one could conclude that the museum is well worth a visit if you are in the region and have some time at hand. Travelling to Hermeskeil with the sole objective of visiting the Museum should be recommended only to hard-core aviation fanatics though.

Link to the museums website:

Flugausstellung L.+P. Junior


Address:

Hunsrückhöhenstrasse
D-54411 Hermeskeil II


Opening Hours:

from 1st of April till 1st of November
10:00 am - 18:00 pm
!!!I would recommend to call for confirmation before making any travel arrangements though!!!


Phone:

tel.: 0049 (0) 65 03 76 93
fax.: 0049 (0) 65 03 34 10

 

****

This is a neat museum, well worth a visit if you are touring the sites of the Bulge. Alltough there are only a few vehicles on display, they show a big array of uniforms and field equipment. Specially people interested in US Army uniforms and equipment should like the museum.

Link to the museums website:

Tourist attractions in La Roche-en-Ardenne of the Ardennes|uk


Address:

Rue Châmont, 5
La Roche en Ardennes


Opening Hours:

Open 10 am till 6 pm every day except Mondays and
Tuesdays from April to December.
- Open every weekend and during school holidays.
- Closed weekdays in January, February, and March,
as well as 1st January, 25th December and the Sunday of Carnival.


Phone:

Tel. and fax : 0032 84 41 17 25



A few pics I took, sorry for the bad quality.



A Sherman tank on the parking lot around the corner.






German uniforms and equipment.






German "Krad" bikes.




US M29 Weasel




US M16 AA Motor Gun Carriage, "The Meatchopper"




US 40mm Bofors AA gun.




Paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division.




US Officers, note the 17th Airborne Division Officer wearing a British Denison Smock.




Para-bike.




No Bulge museum without a Jeepp-)




The Highland Divison liberated La Roche en Ardenne.




















The gun room.

 

*****

When visiting London you shouldn't miss this gem! I certainly prefer it to the IWM! The big diorama depicting the battle of Waterloo on it's own would be worth a visit, add to it the numerous exhibitions covering the British Army from 1784 to present days and you have a days visit no military buff should miss! The only downside to the mnuseum I could find was the fact that you are not allowed to take pictures which is made up by the fact taht there is no admission fee!!!

Link to the museums website:

National Army Museum, London


Address:

National Army Museum
Royal Hospital road
Chelsea
London SW 4HT


Opening hours:

Open daily: 10AM to 5:30PM
Except: 24-26 Dec & 1 Jan


Phone:

00442078816606


Some pictures from outside the museum:

 

Have you ever been to Ingolstadt at the Bayerische Armeemuseum? It isn´t a huge museum but well sorted with old stuff from around 1800 and some nice finds from WW1 and 2. Worth a visit and for that they´ll get **** from me.

 

The Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA: *****
The Museum of Flight Aviation History, Airplane and Spacecraft Collections, Aerospace Library, Education and Research Center | The Museum of Flight

The US Air Force Museum*****
National Museum of the USAF - Home

Pearl Harbor Museum tours. ***** Not a single museum, but four of them so close together, they all gotta be seen.
Official Pearl Harbor Memorial Tours ~ Visiting Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii

Castle Air Museum***** Possibly the best annex museum of the USAF Museum
.: Castle Air Museum -- 5050 Santa Fe Drive, Atwater, California :.

Planes of Fame ***** If there is a US equivalent of a Duxford fly day, this is it.
PLANES of FAME - Home

And not forgetting...

The National Air and Space Museum*****
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

 

National Museum of the USAF -- Dayton, Ohio, USA *****
The best there is for aviation. And they're adding a new hanger in the near future. Expect to spend a lot of time to look thorugh everything. Be sure to visit the "Research and Development Hanger" located on Wright-Patterson AFB to see the really unique items, including several Air Force One planes, the several X-Planes and the Convair XB-70 Valkyrie. Admission is free.
Time: 2 days to see everything

Pima Air and Space Museum -- Tucson, Arizona, USA *****
Another top-notch museum. There's not a great deal of WWII stuff, but there's a lot of Cold War era planes. It does have the only complete Martin PBM Mariner. It has close to as many aircraft as the USAF museum, but there isn't a lot of signage to read, so it takes less time to visit. The only downside is that most of the collection is outside, so be prepared to do some walking in the hot Arizona sun.
Time: 1 day, depending on whether you can survive the heat.

Parola Tank Museum -- Parola, Finland (About 2 hrs north of Helsinki) *****
Another must-visit. Its out of the way, but it has many very unique vehicles that you won't see in North America or most of continental Europe. It has one of the two surviving T-50s, a lot of T-34s and StUG IIIs in addition to an ISU-152, KVs and T-26s. Most of the collection is outside, and I think the museum would let you climb onto some of the tanks if you asked. Its small (60+ AFVs, plus about 50 AT Guns), but its worthwhile.
Time: 3 - 4 hours.

Obersalzberg Museum -- Obersalzberg (Berchtesgaden), Germany ****
The museum isn't that great. Its simple, but it has some interesting documents and relics from the early days of the Obersalzberg. But the best part is below the museum: visitors have access to a part of the air raid shelter system. It took me about an hour to visit the museum, but I was moving pretty fast. You can easily kill 2 or 3 hours. The old hotel Zum Turken nearby apparently has access to another part of the air raid bunkers, so I would recommend checking this out as well.
Time: 2 - 3 Hours

Vienna Arsenal Museum -- Vienna, Austria ***
This is really called some long German word I can't pronounce or spell, but it roughly translates to "Arsenal Museum". There is not a lot of WW2 exhibits, hence the low rating. But, it does have some top-notch exhibits dating from the middle ages to the WWI which are worth looking at. Among other things; Archduke Ferdinand's car, the pistol used in the assassination and other related items and the conning tower of the UC-20 U-Boat from the First World War that was salvaged from the North Sea. If you have some time to kill, I would visit. Also, if you're in Vienna be sure to check out the six flak towers around the city. I believe 3 of them are in public parks, so are easy to find.
Time: 4 hours to see everything (its quite spread out, and there's a lot to look at). However, the limited WW2 collection can be seen in about 1 hour.

Misawa Aviation Museum -- Misawa, Japan **
If you're not in Misawa (home to a USAF base, located in northern Honshu), there is no point stopping here. I was in the city on business and stopped in. Its quite small, but has some interesting artifacts relating to the first trans-pacific flight (which took off from here in the 1920s). If you're not in the city, there is no point taking the bullet train for the 4+ hour ride from Tokyo just to visit this. About 1.5 hrs north of here is Cape Shiriya, home to a lighthouse that was knocked out by US carrier aircraft in one of the first raids on the north part of the island. If you look closely, you can still see some damage on the structures.
Time: 1 - 2 hours.

USS Intrepid Museum -- New York City, New York ***
Its aimed at the general population, so has a lot of exhibits aimed at producing a maximum "wow factor", but it is still worth seeing. I haven't been to it in years, so they may have changed around a few things. They have some WW2 artifacts, but they mainly date from the cold war era (if I recall correctly).
Time: 4 hours

Buffalo Naval Park -- Buffalo, New York ***
A collection of ships that includes the guided missile cruiser USS Little Rock, a Gato Class submarine and the destroyer "The Sullivans" (named after the Sullivan brothers). There's not much related to WW2, but if you're interested in early cold-war era history its worthwhile. The Gato submarine here was modified to fire the LM-2 Loon missile -- a postwar copy of the German V1.
Time: 4 hours

Next Part:

Battleship Cove -- Fall River, Massachusetts *****
This is a top-notch place. Its home to the battleship USS Massachusetts, postwar destroyer USS J. P. Kennedy, a Gato class submarine, two PT Boats and a East German corvette. There is a lot to look through -- I was pressed for time and didn't even see half of the Massachusetts.
Time: 5-6 hours

USS Slater Museum -- Albany, New York ****
This is the only surviving destroyer escort still afloat. Its small, but very well run.
Time: 1.5 hours (due to the small size)

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum -- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada ****
I may just be used to the big aviation museums in the US, but the selection here isn't the best. If you're in the area, its definitely worth a visit. The star plane in the collection is a Lancaster -- and its still in flying condition. During Father's Day weekend and in June they have an airshow, so that probably the best time to visit. Most of the aircraft are in flying condition.
Time: 2 - 3 Hours, but I've spent the entire day when the aircraft are flying (this is close to where I live).

HMCS Haida -- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada ***
This Tribal class destroyer is docked being the industrial compound on Hamilton harbor. I only visited this once quite a few years ago, but I remember it was quiet and low-key (there's not a lot of visitors). Its a simple museum, but its a good site to visit if you want to get away from the commercialization like that seen on the USS Intrepid. Its difficult to find (no signage from the highway), so have your GPS ready before you leave.
Time: 2 - 3 Hours

Finnish Aviation Museum -- Vantaa, Finland ***
This is much smaller than the North American aviation museums, but its worthwhile because it has many rare European and Soviet aircraft that never made it across the Atlantic. Its a small, low-key museum that's located close to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. I would stop by after your flight lands.
Time: 2 - 3 Hours

Finnish Antiaircraft Museum -- Vantaa, Finland ***
The Finns are proud of their anti-aircraft history; so much so that they have an entire museum dedicated to it! A lot of the exhibits (SAMs, AA guns, Radars) are outside, but there are some interesting small arms exhibits and artifacts inside. I've never been to a museum like it before, and it gives you a very good understanding of Finnish AA technology from the 1930s to the late cold war period. This is also close to Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
Time: 2 Hours.

Finnish Artillery Museum -- Hammelinna, Finland (N/A)
This is located along the highway going to the Parola tank museum. Unfortunately it was closed by the time I got here (I spent more time than I expected at the tank museum), but from the old castle next door I could see the courtyard of the museum. It looked impressive, with dozens of various artillery pieces lined up (mostly WW2-vintage). I would recommend stopping by on the way to Parola.
Time: N/A

Hiroshima Peace Museum -- Hiroshima, Japan **
I had mixed feelings about this museum. The whole picture isn't presented here. It focuses on the suffering of the Hiroshima population, which is understandable. It seemed to blame the Americans for the suffering, and neglected to even mention that Japan started the war with a surprise attack and that Japan would not have surrendered without a bloody flight to the last man, woman and child. If you can put this aside, the exhibits (melted I-beams, etc) are quite interesting to look at. This isn't so much a museum as it is a monument to Hiroshima's suffering. If you're pressed for time, skip the museum and walk around the "A-Bomb Dome" and the "T-Bridge" area instead.
Time: 1 - 2 hours

 

Just outside Prague is the KEBLEY Air Museum situated in a WW2 airfield that still had some activity going on . It can be reached by subway then catch a bus for about a 20K ride through the countryside. It is huge, not terribly modern, which I liked, full of WW1 era to Cold War planes. It has an especially good WW2 collection of mainly fighters, nice to see a 109, Spitfire, P-47, Yak 9, etc in close proximity...the Jug is huge! A ME-262 is nearby. An 88 is sitting outside near a WW2 small armored train car. also fun to see a Mig-15, 17, 19, 21, 25 and 29 all lined up. In one visit I was one of 3 people there, later one of perhaps a dozen. I have visited many museums and this one is a favorite and no so well known.

Kbely Airmuseum-Letecke Muzeum-Praha

Also near Prague, is the Teresienstadt "Model" concentration camp. I found two T 34-85's and a SU 85/100 nor far from the camp, apparently abandoned by the Soviets in a derelict tank farm.

theresienstadt - Bing Images

As for the Musée de la Bataille des Ardennes above my curious children discovered the Sherman's bottom hatch was open so we sneaked inside, against the rules, missing most of it's fittings and rusty but still fun.

Of course no one should miss Bovington, Samur or Aberdeen for armor.

 

*****



I first visited the museum at Duxford a few years back and I have to say I was really impressed. The sheer size of the collection is amazing, the AirSpace hall, an exhibition about British and Commonwealth aviation had just opened it's doors. The Ameican Air Hall is just amazing with the B-51 and teh SR-71. There are hundreds of military aircraft on display covering the whole history of military aviation and a huge number are in flying condition. In one hall you can walk inbetween the old planes while the engineers and volunteers are doing the restoration work. The flight shows were quite impressive and there is also the possibility to buy a flight in an vintage aircraft. Finally one should not miss the Land Warfare Hall with some very nice tanks and vehicles from WWI to present days. Of all the museums I've been to in the UK, it's easily my number one!!!!! Any military aviation enthusiast simply "has" to visit it while staying the UK! If you want to do a "in-depth" visit you should plan in two daysthough! Also consider visiting one of their airshows, alltough they can't be compared anymore to the big shows they did in the eighties and nineties, they are still top class events! Imho Duxford tops the five star classification, you could easily add one or two more stars!


Link to the museums website:

IWM Duxford | Imperial War Museums


Address:

IWM Duxford
Cambridgeshire CB22 4QR


Opening hours:

Opened daily.
Closed on the 24th, 25th & 26th of December.
During the winter (30 October 2011 to 16 March 2012) we are open from 10am - 4pm. Last admission is at 3pm.
During the summer (17 March 2012 to 27 October 2012) we are open from 10am - 6pm. Last admission is at 5pm.


Phone:

0044 (0)1223 835 000

 

Seawolf Park ***

Pelican Island, Galveston, Texas

Phone # 409-744-7854

Seawolf Park has two WWII era Ships on Display, The Gato Class Submarine USS Cavella and the DE USS Stewart.

The Cavella is credited with sinking the Japanese Carrier Shokaku.

Unfortunately Cavalla was reconfigured in the '50s and has a different look from her WWII period, also when I last visited the Stewart she was in rough shape and in need of TLC. You can also see the remains of the SS Selma, a WWI Concrete Tanker in the Bay.

Parking $6.00
Adults $5.00
Kids $ 2.00 (11 and younger free)

Areas for picnics and fishing are available, but be quick pulling in your catch, because the Pelicans are hungry and damn fast!

Moody Gardens and the LoneStar Flight Museum are also on Galveston Island and nearby.

 

****
Another one of the uncountable Battle of the Bulge Museums you can find in Belgium and Luxembourg. Per se the museum would not be that special, with the exception of the personal belongings of Peiper and the Goliath, one might be tempted not to include La Gleize into ones Bulge route.
But there is the "Königs Tiger"!!! So you should not miss the opportunity to visit the tiny village that lay on the route of the 6th SS Panzer Armee's thrust through the Ardennes.
Furthermore it is very interesting to retrace Peiper's route with the help of a map. Even today, after all the roads have been paved and are much larger then in 1944 and all of the bridges have been reinforced it is clearly visible that the idea to attack through this terrain with heavy armoured units was daring.

Link to the museums website:

December 44 Museum - La Gleize


Address:

7, rue de l'église
B 4987 La Gleize - Stoumont
Belgium


Opening hours:

From March 1st through November 21st: Every day from 10 am to 6 p

From November 22nd through February 28th: open during vacations, week-ends and holidays.





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Phone:



Tel : 0032 (0)4 376.66.55

Fax: 0032 (0)4 376.78.40

 

*****

Alltough the name is National Military History Museum, the main topic of the museum is the Battle of the Bulge. Apart from the Bulge there's a section about Luxembourgers in WW2, a section about the history of the Luxembourg Army, one about Luxembourgish POW's in Russia during WW2 and one about the Luxembourgish volunteers fighting in Korea.
IMHO this is one of the best if not the best of the Bulge museums, certainly worth a visit. At the moment the complex where it is located is being rebuilt so there might be some hope for the museum to grow in the years to come.
Alltough one can clearly see that more money and space is needed, the quality of the exhibits is what makes this place unique. Most work is done by volunteers and the people of the museum also take care of veterans travelling the former battlefield.


Link to the museums website:

National Museum of Military History - DIEKIRCH, LUXEMBOURG


Address:

10, Bamertal
L-9209 Diekirch
Luxembourg


Opening hours:
every day: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
closed: December 25th & January 1st


Phone:

Tel: (00352) 808908

Fax: (00352) 808908 99


Just a few pics, it is really just a very small selection, there are too many to post them all!

 

Good thread...good idea...but you will be giving Martin palpitations....So many places to mention in uk..too few years left.....

 

*****

One of the best military museums I have visited till now!! For sure the best collection of military vehicles I've ever seen! Maybe with the exeption of the defunct Victory Museum in Arlon!


Link to the museums website:

Home - Liberty Park - Oorlogsmuseum Overloon


Address:

Liberty Park
Museumpark 1
5825 AM Overloon
The Netherlands


Opening hours:

The museum is open all year round, except on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, 31 December and New Year’s Day.

Monday – Friday: 10:00-17:00
Weekend and holidays: 11:00-17:00


Phone:

tel: + 31 - 478 - 641250
fax: +31 - 478 - 642405

 

Here is a link to the museum of the shelter in Hatten in Alsace (France)
This museum is housed in a former bunker on the Maginot Line.
It deals among other things the Battle of Hatten-Rittershoffen (Nordwind)

Musée de l'Abri de Hatten

Sincerly,

Eric

 

Merci Eric!

 

I dont know....the re-inacters look plastered!

Great photos mate. Loved the Pucara...

 

It's the one the Argies left at Goose Green!

 

One of the few the Special forces DIDNT grenade!

 

Now that you mention the Special Forces, I 'm not so sure anymore. There were no Special Forces in Goose Green, you must be talking about the Pebble Island raid! But I'm not sure if the Puccara was from Pebble Island or from Goose Green?!? I will have to check it out.