Tuesday 20 May 2014

VISIT TO EUROPE - UNITED KINGDOM - IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM DUXFORD - LAND WARFARE









CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY
C/O COL GKS REDDY

Secunderabad - 500015


Imperial War Museum Duxford



          Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibition buildings. The site also provides storage space for the museum's other collections of material such as film, photographs, documents, books and artefacts. The site accommodates several British Army regimental museums, including those of the Parachute Regiment(named Airborne Assault) and the Royal Anglian Regiment.



          Based on the historic Duxford Aerodrome, the site was originally operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the First World War. During theSecond World War Duxford played a prominent role during the Battle of Britain and was later used by United States Army Air Forces fighter units in support of the daylight bombing of Germany. Duxford remained an active RAF airfield until 1961. After the Ministry of Defence declared the site surplus to requirements in 1969 the Imperial War Museum received permission to use part of the site for storage. The entirety of the site was transferred to the museum in February 1976.



          Visited Imperial War Museum, Duxford on Tuesday 08 Oct 2013, along with my elder daughter Jahnavi Reddy. We started the day with a visit to Air Warfare Section, after which we visited Land Warfare Section




Land Warfare Exhibits - Displayed Outside






D - 30, 122 mm Towed Howitzer, Soviet Long Range Artillery Weapon in Service 
since early 1960 with Soviet Union, Soviet Block and many other Countries 






British FV 432 APC with Pearson Surface Clearance Device - Lightweight Tracked 
Armoured Box, used primarily for Transporting Infantry on the Battlefield






Entrance to the Land Warfare Equipment Exhibit Hall






British Ferret Mark II Armoured Car - Standard Post WW II Reconnaissance 
Vehicle fitted with a 30 mm Machine Gun 






British M3A3 Grant Tank - This Tank was used by Lt Gen Montgomery 
during Battle of El Alamein. To make room for extra Communication Equipment, the 
37 mm Gun Barrel was replaced with a wooden dummy






Soviet Josef Stalin 2M Heavy Tank - Late Second WW Tank of advanced 
ballistic design which spearheaded the Soviet Offensives of 1944 - 45, as they 
smashed their way through to |Berlin






Soviet SU -100 Tank Destroyer - Produced to counter the German Panther and 
Tiger Tanks, SU - 100 was a T - 34 Tank Chassis adapted to fit a 100 mm Naval 
Gun, which would not fit in the normal T - 34 Gun Turret






A closer view of Soviet SU - 100 Tank Destroyer






British 5.5 " Medium Gun






German Goliath Demolition Vehicle - Electric or Petrol Driven Goliath 
Remote controlled were designed to be guided by a command wire to the 
base of fortifications, where their 80 Kgs of explosives would be detonated. 
Used by the Germans from 1943 - 45, but they were not a great Success






A close view of Goliath Demolition Vehicle






British Valentine Mark III Infantry Tank - Designed to accompany Infantry into Battle, 
the Valentines had to undertake many other Roles in the Battlefield during 1940 - 1944.






British Vickers Mark VI Light Tank - was the Principal Light Tank of the British 
Army at the outbreak of WW II. Though they were almost Obsolete by that time,
 many served in France in 1940 and North Africa in 1941






A close view of Vickers Light Tank






Soviet ZPU - 4 Anti Aircraft Artillery - Introduced in 1949, this Anti Aircraft 
weapon comprises four standard Heavy (14.5 mm) Machine Guns






British EPS Springer All Terrain Transport Vehicle - It is an all terrain 
Multipurpose small transport vehicle. It is designed to carry combat 
supplies from Helicopter Landing sites to forward operating bases. It is being 
used by the British Army in Afghanistan






British Scorpion Light Tank - After extensive trails, the Scorpion entered British 
Army service in 1972. Designed for stealthy Reconnaissance, it is light, fast 
and agile and yet mounts a 76 mm Gun. It has been recently phased out of service






British Saladin Armoured Car FV 601 - The standard Armoured Car for over 
20 years, the Saladin Design incorporated the experience of WW II. It has 
excellent cross country performance, high speed, heavy armament and compact size






Tatra OT - 810 Half Track - In Armoured Warfare, "Only movement 
brings Victory". Infantry Regiments of Panzer Divisions used 
Armoured Personnel carriers like this to keep up with the tanks. 






US 155 mm M - 40 Self propelled Gun - Introduced at the very end of WW II, 
when a small number saw action, the M - 40 saw its major actions in Korean 
War. The 155 mm SP weapon is now standard to most armies of the world






Soviet BMP -1, Infantry Combat Vehicle - was introduced into Soviet 
Army Service in 1967. It was designed to enable its crew and 
infantry to fight through enemy positions from within the vehicle






German Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer - Although only 382 vehicles 
were built, the "Hunting Panther" was the most successful German 
Tank Destroyer of WW II. The largest group of these vehicles fought in the 
Ardennes offensive of 1944.






British Mark 10 General Service Wagon of WW I - At the outbreak of 
WW I in 1914, the overwhelming majority of transport of all armies was 
horse drawn. This two horse drawn wagon built in 1915 was typical of the period






9.2 " Coastal Defense Gun - An example of the Coastal Guns installed 
throughout the British Empire in the early 1900s 






The German V-1 Rocket "The Flying Bomb" - German WW II 
Cruise Missile fired at Britain during 1944 - 45






Standard Beaverette - A 1940 Emergency Measure Light Armoured Car, 
built on the chassis of Standard Motor 14 HP passenger car.






3.7 " Anti Aircraft Gun - British WW II Heavy Anti aircraft Gun








Note:- The information about the places visited has been Extracted from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia

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