Pictures from the Munster Tank Museum

From Imgur user HoovesOfDerp. VERY picture heavy, more than 100 pictures.

Little note (Hooves): I apologize for the poor lighting and blurriness of the first photos, the first area of the museum was somewhat dark and the sun was coming in through the windows very brightly, so it was difficult to get good shots. I did not photograph everything in the museum, as both my main and spare battery ran out after capturing so many tanks, artillery pieces, armored vehicles, and displays. The museum is HUGE, I thought I could spend an 1 – 2 hours and be finished, and it wound up taking me a total of 5 hours to walk through the entire museum and feel satisfied. It’s COMPLETELY, 9,001% worth going to if you’re ever in or around Germany.

Leopard 1

Leopard 1 outside the museum on a rail transport.

Leopard 1

A7V “Wotan”

The first German tank. 57mm main gun & six 7.62mm machine guns.

A7V “Wotan”

Interior the A7V “Wotan”, looking at the first starboard-side 7.62mm machine gun.

A7V “Wotan”

Detail of the 57mm main gun on the A7V “Wotan”.

Renault FT

Armed with a 25mm autocannon.

Renault FT

Detail of the rear of the Renault FT.

LK II

Schupo-Sonderwagen

An armored car used as a police special-purpose-vehicle. Armed with two 7.92mm machine guns.

3.7cm Pak (t) L/47 Gun

This was a captured Czechoslovakian gun used both as an anti-tank gun and as the main armament of the Pz.35 (t) & Pz.38 (t)

Pz.38 (t)

Damage on the Pz.38 (t)

Machine gun bounces & penetrations on the port-side fuel tank. Guessing from the side and vertical angles of the bullet hits, I think it was from an aircraft.

Damage on the Pz.38 (t)

Machine gun hits on one of the wheels. The wheels are hollow in the middle.

Pz.38 (t)

Pz.38 (t) Scale

A sense of scale (I’m 5ft 11in).

3.7cm Pak 35/36 t/45 Gun

A German 3.7cm Pak, used as an anti-tank gun until 1941, when the KV heavy tanks showed up. Nicknamed “PanzerAnklopKanone” (literally “Army door-knocking device”).

Pz.II Turret

75mm Shell (fired by Pz.IV D)

Pz.IV D Turret

Pz. IV D Turret

Note the breach of the 75mm main gun.

8.8cm Shells (fired by an 8.8cm Flak gun)

8.8cm Flak 37 L/56 Gun

Pz.III M

Armed with the 50mm KwK 39 L/60 gun, and two 7.92mm machine guns.

Pz.III M

Note the added armor on the turret and hull.

Pz.III M

Pz.III M Engine

2cm Flak 38 Gun

Pz.IV G

The most produced German tank of WWII, making up 28% of all German battle tanks from 1939-1945. A total 8,635 were built (all variants).

75mm Shell fired by the Pz.IV G

Pz.IVG

Pz.VI Tiger

I thought the Tiger would be a bit taller than it turned out to be.

Inside the Pz.Vi Tiger

Driver’s compartment (left) & Commander’s seat (right)

Damage on the Pz.VI Tiger

Right on the starboard-side, under the turret.

Damage on the Pz.VI Tiger

Big dent, small hole.

Pz.VI Tiger

Damage on the Pz.VI Tiger

Didn’t penetrate, looks like a very small shell.

Pz.VI Tiger Scale

When standing up, my head was very close to touching touching the barrel of the 8.8cm main gun. The Tiger is a bit shorter than I imagined!

Inside the Pz.Vi Tiger

Gunner’s seat.

Inside the Pz.Vi Tiger

Facing towards the gun breach.

Schwerer Ladungsträger B IV

A remote-controlled vehicle that could deliver half a ton of explosives to a target. The driver would manually control it from inside, get out at the last available cover, and then radio-control it to the target. After arriving to the target, the vehicle would release the charge and be steered via radio away from the danger zone.

Pz.V A Panther

The Panther was much larger than I anticipated.

Pz.V A Panther

75mm shell fired by the Pz.V A Panther

7.5cm KwK 42 L/70

The main gun of the Panther. Detail of the port-side and breach.

7.5cm KwK 42 L/70

The main gun of the Panther. Detail of the starboard-side gunsight (?).

Pz.V A Panther

T-34/76

76mm Shell fired by the T-34/76

T-34/76

Goliath

One of the first fully unmanned vehicles in military history, the Goliath was a vehicle that could carry 75kg of explosives up to 1.5km. Out of the total of 7,244 produced, 6,324 remained after WWII.

Jagdpanzer 38 (t) Hetzer

Note the removed metal & dent under the gun mantlet.

Jagdpanzer 38 (t) Hetzer

Jagdpanther

8.8cm Shell fired by Jagdpanther

Jagdpanther Damage

3 bounces, 1 penetration. There was a display in front of the Jagdpanther showing the 3 shells that hit it. If memory serves, 2 were 76mm AP (the bottom left & middle bounces), one was HE (bottom right), and the final shot was a APCR shell (top left).

APCR Penetration on Jagdpanther

Jagdpanther

Note the shell display & Jagdpanther model explaining where the shells hit the Jagdpanther.

Jagdpanzer IV

Very low, it was only a few inches taller than me (I’m 5ft 11in).

Jagdpanzer IV

This one had Zimmerit paste and sideskirts.

Jagdpanzer IV

8.8cm PaK 43/41 L/71

Marder III

It’s surprisingly tall, although narrow.

Marder II

Marder III

7.5cm PaK 40 L/46

75mm Shell fired by the PaK 40 L/46 gun

7.5cm PaK 40 L/46

Detail of the gun breach

StuG III G

StuGs look sad without their side-skirts.

StuG III G

StuG III G Damage

Brummbär, or Sturmpanzer IV

“Brummbär” literally means “Grouch” in German. It has a 150mm howitzer (designed for ‘soft’ targets) and reminds me of a cereal box for some reason.

Brummbär

Wespe

Technical name is the “10.5-cm-leFH 18.2 auf GW. II (Sf)”. I’ll just stick with Wespe (“wasp” in German).

Wespe

Hummel

Technical name is the “15-cm-sFH 18/1 auf GW III/IV (Sf)”. “Hummel” means “bumblebee” in German.

Hummel

Su-100

This self-propelled gun was pretty big, and the barrel of the gun was so long I couldn’t get it in the frame!

M4A1(76)W

Some version of the M4 with the long 76mm gun.

Sturmtiger

That gun is a 38cm diameter gun, firing up a rocket-propelled shell to 5.7km! It only carried 14 of these HUGE rounds, and only 18 Sturmtigers were built.

380mm shell fired by Sturmtiger

Diagram of the interior of the Sturmtiger.

A picture of a picture. That would be the shell stowage and the breach of the 380mm gun. Is that a crane above the loading mechanism?

Sturmtiger firing 380mm rocket-propelled shell

Another picture of a picture.

Sturmtiger

Someone left the rear hatch open.

380mm breach

Standing on the tips of my toes and holding my arms up as high as I can, I can just barely photograph the breach of the 380mm gun.

380mm breach

Took this while doing a light jump, trying to see more of the 380mm breach through the rear hatch.

Comet

The armor on the Comet was very thin, even for medium tank standards.

Comet

Driver’s seat & hatch.

Comet

Radio operator/machine gunner’s seat & hatch. Note how the compartment separating them from the turret.

Königstiger (aka ‘King Tiger’, ‘Royal Tiger’, ‘Tiger II’)

“Königstiger” doesn’t actually mean “King Tiger” or “Royal Tiger”, it means “Bengal Tiger” in German. This tank was HUGE, I knew it was going to be large but the thing was still impressive in size.

Königstiger

Zoom in to the base of the gun, and note how the screws are attached to each other by wire. This is to prevent them from becoming unscrewed easily.

Königstiger Armor

A sense of scale for the thickness of the upper-frontal plate. The armor on this tank is nothing short of ludicrous.

Königstiger Armor

A sense of scale for the thickness of the bottom-frontal plate.

8.8cm shells fired by the Königstiger

A Sense of Scale – Königstiger

I’m 5ft 11in, and the Pz.VII Königstiger TOWERS above me. It’s a very impressive tank in it’s gun, armor, and size.

Königstiger

Königstiger Cut-away model

Detail of the turret interior of the Pz.VII Königstiger.

Königstiger Cut-away model

Detail of the hull interior of the Pz.VII Königstiger.

M10 Achilles

The British version of the American M10 Wolverine. Armed with a 17-pdr main gun.

M10 Achilles

T-34/85

Wondering about the dude throwing a rock and the crushed bicycle under it’s tracks? T-34/85s were used in 1953 to suppress the East German Uprising.

85mm APCR Shell fired from T-34/85

T-54

Most famous (in Germany at least) for being the tank on the GDR side of Checkpoint Charlie.

T-54

M47 Patton

90mm shells fired by the M47 Patton

M47 Patton’s track interior

Some detail on the tracks of the M47 Patton. Note how the insides are rubber-coated.

M47 Patton

M41 Walker Bulldog

Employed as a scout tank and as a tank destroyer.

76mm shells fired by the M41 Walker Bulldog

M41 Walker Bulldog

Detail of the rear turret.

M48 Patton II

90mm shells fired by the M41 Patton II

M48 Patton II

A cutaway of the M48 Patton II’s main 90mm gun

M48 Patton II

Pretty cool radiator design.

A cutaway of the M48 Patton II’s turret

Looking towards the gun breech and the commander’s seat.

A cutaway of the M48 Patton II’s turret

Looking towards the rear of the turret at the ammunition stowage.

A cutaway of the M48 Patton II’s turret

Looking at the area above the gun breech. The open area in the top-right corner is the cupola.

Centurion Mk. 12

105mm shell fired by the Centurion Mk. 12

Centurion Mk. 12

Prototyp 2. Gen. Fgrp A

A prototype of the Leopard 1

Prototyp 2. Gen. Fgrp A

HS 30

The first IFV to be developed by the Bundeswher.

PT-76

A reconnaissance and light battle tank.

Spz kurz Halbgruppe Typ 11-2

Spz kurz Hotchkiss Typ 91-2

This one is fitted with radar for battlefield surveillance, although most had a turret. The radar enabled it to monitor a radius of up to 18km.

Spz kurz Hotchkiss Typ 91-2 Turret

It’s a tiny turret.

Spz kurz Hotchkiss Typ 91-2 Turret

I don’t think anyone could possibly fit inside this turret. Perhaps it’s remote controlled?

Leopard 1 A1 A4

The Leopard was the first tank to be built in Germany after WWII.

105mm shell fired by the Leopard 1 A1 A4

Leopard 1 A1 A4

L7 A3 L/51 main gun of the Leopard 1 A1 A4

BRM-1K

A variant of the BMP-1 that was specialized for reconnaissance.

Turret of the BMP-1

A shell conveyor belt for the 73mm main gun.

Turret of the BMP-1

The rail above the main gun was to hold a missile.

Turret of the BMP-1

The hatch directly under the missile rail. It’s rather small.

Turret of the BMP-1

The 1-man turret of the BMP-1.

BRM-1K

Luchs

This armored vehicle had 2 drivers, one in the front and one in the back so it could go either direction at equal speeds. It had propellers to make it amphibious as well. Also a top speed of 90km/h.

Engine of the Luchs

It only has 389hp, but

20mm main gun & turret of the Luchs

HS 30 Typ 52-3

An armored mortar carrier

BMP-1

Marder 1A3

This IFV has been the backbone of the Panzergrenadiere since 1971!

Marder 1A3 Main gun cutaway

20mm automatic main gun & a 7.62mm machinegun.

Marder 1A3 7.62mm machinegun cutaway

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Rear of the Marder 1A3

Marder 1A3

Turret-cutaway of the Marder 1A3

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Gunner’s seat in the foreground and the cupola in the top background.

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Looking up at the top of the turret and the cupola.

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Looking through the cupola side of the turret.

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Looking up through the cupola.

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

20mm main gun & 7.62mm machinegun cutaway.

Marder 1A3 20mm Main gun cutaway

Missile launcher attached to the turret.

BMP-1 A1 Ost

The bundeswehr used the BMP-1 for a short time after the reunification of Germany. It was replaced by the Marder IFV.

T-55

T-55

Leopard 1 A2 A1

105mm shells from the Leopard 1 A2 A1

Leopard 1 A2 A1

Leopard 1 A3

Leopard 1 A4

That’s a snorkel on the top of the turret. It could ford up to a depth of 4.4m!

Leopard 1 A4

T-55

A more modern T-55 than the previous one. Note all the additional equipment added to the tank.

T-55

Leopard 1 A5

Kampfpanzer 70

Originally a project to design a tank of the future. This tank was designed to protect it’s crew from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. All 3 crew members were located inside the turret. The tank has a 152mm XM-150 L/43.5 main gun.

Kampfpanzer 70

The turret was rather large on this tank.

Cutaway of the Kampfpanzer 70’s 152mm main gun

Kampfpanzer 70

M48 A2 G A2

The last M48 variant to be used by the Bundeswehr.

T-72

The last East German standard tank.

T-72

The bulldozer on the front was to allow the tank do dig in and form it’s own hull-down position. It could do this within 30 minutes.

Leopard 2 A4

Leopard 2 A4 practice shell

A practice shell used to train the loader of a Leopard 2 A4. It was surprisingly light for it’s size (19kg).

120mm shells fired by the Leopard 2 A4

120mm (HEAT?) shell fired by the Leopard 2 A4

Leopard 2 A4

Leopard 1 Turret

There was a rather unique exhibit outside where you could climb into the turret of a Leopard 1. Here’s the view from the loader’s hatch.

Leopard 1 Turret Interior

To the left and below the main gun was ammunition stowage.

Leopard 1 Turret Interior

Looking behind the breech of the main gun towards the commander/gunner’s seat & the rear of the turret.

Leopard 1 Turret Interior

The commander/gunner’s seat to the right of the main gun.

Leopard 1 Turret Interior

Detail of the ammunition stowage to the left and below the main gun.

Leopard 1 Turret Interior

Looking from the rear of the turret towards the front. It was a very roomy turret. Sorry about my shirt getting in the photo.

Waffenträger Wiesel 1

Was an armored vehicle designed to be carried and deployed by transport helicopters or transport aircraft.

Waffenträger Wiesel 1

Flakpanzer M42

AKA M42 “Duster”.

Flakpanzer M42

Panzerhaubitze 155mm

AKA M44.

Flugabwehrpanzer Gepard B2L

AKA the Gepard. At this point both my primary and spare battery for my camera died and my photographing came to an end.

Bonus Photo

I think it’s some sort of hornet or wasp, the biggest I’ve ever seen in my life. The thing was EASILY bigger than a US half-dollar coin, and it was still crawling around when I took this photo.