Tank Museum Saumur

Description: Musée des Blindés / 1043, route de Fontevraud / 49400 / Saumur / Tel : 0241 836995 / Fax : 0241 836990 / / Started by ... more

Tank Museum Saumur ... the roundup of WW II tanks, mainly from the Issy-les-Moulineaux factory (better known as the AMX for Moulineaux workshop) in the 1950's, the collection of armoured equipment constituted in Saumur, reaches today 880 armoured vehicles, 200 of which are in working order. The museum displays an amazing section of WW II vehicles. In it, the equipment is shown by countries. For France, the collection is almost totally full with the AMD 178 and AMR 35 armoured cars, the FCM ( Forges et Chantiers de la Méditérannée) tank, the Renault R35 and R39 tanks, Hotchkiss H35 and H39 tanks, the famous SOMUA (Société d' Outillage Militaire et d' Usinage d' Armement) tank which, thanks to its fire power and mobility, was a real match for the German panzers, and the B1Bis tank which partly equipped General De Gaulle's 4 th Division Cuirassée de Réserve at Moncornet on May 17 th 1940 and later during the Abbeville counter attack.

Newest Review: ... lines snaking across the map of Europe, firstly Czechoslovakia, then the plains of Poland, then the Low Countries and France. They seemed, and indeed were, unstoppable: a combination of power, speed and will. Without the Channel, they would undoubtedly have rolled all the way to the Orkneys. And how was this achieved? In a tiny thing hardly bigger than a modern armoured car. It's no taller ... more

... than me - I could practically see right over it. The bigger German beasts, the Tigers and King Tigers came much later. As I understand it, the British Matilda tanks were no match even for these comparative midgets, but the French Renaults and Somuas w...more

Read Reviews for Tank Museum Saumur

Tank Museum Saumur: All tanked up! (1891 words)
by - written on 19/06/07 (Very useful, 1360 readings)
Rating:

So there we were in Saumur. We'd visited the castle and picnicked in the park by the castle, looking over the town, the Loire and the countryside beyond. "What shall we do now," I asked. "Let's go to the Tank Museum," said my other half. Tank Museum? Now despite being a female wishy-washy liberal I'm quite happy to pore over things warlike, yomp over battlefields ancient and modern, and love places like the Imperial War Museum and Duxford. But tanks? I know nothing about engines - I have trouble locating the bonnet release catch on my car - and have little interest in heavy metal in any form. I was still iffing and butting as we ... Read the complete review