Speyer and Sinsheim - tanks and AFVs

Here are some of the tanks and AFVs at these two fine museums, mostly at the latter.

The Sinsheim museum's main problem is that it is a bit cramped. As can be seen, the gear is presented beautifully. I actually saw two women dusting the exhibits. One indicated to me in halting English that many of the the cars and tanks could be driven./

Detail of the same vehicle.

Late model Pz KW IV

German 80mm mortar (from memory)

Universal Carrier, complete with Boy's anti-tank rifle.

Post war Ferret scout car, which is really cute.

I like to be able to get above the exhibits so here are some shots from the gantry.

Outside there are two whole rows of vehicles.

Now you see why the Priest was so-called!

M3 STuart light tank

Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missile. There was a continuous belt of these missiles stretching from the Baltic to the Austrian border. With the lower altitude HAWK, these missiles provided NATO with its main SAM defences for most of the Cold War.

Big 8 wheeled post war EBR French armoured car.

Sherman engineer vehicle

M24 Chaffee

Big BTR 60 eight wheeled APC, of which the Russians built huge numbers, forming the main equipment of most Motorised Rifle divisions until the BMP came along, and were used heavily in Afghanisatn.

Speyer and Sinsheim - cars and trains

Speyer and Sinsheim both have somewhat eclectic mixtures of cars, machinery, tractors, trains, plains, tanks, artillery etc. So I have created three posts, one essentially for non military subjects and a third for ships.

Please enjoy!

Sinsheim has a large collection of fire engines!

And whole trains (engines).

Hundreds of motorbikes - reminiscent of the Retro Museum in Moscow.

This remarkable 4x4 vehicle was developed by the Germans during WW2. I don't know if anyone has followed up on the technology since, but this vehicle looks impressive.

This looks like the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car.

The De Lorean was a marketing disaster of epic proportions but still looks cool today.

I believe this is a Bugatti Royale.

D-type Jaguar

The Mercedes Benz 600 Grosser was a huge tank of a limousine built in the 1970s. It had a huge 6.3 litre donk and was the epitome of European luxury.

These shots are for my Dad, who started me off on my lifetime fascination with technology in the 1960s and out train set (which he still has somewhere).

The big 6 wheeled armoured Merc  incorporated mine protection, bullet proof class, armoured sides but as the caption drily notes, was of limited utility given its use as a convertible. The last one of these traded sold for a reputed US$10 million. It is believed that this car is the one, displayed "as a result of a very generous patron". 

Another big armoured Merc but not the 6 wheel version.

Another Grosser. I never thought in my whole life I would see one, let alone two of these magnificent cars.

Speyer and Sinsheim museums - Planes

These two museums, which are set up like theme parks, are near Mannheim, about an hour's drive from Karlsruhe, where we were staying, and half an hour from each other.

At first Speyer appeared lightweight, but closer examination showed a more substantial collection. And while the aircraft stored outside and sometimes not in a good state, the aircraft cars and other gear inside is  well presented.

Sinsheim is considerably larger and the collection of cars is enormous and valued at several hundred million dollars. Sinsheim is the only location in the world where a Tupolev Tu-144 and a Concorde are displayed together.

A great shot, technically beyond the specs of the camera, which I took a chance on and came out much better than I had a right to expect.

There is something about the Mil-24 Hind which just looks menacing.

The VFW 614 was a very interesting aircraft. the overwing engine installation had some theoretical advantages but the concept didn't take on and only small numbers were sold.

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This Canadair built Sabre is beautifully displayed.

The marking on this are interesting because nominally it is a French aircraft but with the roundels reversed, similar to those on RAF aircraft. I'm not sure if it is a mistake, a pun, or because of the red paint scheme.

Fokker Dr 1 triplance replica.

Me 109 G-5 (rather than the much more common G-6).

Some of the aircraft outside are in poor shape. This is the nose of a Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewere light bomber, roughly analagous to the Vautour, or early Buccaneer, or Canberra.

The Sukhoi Su-7 fighter bomber had a terrible payload-range so Sukhoi (and Mikoyan) developed a swing version, the Su-20 (and export Su-22) which were much better aircraft.

This is the wing fold part of the MiG-23 Flogger. The electronics was roughly equivalent to an F-4J Phantom but the swing wing was less sophisticated than on an F-111 or Tornado, with 4 positions (rather than highly variable).

Speaking of Phantoms, here is a fine example.

The museum guide has an excellent description of how this 747 got there. Partly by air, then by barge, then by road and finally with a bloody big crane!.

Same Phantom, originally one of the Blue Angels aerobatic team.

F-101 Voodoo is quite a large aircraft and an interesting choice. It was a real Cold War warrior, seeing extensive service in RCAF and USAF colours