On Sunday 7th we visited the T-34 museum. The museum only has one T-34 but several other tanks. It has some good graphics, documents and pictures.
To our astonishment a TV crew rocked up while we were there and in fair English the reporter asked if we would do on-camera interviews! So Paul and I might be TV stars... Tune in to mosobltv.ru some time to find out.
Our guide, Ivan, was as astonished as we were. They were interested in Paul, being half-Russian.
One of the catches to visiting Russia is that you more or less have to go with a guide. When you rock up to museums they are insistent on giving you their spiel. The guides tend to go through a standard spiel, and have trouble adapting it to the fact that in our case, for example, we had a very good idea of the history of tank development and didn't really need to be told about Leonardo's drawings, Little Willie, etc.
I've been less patient than Paul and have often wandered off before the spiel has finished.
We have however been getting them to earn their keep by peppering them with difficult questions. One of the graphics today showed the T-34/57 and I asked the guide if there were any of them left. He said no, they had all perished. They were a tank-hunting variant and he thought only a dozen were made.
While we were inside it started to pour with rain so by the time we got outside the snap the things we really wanted to see, the tanks, it was bucketing down. I got out my little waterproof camera and brolly and proceeded on my merry way, while Paul seethed. When I finished I graciously offered him my umbrella and he very politely accepted. I explained to our guide that we're quite competitive.
Anyhow here are my pictures.
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To our astonishment a TV crew rocked up while we were there and in fair English the reporter asked if we would do on-camera interviews! So Paul and I might be TV stars... Tune in to mosobltv.ru some time to find out.
Our guide, Ivan, was as astonished as we were. They were interested in Paul, being half-Russian.
One of the catches to visiting Russia is that you more or less have to go with a guide. When you rock up to museums they are insistent on giving you their spiel. The guides tend to go through a standard spiel, and have trouble adapting it to the fact that in our case, for example, we had a very good idea of the history of tank development and didn't really need to be told about Leonardo's drawings, Little Willie, etc.
I've been less patient than Paul and have often wandered off before the spiel has finished.
We have however been getting them to earn their keep by peppering them with difficult questions. One of the graphics today showed the T-34/57 and I asked the guide if there were any of them left. He said no, they had all perished. They were a tank-hunting variant and he thought only a dozen were made.
While we were inside it started to pour with rain so by the time we got outside the snap the things we really wanted to see, the tanks, it was bucketing down. I got out my little waterproof camera and brolly and proceeded on my merry way, while Paul seethed. When I finished I graciously offered him my umbrella and he very politely accepted. I explained to our guide that we're quite competitive.
Anyhow here are my pictures.
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| The T-34/85 remains one of the great classics of tank design. The big V-12 borrowed from an Italian design, the suspension was Christie-type and despite some mechanical problems, it worked a treat. |
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| The Su-100 was built on the T-34 chassis to deal with bigger game such as the Panther and Tiger. The T-34/85 was perfectly capable of dealing with most other German AFVs. |
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| Another shot of the SU-100. A fine vehicle. |
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| A detailed shot from a little gantry alongside the T-54. |
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| The line-up of tanks from the rear. |
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| As you would expect the museum has quite a lot of information on the development of the T-34 from the earliest days of Russian tank design. |
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