The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum is a privately owned museum dedicated to

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s, armoured vehicles and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

from the Second World War and post war periods. It was officially opened in 2014, in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The museum has purchased a number of vehicles and items for display from overseas, including some items from the

Littlefield Collection The Military Vehicle Technology Foundation was a large collection of military vehicles located in Portola Valley, California. It was founded in 1975 by Jacques Littlefield, and closed in 2018 after his death, with its collection being distributed ...

when it was downsized. It is the largest collection of military vehicles in Australia, and the only major collection of vehicles in Australia apart from the

Royal Australian Armoured Corps Memorial and Army Tank Museum The Royal Australian Armoured Corps Memorial and Army Tank Museum is located at Puckapunyal, an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia. The base is the home of the Ro ...

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...

. It is one of the largest private collections of artillery and AFVs in the world. The museum houses vehicles from a number of overseas manufacturers, including vehicles from Russia, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and Czechoslovakia. PZ IV D

Collection

The museum houses artillery dating back to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and vehicles from World War II and the post war period. All up the collection owns more than 100 vehicles, with more than 190 exhibits on display. A number are also in various stages of restoration and transit. The collection features a range of armoured vehicles including German, US, Australian, British and Russian examples.

US vehicles

US vehicles in the collection include both an early model and later model

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

M47 Patton The M47 Patton was an American main battle tank, a development of the M46 Patton mounting an updated turret, and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton. It was the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, command ...

M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...

, M110 self-propelled gun,

M3 Lee The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British Co ...

, M3 Grant, Sherman M4A1, White half-track,

Staghound The Staghound, sometimes referred to as the English Staghound, is an extinct breed of scent hound from England. A pack hound, the breed was used to hunt red deer and became extinct in the 19th century when the last pack was sold. History The S ...

, M52 105mm SPG, LVT4 landing vehicle,

M114 M114 or M-114 may refer to: * M114 155 mm howitzer, a towed howitzer used by the United States Army * M114 armored fighting vehicle, a Vietnam War-era tracked armored fighting vehicle, used by the United States Army * M114 bomb, a U.S. 4 lb. biologi ...

Command and Reconnaissance vehicle, M577A1 Command Vehicle (ex Australian Army), M113A1 (ex Australian army), White M3 half-track, Staghound Anti-Aircraft variant, M3 Grant "local farm conversion", M36 Jackson, M7 Priest and M41 Walker Bulldog.

Australian vehicles

The collection houses two rare

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring grani ...

tanks (AC1 and AC4),

Dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

scout car, Local Pattern 2 Carrier, 2 Pdr Attack Carrier

Yeramba The Yeramba was an Australian self-propelled howitzer built after the end of the Second World War in the late-1940s. They were produced by mounting the 25 pounder gun-howitzer on an American M3A5 Grant tank hull, and were converted by the Ordnan ...

self-propelled 25 pounder, LP4 Armoured Car, M113 fire support vehicle, S1 (American) Scout car and a 2-pounder Portee on a Blitz truck.

British vehicles

Archer,

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

(two), Chieftain, Humber Armoured Car,

Matilda II The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War.Jentz, p. 11. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machin ...

, WWII British artillery tractor, Sherman Firefly, Churchill Mk VII, Churchill Flail, Churchill AVRE,

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

, Valentine tank,

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

, Ferret Mk 2, Fox, FV433 Abbot SPG,

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

, Bar Mine Layer,

with Mk3 No.1 Bulldozer blade. Museum Interior

Russian vehicles

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

artillery tractor, BMP1,

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...

, T26, T34/85, T60, T70, T72, BTR152, SU76, SU100, ISU152, Pion 2S7 203mm SPG, BTR60 Command version, ATL Artillery Tractor, SA-2 (Surface to Air Missile) and a

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (russian: link=no, 2С1 «Гвоздика», "Carnation") is a Soviet self-propelled howitzer based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mounting a 122 mm 2A18 howitzer. "2S1" is its GRAU designation. An alternative Rus ...

and a rare KV1 under restoration.

German vehicles

Panzer 38(t) The 38(t), originally known as the ČKD LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by ČKD, the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the annexation of Cze ...

Jagdpanzer 38(t) The ''Jagdpanzer'' 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as ''Hetzer'', was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis. German ...

, Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf J, Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" (plus a replica from the film "Fury"), Hummel,

Leopard 1 The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought ...

, Kanonenjagdpanzer, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf D, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf E, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf G, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf J, Jagdpanther, Kettenkraftrad(

Sd.Kfz. 2 The (german: Sonderkraftfahrzeug 2) is a half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as the (), shortened to (pl. ). It was used by the military of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Design The started its life as ...

), Sd.Kfz. 250/3 Ausf A, Sd.Kfz. 250/3 Ausf B, Sd.Kfz 250/8, Sturmgeschütz III Ausf A, Sturmhaubitze 42, Beobachtungpanzer Artillery Observation Vehicle, Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf D, Sd.Kfz. 251/9 Ausf C, Sd.Kfz. 251/22, Sd.Kfz. 11/1, Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf A "Panther", Jagdpanzer IV, Sturmgeschütz IV and a Raupenschlepper Ost RSO mit Pak 40. A Sturmgeschütz III Ausf G is undergoing restoration and is not on display.

Other countries

Other vehicles from other countries include a Canadian Ram Kangaroo, Czech OT810, Canadian

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

, French Panhard AML, Ford Gun Tractor with Australian Limber and British 25 pdr, and Czech Praga with 30mm AA gun

Vehicles not on display

Additionally, there are a number of vehicles owned by the museum, but not currently on display. Mostly these are still being prepared in workshops, either on site or overseas, or they are in transit to the Museum. Some of these include a Cromwell Medium Tank, a

Goliath tracked mine The Goliath tracked mine (German: ''Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath,'' "Goliath Light Charge Carrier") was a series of two unmanned ground vehicles used by the German Army as disposable demolition vehicles during World War II. These were the e ...

and close to another 25 additional planned exhibits.

AusArmourfest

Each year to celebrate the Museums birthday, the Museum hosts a three day event called AusArmourfest. AusArmourfest gives people the opportunity to go for rides in some of the operational vehicles. In past years some of the vehicles have included the Hetzer, T72, Panzer IV G, Leopard, Kettenkrad, Sabre and many more.

Donation of Australian Tank From Wargaming Inc

The museum hosts two rare Australian Cruiser tanks (two of six left in the world), an AC1 Sentinel and a hybrid AC1 with an AC3 turret, presented as an AC4. The AC1 Sentinel was purchased and given to the museum by Wargaming Inc, producer of the World of Tanks tank game. The Sentinel was in the United States at the

when that collection sold off many of its vehicles, and Wargaming Inc desired to purchase it and return it to its original home.Salsone, Kieran
"Resurrected Australian Sentinel Tank Hits World"
28 March 2016 As part of the purchase, it allowed access to the tank by Wargaming, so that they could study it and replicate it accurately for their game.

Shooting gallery and workshop

The Museum site also includes a 50-metre shooting gallery and a repair/restoration workshop where the vehicles which are in a state of deterioration can be restored. The workshop has a number of staff and can modify and build vehicles. As of 2015, the site has expanded to house more vehicles.

Tiger 1 replica

In 2016, the museum workshop undertook construction of a Tiger 1 replica. This utilised a highly accurate, partially constructed Tiger 1 that was originally constructed for the movie Fury, which in itself was an accurate replica of Tiger 131. The reconstruction utilised that upper portion of the Tiger, and also referenced original Tiger parts the museum had purchased to make the whole tank. The bottom chassis was strengthened to be able to run, the first time the museum had produced its own tank from scratch. The Tiger reproduction uses a Scania truck engine. The running gear is T55 (Track, support arms and torsion bars) M110 Road wheels and the drive/ steering component is from a T62, but it is outwardly a running, almost completely accurate Tiger 1, except that the front drive sprocket (which due to the T62 T/case sits 200mm too high) and T55 Track. It was completed in November 2016, and is the only reproduction tank of this scale to be completed in Australia.

References

External links

Australian Armour and Artillery Museum
– official site

– media report. Includes images {{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Armour and Artillery Museum Military and war museums in Australia Tank museums Transport museums in Queensland Buildings and structures in Cairns