The Muckleburgh Collection is a military museum sited on a former military camp at Weybourne, on the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was ...

coast,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was opened to the public in 1988 and is the largest privately owned military museum in the United Kingdom.

History

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H14985

The museum is located on the site of the Second World War and post-war Weybourne Anti Aircraft Training Camp. Weybourne Camp is north west of the coastal village of Weybourne. The site, originally called Carvel Farm, was first used in 1935 by the Anti–Aircraft Division of the Territorial Army as a summer training camp. In 1937 and as a result of the growing threat of war, it was decided to make the camp permanent and more fixed structures and defences were erected. During the Second World War, the camp was surrounded by a perimeter anti-tank ditch and defended by a system of gun emplacements and barbed wire. The interior of the camp consisted of groups of

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of Corrugated galvanised iron, corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British ...

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

and other military buildings. The cliff top to the north was covered by a line of heavy anti-aircraft guns and batteries, slit trenches and pillboxes. In 1941, the camp was visited by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, to view a demonstration of the Unrotated Projectile anti–aircraft weapon. As the war progressed, defences at Weybourne Camp became more complex and were altered regularly and significantly and a grass airstrip was laid out, which remains in use. After the war, the camp became known as the AA permanent Range and Radar Training Wing and gunnery training continued until 1958. The site still has a RAF radar receiving station and is the location of the University of East Anglia Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory and a Metrological Station.

The museum

When Weybourne Camp closed, the site returned to private ownership and many buildings that were beyond repair were demolished. The Muckleburgh Collection was founded by Squadron Leader Berry Savory and his son

Michael Savory Sir Michael Berry Savory (born 1943) was Lord Mayor of London for 2004-05. Savory was elected to Court_of_Common_Council#The_Court_of_Common_Council, Common Council in 1980 and as an Alderman in 1996. He served as Sheriffs of the City of London, ...

. At the time of the museum's opening in 1988, the principal display consisted of 30 vehicles and a small room describing the camp history. The museum has expanded to include over 150 artillery pieces, tanks and other vehicles, most of which are in working order. The Muckleburgh Collection is home to the

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

and

Norfolk Yeomanry The Norfolk Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry ( Yeomanry) regiment of Britain's Territorial Army accepted onto the establishment of the British Army in 1794. After seeing action in the Second Boer War, it served dismounted at Gallipoli, in Pale ...

collection, the North Norfolk Amateur Radio Group and numerous special displays. The vehicles, museum site, and its unspoilt has been used for television films, documentaries and dramas.Muckleburgh Collection on TV
The museum offers rides in a military vehicle and hosts "tank driving" in a

FV432 The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefie ...

. Among the 25 working tanks are a

Panzer P-68 The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette in Thun in the late 1960s, and was the main tank of the Swiss Army until the late 1990s. History The Panzer 68 was based on the Panzer 61, w ...

, a

Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

and a

Stuart M5A1 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 ...

, a Soviet

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 Tank ...

and a Canadian-built Sherman.

Exhibits

Tracked

* A41 Centurion Mk5 *

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

*Centurion ARRV *

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Mk7 *

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

Mk 2 *

FV101 Scorpion The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle, and also a light tank. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), CVR(T), family of seven armoured vehicles. Manufactured by ...

CVR(T) * FV4201 Chieftain Mk5 *

FV433 Abbot SPG FV433, 105mm, Field Artillery, Self-Propelled "Abbot" is the self-propelled artillery, or more specifically self-propelled gun (SPG), variant of the British Army FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), using much of the chassis of ...

(two) *

APC *

FV434 The FV434 is the Armoured Repair Vehicle variant of the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Introduced in the 1960s primarily as a means of quickly changing Chieftain MBT power packs in the field, it is operated by the ...

ARV *

FV438 Swingfire The FV438 Swingfire was an armoured anti-tank vehicle of the British Army. It was derived from the FV430 series of vehicles by converting the FV432 to accommodate a launcher for Swingfire anti-tank guided missiles. It had two firing bins and ...

M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...

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, comm ...

* M16A2 White with Maxson quad 50 calibre MG *

M29 Weasel The M29 Weasel is a World War II tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. Built by Studebaker, Weasels were also used in sandy, muddy, and desert terrains, including towing loads over terrain wheeled vehicles could not negotiate as in t ...

Cargo Carrier * M4A1 Sherman 'Grizzly' * M5A1 Stuart (Honey) *

MT-55 The MT-55A ( sk, Mostný tank) is an armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) tank, manufactured by ZŤS Martin in Slovakia. The AVLB is based on a T-55A medium tank chassis, with the turret detached and replaced by a special bridge launching equ ...

Bridgelayer * Panzer PZ61 * Panzer PZ68 * Sexton 25Pdr SP * T-34/85 MBT *

MBT *Tracked

Rapier A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Impo ...

SAM Launcher M74B *

Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and othe ...

No2 Mk1 *

ZSU-23-4 The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored Soviet self-propelled, radar-guided anti-aircraft weapon system ( SPAAG). Etymology The acronym "ZSU" stands for ''Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' (russian: Зенитная Самоходная Ус ...

Shilka Anti-aircraft

Armoured

BTR-40 The BTR-40 (БТР, from Бронетранспортёр, or '' Bronetransporter'', literally "armoured transporter† is a Soviet non-amphibious, wheeled armoured personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle. It is often referred to as the ''So ...

APC *

Daimler Armoured Car The Daimler Armoured Car was a successful British armoured car design of the Second World War that continued in service into the 1950s. It was designed for armed reconnaissance and liaison purposes. During the postwar era, it doubled as an inter ...

Mk1 *

Daimler Dingo The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo (after the Australian wild dog), is a British light, fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle also used for liaison during the Second World War. Design and development In 193 ...

Mk2 Scout Car *

Ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their interfertility. Other mus ...

Mk1/2 (two) * FV1611 Humber Mk2 ('Pig') * FV601 Alvis Saladin Mk2 * FV620 Alvis Stalwart Mk1 (two) *

Landsverk :''This is about the origin of the family name Landsverk. For the Swedish heavy industry manufacturer, see AB Landsverk.'' Landsverk is the name of two forest farms located in the village of Lisleherad, in the municipality of Notodden, Norway ...

Unimog The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...

Scout Car * M3A1 White Scout Car *

M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...

Alvis Saracen The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed and produced by Alvis since 1952. It has been used by a variety of operators around the world, and is still in use in secondary roles in some countries. The Saracen became a ...

APC Mk1

Guns

* 105 mm Field Gun *105 mm L3A1 Pack Howitzer *12 Pdr Naval Gun Mk5 * L1 BAT *

QF 13 pounder The Ordnance QF 13-pounder (British ordnance terms#QF, quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I. History The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response t ...

Field Gun *Argentine CITEFA 155 mm Field Gun M-77 *

155 mm gun M1 The 155 mm gun M1 was a 155 millimeter caliber field gun developed and used by the United States military. Nicknamed "Long Tom" (an appellation with a long and storied history in U.S. field and naval artillery), it was produced in M1 and M2 ...

Long Tom * QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun * QF 18 Pounder field gun * QF 2-pounder anti-tank gun (two) * QF 25-pounder gun-howitzer & Limber * QF 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun *

QF 4.5-inch howitzer The Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer was the standard British Empire field (or ‘light’) howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5-inch howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remai ...

40 mm Bofors Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

L70 (two) * 5.5-inch howitzer *57 mm AZP S-60 Anti-aircraft * QF 6-pounder Anti-tank *7 Pdr Mark IV Armstrong Cannon * 88 mm Flak 37 *

FH70 The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed howitzer in use with several nations. History In 1963, NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery, either towed or tracked. Subsequently, Germany and UK sta ...

155 Field Howitzer *Flak 20 RH 202 (Rheinmetall) *M1 155 mm Howitzer *M56 105 mm Pack Howitzer *Single 14.5 mm ZPU1 *Twin 14.5 mm ZPU2 (two) *Quad 14.5 mm ZPU4 *106 Recoilless Rifle

Support Vehicles

*10 KVA Generator *Orme-Evans No1 Mk1 Airborne Trailer *Albion 10TonGS Workshop *

Austin 8 The Austin 8 is a small car which was produced by Austin between 1939 and 1948. Launched on 24 February 1939, production continued into the war until 1943. Approximately 9,000 - 9,500 of the wartime Austin models were two-seater military 8AP to ...

Staff Car *

Austin K5 The Austin K5 was a British heavy military truck built by Austin for use during the Second World War. The K5 was used with open body and cab for carrying the Ordnance QF 6 pounder The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt,British forces ...

GSA *

Austin K6 Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Breakdown Gantry *

Bedford QL The Bedford QL was a series of trucks, manufactured by Bedford for use by the British Armed Forces in the Second World War. History At the outbreak of WW II, Bedford was contracted by the British War Office to produce a 3 ton 4×4 general serv ...

3 Ton *Bedford Radio Van *Brockhouse 20 ton Trailer *Cranes 7.5 ton Trailer *M416

jeep trailer The Jeep trailer was a small, payload rated, cargo trailer, designed in World War II, tailored to be towed by 1/4-ton U.S. Army jeeps. Versions of the quarter-ton jeep trailer remained in military use, by the U.S. or other countries, at least th ...

*M19

Gama Goat The Gama Goat was a six-wheel drive semi-amphibious off-road vehicle originally developed for use by the US military in the Vietnam War. The Goat uses an articulated chassis, so that from distance it appears to be a four-wheel drive vehicle pull ...

(three) *M43 Dodge Ambulance *

Austin 12 The Austin Twelve is a motor car introduced by Austin in 1921. It was the second of Herbert Austin's post World War I models and was in many ways a scaled-down version of his Austin Twenty, introduced in 1919. The slower than expected sal ...

Saloon Car *

Austin K2/Y The Austin K2/Y is a British heavy military ambulance that was used by all Commonwealth services during the Second World War. Built by Austin, it was based on the 1938 Austin K30 30-cwt light truck which as the K2 chassis was built during the w ...

Ambulance *DKW Munga *90 cm Searchlight *

BSA M20 The BSA M20 was a British motorcycle made by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. Although initially viewed as a near failure by the War Office in 1936, the M20 evolved into one of the longest servin ...

Motor Cycle *Cable Trailer * Chevrolet C8AT Portee * Diamond T 981 Prime Mover * Diamond T 967 Wrecker *

Ford GPA The Ford GPA "Seep" (Government 'P' Amphibious, where 'P' stood for its 80-inch wheelbase), with supply catalog number G504, was an amphibious version of the World War II Ford GPW jeep. Design features of the much larger and successful DUKW am ...

(Amphibian) * Ford WOT 2 * Ford WOT 6 *M9 Rogers 45 Ton Trailer * GMC CCKW 352 (Jimmy) *Godiva

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was reloca ...

mobile Fire Pump *Godiva Coventry Climax Fire Pump *Leyland DAF GS *

Leyland Hippo Mk II The Leyland Hippo Mk II was a heavy general service cargo truck used by the British Army and Royal Air Force during World War II and the immediate post-war years. History Throughout 1939 and 1940 the British Armed Forces took delivery of 330 Le ...

* Morris Commercial C8 FAT Mk3 (Quad) *Praga 8 ton Mobile Crane *SV/25

Scammell Pioneer The Scammell Pioneer was a British 6×4 tractor unit used in World War II as an artillery tractor, recovery vehicle and tank transporter. Development Designed as a 6×4 off-road vehicle for use in Britain's colonies where sealed roads were s ...

* Willys GPW jeep *Russian

ZIL-131 The ZIL-131 is a general purpose 3.5 tonne 6x6 army truck designed in the Soviet Union by ZIL. The basic model being a general cargo truck. Variants include a tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, a fuel truck, and a 6x6 for towing a 4-wheeled pow ...

Water Tanker *Fire Hose Reel Tender (two)

Missiles

9K11 Malyutka The 9M14 Malyutka (russian: Малютка, links=no; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the firs ...

(AT-3 SAGGER) *

9M113 Konkurs The 9M113 ''Konkurs'' (russian: 9М113 «Конкурс»; en, "Contest"; NATO reporting name AT-5 ''Spandrel'') is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile. A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can ...

Wire-guided AT * 9M37M Strela 10 SAM *

Bristol Bloodhound The Bristol Bloodhound is a British ramjet powered surface-to-air missile developed during the 1950s. It served as the UK's main air defence weapon into the 1990s and was in large-scale service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the forces of ...

Mk2 *

English Electric Thunderbird The English Electric Thunderbird was a British surface-to-air missile produced for the British Army. Thunderbird was primarily intended to attack higher altitude targets at ranges up to approximately , providing wide-area air defence for the Army ...

Mk2 *Replica

Fieseler Fi 103 The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany as ...

(V1 Doodlebug) with a section of the original Peenemünde launch ramp *

9K35 Strela-10 The 9K35 ''Strela-10'' (russian: 9К35 «Стрела-10»; en, arrow) is a Soviet highly mobile, short-range surface-to-air missile system. It is visually aimed, and utilizes optical/ infrared-guidance. The system is primarily intended to engag ...

SAM (SA-13 "Gopher") *Javelin LML trainer *Rapier Mk2 Launcher (& 15 test Missiles)

Radar

*Anti Aircraft Fire Control No3 MkVII *Cymbeline mortar locating radar *Green Archer mortar locating radar *Local warning Anti aircraft No4 Mk7 *No11 Target Surveillance (Big Ears) *No12 Height Finder (Noddy) *Type 65 (two) *Type 85 *Type 88 Target Surveillance

Gallery

File:The Artillery Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1806474.jpg, The Artillery Hall Image:Muckleburgh Collection.JPG, Entrance to Muckleburgh Collection File:QF 3.7 Anti Aircraft Gun, Muckleburgh Collection, 06 June 2010 (1).JPG, QF 3.7 Anti-Aircraft Gun File:Gamagoat.JPG,

ride at Muckleburgh File:V1 Flying Bomb, Muckleburgh Collection, Norfolk, 06 06 2010.JPG,

V1 Flying Bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

References

External links

{{commons category
Museum Website
Military aviation museums in England Military history of Norfolk Military and war museums in England Museums in Norfolk North Norfolk Tank museums