The Swiss Military Museum () is located at

Full-Reuenthal Full-Reuenthal is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Zurzach (district), Zurzach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Full is first mentioned around 1303-07 as ''Wulna'', and Reuen ...

in the

Canton of Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by th ...

History of the museum

The origins of the museum go back to the ''Verein zur Förderung eines wehrtechnischen Museums'' ("Association for the Promotion of a Military Museum"), which was founded by Thomas Hug and friends. In 1989, the ''Festungsmuseum Reuenthal'' ("Reuenthal Fortress Museum") was opened. The construction of the military museum in Full on a former industrial site began in 1998.Dieter Minder, ''Aargauer Zeitung'', 23 November 2016:
Militär- und Festungsmuseum
' Retrieved 8 February 2018. The sponsor of the Swiss Military Museum in Full is the ''Verein Militär- und Festungsmuseum Full-Reuenthal'' ("Full-Reuenthal Military and Fortress Museum") or VMFM. Until 2011 the association offices were located in the old Reuenthal Fortress, which it has also operated as a museum since 1989. A new museum hall was opened in April 2010.

Collection

The museum displays military hardware and uniforms of Swiss and foreign armed forces, mainly from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The museum displays mainly tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns of the Swiss Army and other armies from the 20th century in several former factory halls. A special feature is the complete factory collection of the former arms manufacturer

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...

on the upper floor of the museum. This mainly comprises anti-aircraft and aircraft weapons. The museum also owns a German V1 flying bomb, a Reichenberg device, and engines and defence stands from English and American bombers that crashed or made emergency landings in Switzerland.

List with some of the exhibits

Swiss Army

* Alouette III * De Havilland Vampire DH.100 *

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 ...

* Panzer 61 * Panzer 68 * Zielfahrzeug 68 * Entpannungspanzer 65 * Brückenpanzer 68 * Tank gun 68 * Saurer D 330 N * Saurer 2DM * Saurer 2 CM * Saurer M6 * Saurer MH4 * Berna 2VM * M548 *

M113 The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs. The M113 was first used ...

M109 howitzer The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44 and M52. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western ...

* ČKD-Praga LT-H / Panzerwagen 39 *

Centurion tank The FV4007 Centurion was the primary main battle tank of the British Army during the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing comba ...

* Rotinoff Super Atlantic * Bucher FS 10 Flugzeugschlepper 78

Non Swiss Army Vehicles

* FBW 80-N *

Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...

* Goliath tracked mine *

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium 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 1944–2 ...

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

* Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg *

Tiger II The Tiger II was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of the World War II, Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B, often shortened to Tiger B.Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 16. The ordnance inve ...

(under reconstruction) *

Panhard EBR The Panhard EBR (Panhard ''Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance'', French: Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle) is an armoured car designed by Panhard for the French Army and later used across the globe, notably by the French Army during the Algerian War ...

* P-18 radar * Ural-4320 *

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

* Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 * MDK-2M * GAZ-69 *

Leopard 1 The Kampfpanzer Leopard, subsequently Leopard 1 following the introduction of the successive Leopard 2, is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service ...

* PSzH *

Sturmgeschütz III The ''Sturmgeschütz'' III (StuG III) was an assault gun produced by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the most-produced German Continuous track, fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle, and second-most produced German armored combat ve ...

Air Defense

SNORA and SURA-D rockets The Oerlikon-Bührle SNORA and SURA-D are 81-mm and 80-mm rockets developed in Switzerland in the late 1970s and fielded in the 1980s. The SNORA could be used in both air-to-surface and surface-to-surface rocket artillery roles, while the SURA-D ...

* Bristol Bloodhound * Super Fledermaus *

Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA/3 ...

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

* Mosquito (missile) *

RSD 58 The RSD 58 is an early production surface-to-air missile system developed by Contraves-Oerlikon in Switzerland from 1947.David A. AndertonSwiss Build Mobile Anti-Aircraft Missile ''Aviation Week'', June 30, 1958. Test firings were made in Switzer ...

Former Mowag Factory Museum

* Mowag 4x4 armored reconnaissance vehicle (armored dummy) * Mowag MR 8 * Mowag Roland * Mowag Puma * Mowag Shark * Mowag Spy * Mowag Tornado infantry fighting vehicle * Mowag Trojan infantry fighting vehicle * Mowag Pirat * Mowag 3M1 Pirat * Jagdpanzer MOWAG Cheetah * Mowag Piranha * Mowag Eagle * MOWAG-AEG * Mowag T1 4x4

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweizerisches Militarmuseum Full Military and war museums in Switzerland Museums in Aargau Military history of Switzerland Tank museums Arsenals Military equipment of Switzerland Aargau