Bastogne Barracks museum

 During the recent trip to the Ardennes, Russell and I visited the Bastogne Barracks AFV collection.  I'd seen this in 2017 (see link here) when it was rather crammed into a single building.  Accommodation and visibility has considerably improved (although the lighting isn't great), with the collection spread between two buildings.  It's well worth a visit!  I'll let the photos tell the story.

Stug III

M-16

M-26

German 20mm AA

"Forward to the West!"  Russell and 'his' JS-3

Valentine

ISU-152

Staghound

Opel 'Funkwagen'.  Not a mobile disco...

Bedford QL

detail of the Sdkfz-7

Berliet recovery truck - still in use around the workshop!

Panzer IV

M-22 Locust

M-4A3E8 Sherman

AMX-VCI and M-75 APCs

The JS-3 again

M-41

Belgian 47mm AT gun

M-16 again

M-41 again

Hetzer

Humber Heavy Utility Car

Lloyd Carrier

Daimler Scout Car

Panzer IV

Sdkfz-7 with 37mm AA gun

M-32 ARV

and a Sherman.

Marnach, Luxembourg

 

I’m on a visit to the Ardennes, combining museums, memorials and walking the ground. Marnach was the unlikely scene of an early encounter between German troops from 2 Panzer Division and the US 28 ‘Keystone’ Division. I’ll let the photos do the talking. 

Brussels Military History Museum - part 3

Following on from Part 4 of this report is (of course!) part 3. Oh come on, what did you expect?  Logic?

Here then is the WW2 section of the museum.  I've focussed on the Belgian stuff.

Utility B tractor and 47mm AT gun.  Lovely!

Citroen P17 halftrack

German 28mm AT gun - like the one in the old HO/OO Airfix sets!

Belgian T.13 self propelled AT gun.  Terrible photo as I couldn't get close to it.

The Utility B again.

A handmade wooden model Sherman

A Spitfire and V-1 display.  Just like my Doodlebuggers game!

Belgian recce motorcycle combo

Brussels Military History Museum - part 4

On then to the aviation hall - by far the biggest 'room' in the building!  Again the photos, though apparently in a random mix, have in fact been as carefully curated as you've come to expect...

 

The galleries visible contained mostly WW1 aircraft but were closed when I visited.  So I'll need to go again...

Dakota with Paras - part of a Congo exhibit

Maurice Farman 'Shorthorn'

Dassault Mystere

F-104 Starfighter

Ju-52

F-86 Sabre in Portuguese colours.  All the best people have one of these link...

C-119 Flying Boxcar - an exhibit you can walk through!

Mirage F.1

Good old Mirage III

Fouga Magister - rather more colourful then the one I built link

F-84G Thunderjet

Gerpard SPAA. 

F-16. I remember seeing Belgian F-16s above RAF Leuchars in the 1980s when they were new and exciting - and now here's one in a museum!

Belgian AIFV - similar to the Dutch army's YPR-765

MIG-23 Flogger

A curiosity - British Lloyd Carrier fitted with a 90mm AT gun.

M-113 fitters' track

Leopard 1

RF-84F Thunderflash and F-84F Thunderstreak

Mirage III again

Belgian-built Landrover in the Congo display

F-4 Phantom

Montgolfier balloon.  A large model - the figures are 1/32 scale!

Another Landie - this one packaged for air landing.

M-47 Patton