Day Trip: Bovington Tank Museum  

So, one of my gamer friends had this week off work. He was wondering if I had any ideas of things to do or places to go. I floated the idea of Bovington Tank Museum. As LONG-time gamers we’ve played various games involving tanks – mostly from WW2 – so it seemed like a good idea to go see some of the real thing. It was around a 2-hour drive from my place but took a bit longer than expected as he hit the last edge of ‘rush hour’ plus the local school run. Once past that though, things speeded up. Finding the place was pretty easy (satnav plus some decent signage) and our first bit of amusement was a badly parked modern APC (armoured personnel carrier) clearly not inside the white lines. We were tempted to leave a snotty message about inconsiderate parking but thought better of it. 

My very first impression was a little disappointing when we walked into the main hall and only saw a handful of vehicles. “Is this IT?” I thought. Thankfully it wasn’t and we spent around 3 hours walking around 3 miles (according to my friends FitBit) around the various halls, watching some video presentations, talking to some very well informed and friendly staff, playing tank recognition (we got around 95% right first time), shopping in the gift shop and from an indoor market stall and, finally, a late lunch before we drove back. 

Naturally we were picking out our favourite tanks from our gaming experiences. My friend has quite an attachment to the Sherman Firefly which is his ‘go to’ tank in Company of Heroes II as well as one I’ve just unlocked in WarThunder. We were both impressed by the variety of tanks the museum held. Not only did they have the WW2 classics from the UK (of course), Germany (ditto) and the US but also some VERY chunky tanks from France and a few from Italy. I think the thing that struck both of us was just how SMALL some of the tanks were and just how BIG others were. What was also interesting (to me anyway!) was how the basic design stayed fundamentally the same – tracks, turret, gun – but how the LOOK of the tanks changed radically over time. Compare the original WW1 tanks or even the WW2 tanks with the more modern Challenger II and you can clearly see the evolution of a fighting vehicles but they are still WORLDS apart. I think I said at some point that a single modern MBT (Main Battle Tank) could destroy a battalion of WW2 tanks with little danger to itself. Really, it’d be zero contest. Part of that is because of the changes in tank survivability (and not just the armour) and a good part is the changes in ammunition (also on display). We were both totally fascinated and had a great day out – plus I bought BOOKS! 

If you’re interested in such things and ever wondered if it was worth the trip – the answer is YES.