TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: A TRIP TO THE AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM & LITTLEFIELD COLLECTION

Recently, our club made a trip to the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts. Our club president and another member volunteer there, and so they arranged it so that we could visit during the day---and also have exclusive access to the vehicles for 30 minutes after the museum had closed. Very cool!

Despite it's name, the collection consists of equipment and vehicles from all major combatants, organized by era and theater of operations, with an emphasis on tanks (a quite impressive emphasis, I might add!).  

There are informative displays, such as this cutaway of a Sherman turret, and everywhere you look there is something to be seen--such as the small arms and Panzerfausts stowed in this German halftrack. 

 Our club also ran games of What a Tanker in the museum during the day. 

The first impression and centerpiece of the exhibit is this confrontation between a T-34 85 and Panther--throughout the day there is a laser light and sound show culminating in flames shooting out of the T-34 turret (not to be missed!).  

Here are some shots of the displays along with the informational placards.  Clix pix for BIG Pix: enjoy!

As if tanks weren't enough, there are a smattering of aircraft, with this magnificent Me 109 being the centerpiece (as far as I am concerned, anyway). 

There was soooooo much to be seen everywhere that it was easy to miss this SU-100 tucked in a corner behind the IS-2!

 The collection does not stop at World War II, but continues up through the Gulf Wars

To include Vietnam-era Soviet mainstays like the PT 76 and T-54

And the ultimate "Baddie" the T-64 (and it's brother here, the T-72). I was in US Army Europe when they fielded this thing, and I can tell you it got our attention!

The collection culminates with the US M60 and M1A1 main battle tanks, vehicles that I have served on (as well as the M60 A-3).  I wish the M60 was in US Army Europe camo pattern as opposed to desert--although it was in the Gulf War in small numbers, this tank really is associated with the Cold War and NATO, where it was the US Army's main battle tank for nearly 30 years: a minor niggle (everyone has an opinion).  During the after hours period, I was able to get inside the turret of the M60, something I had not done for nearly 30 years--I was surprised to find how familiar everything was despite the decades. Such, I suppose, is the imprint of military training and the nature of serving in armor units, where your daily existence is centered on and defined by operating these machines. I guess it's the same for pilots (and I'm sure other specialties). Despite the obvious passage of time, it is still strange to see vehicles that you served on in a museum, though--I'm glad that they didn't turn out the lights and keep me there as part of the display!

I'll conclude as I did on that day. On my way out, I looked up and was surprised to notice this V-1 buzz bomb hanging above! As I said, there is almost too much to take in: well worth the trip if you're in the region.

 

Excelsior!