Patton Museum

The tan US Army trucks often have a bit of a pink look to them after they have been in the sun a few years.

This is a T55 converted to a fire truck.

M47 tank from the rear.

M60A1 tank, side view.

M60A1 tank, front view.

Patton Museum

Outside the Patton Museum is where the real action is at.

Fire truck, several various cargo trucks.

This one of a kind trailer was designed and built as a photo development trailer so they could develop recon photos of maneuvers held by the Army in California.  Patton asked for it to be made so he could review the photos right away.

This tubular thing is a mock up tank.  They were covered with canvas, placed on top of a Jeep and used to simulate an M3 light tank.

M60 series main battle tank.

Patton Museum

 

The Patton Museum has an eclectic bunch of stuff in the building.  Here is a 1/6th scale model of Pattons command car from 21st Century Toys.

 They also had an almost GI Joe size DIVAD.

It was an effort to take off the shelf technology and make and anti-aircraft version of the M48 tank as they were obsolete with the advent of the Abrams.

They kept changing the requirements until eventually they required an over the horizon engagement need for the guns.  Clearly impossible.  There is always a tension between the AA gun people and the AA missile people.  The AA missile people won and the project cancelled and they were all withdrawn and scrapped.  I remember seeing a train of flat cars loaded with a large number of these being shipped from the factory.

It's an interesting vehicle.

I would use it with GI Joe.

Patton Museum

 Today is Pearl Harbor Day in the USA.  Let us remember as much as we love our model tanks and troops that real people fought and died to give us the liberties we cherish today.  Let us also remember that vigilance is the price of continued freedom.
 

MRS Bunkermeister and I recently visited the Patton Museum.

 http://generalpattonmuseum.com/

Out front they had an impressive statue of the General and his dog.

I even got a few photos of their behind the scenes collection.
 

I like the tank tracks on the Patton statue.

 Inside the museum they had a nice photo of his dog, waiting to be sent home after his master died.