Musee des Blindes, Samur (Tank Museum)

The Museum of Armoured Vehicles is located in the French town of Samur in the scenic Loire Valley. The Museum has an exceptional collection of more than 800 armoured vehicles starting with vehicles from the Great War, the Second World War and Cold War. It has an especially impressive collection of German vehicles from the Second World War; scarcely a surprise given much of the Western war was fought across France. http://www.museedesblindes.fr/en/

1916 Schneider CA16. Schneider produced France's first tank in 1916. It was a simple design compromising an armoured box over an American Holt tractor chassis. A short barrelled 75mm gun was mounted in a sponson on the right side of the hull. Machine guns were installed in ball mounts on the side. In service they proved slow and unwieldy. The Holt tractor chassis wasn't long enough to allow them to traverse trenches and wide ditches.

This view showing the side mounted 75mm gun highlights the main problem with the Schneider - its limited field of fire. The snowplow-like glacis and spur were designed to prevent the vehicle from becoming stuck in trenches. It was not a successful design. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/fr/ww1-tank_schneider_CA.php

Two versions of the Renault FT light tank. The tank in the foreground is armed with a machine-gun, while the background tank has a short-barreled 37mm cannon. The Renault FT was a very successful design and, although obsolete, saw active service through the Second World War.

The Renault FT had a two man crew of driver and gunner/commander. The driver had excellent access. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/fr/renault_ft.php

Camion truck.

A row of inter-war French tanks. At the front of the row is an FCM 36. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/FCM-36.php

1936 Renault Char B1 Bis. The Char B was developed as a 'break-through' heavy tank. The tank's main gun was a 75mm low velocity howitzer mounted in the front hull. The gun had no lateral traverse. In combat in 1940 the Char Bis outgunned all German armour and there were several famous instances where determined French crews decisively smashed German armoured columns. Unfortunately, the French as a whole were unable to marshal their forces effectively, resulting in defeat. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/char_B1_bis.php

Renault B 35 tank in the foreground and Laffly V15T Unicorn behind.

Renault R39.

Laffly V15T Unicorn. The Laffly was a light artillery tractor.

Renault UE armoured carrier. These were developed as universal armoured carrier and scout vehicle. Although obsolete by the 1940s, many thousands would see service in the Wehrmacht as scout vehicles and artillery tractors. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/Renault_UE.php

SOMUA half track.

Lorraine-Dietrich T26 truck. The bumper wheels were intended to avoid the vehicle getting stuck crossing a trench. The Great War had a persistent affect on military thinking.

In 1930 Lorraine-Dietrich purchased a license from the Czechoslovakian Tatra company to build their T26 six wheeled truck. These trucks used Tatra's patented tube chassis and independently sprung and driven half-axle system. This system meant that the Tatras driving wheels would always remain in contact with ground, regardless of terrain. Powered by a two litre, four cylinder air cooled engine, they were extremely reliable vehicles. Unfortunately, quality of the Lorraine-Dietrich products was not particularly good.

Fiat 500 'Topolino' as owned by a famous resistance leader.

Italian Tanks

Italian M14/40 tank. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/italy/Carro_Armato_Medio_M14-41.php

Italian Semovente da 75/18 assault gun. This design, like so many other assault guns, was inspired by the German StuG III. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/italy/Semovente_da_75-18.php

The German Collection

The mainstays of the German panzer force in 1940 were the Panzer III and Panzer II. Having been banned from developing tanks by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was able to start its rearmament in 1933 with a clean slate. Lessons from developments in other countries allowed them to cherry pick the best ideas. Germany's first tank, the Panzer 1, was only slightly more advanced than the Renault FT of 1917. These light tanks had a two man crew and were armed only with two turret mounted machine guns. Many issues were discovered with the design and were improved on in the larger Panzer II. Nevertheless, despite the later mythology about Germany's panzers being more advanced than the Allies, in Poland, the Low Countries and France Panzer I's predominated.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer_I.php

The Panzer II was developed before all the lessons of the Panzer I had been absorbed and was in fact an entirely new design. Many of the earlier model's weaknesses in tracks, suspension and drive system were addressed. The new tank had a crew of three. Armament remained rather light however with only a turret mounted machine gun and light cannon. The tank was really only suitable for scouting and anti-infantry roles and was completely outclassed by many French and British tanks of the period. Nevertheless, it was a major part of the panzer force that invaded France in 1940.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer_II.php

In the Panzer III the Wehrmacht finally had the battle capable tank they had been begging for since 1934. The tank was fast, roomy for the four crew and well armed with Germany's excellent 37cm high velocity PAK cannon. This gun was also used by German artillery units to great effect. In fact, most Allied tank losses during the Battle of France was the result of anti-tank artillery units, rather than tank to tank combat. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer_III.php

The Panzer IV was Germany's most successful tank. It was produced in greater numbers than any other tank and its many variants served in a bewildering number of roles. This is a later variant with the long barrelled 75mm gun. Side armour and anti-mine zimmerit paste has been added to give the tank extra protection. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer_IV.php

One of the most famous tanks of all time - the Panzer VI "Tiger." The Tiger was a heavy tank designed to compete with the excellent Soviet T34 tank. The tank sported the deadly 88mm gun, originally developed as an anti-aircraft flak gun. The Tiger could take a lot of punishment. American Sherman tanks found their shells would simply bounce off the frontal armour of the Tiger, making them a fearsome opponent. The Tiger was however an extremely complex and expensive weapons system and had been developed in haste. Breakdowns and maintenance issues prevented them from being used to their greatest effect. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-VI_Tiger.php

Another of Germany's legendary tanks - the Panzer V "Panther." Like the Tiger, the Panther was developed to complete with the Soviet T34. Captured T34s had been returned to Germany for study and some of their design features were incorporated into the Panther, such as the sloped frontal and side armour and wider tracks for traversing snow and mud. As with the Tiger, the Panther was a deadly weapon hampered by an overly complex and rushed design. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-V_Panther.php

The King of German tanks, the awesome Panzer VI Konigstiger or"King Tiger" was an improvement over the Tiger 1, with thicker, sloped armour and a bigger gun. The King Tiger was deadly on the battlefield against other tanks, but again suffered from mechanical unreliability due to the wear and tear of its enormous weight. Although nearly impervious to hits from contemporary Allied armour, it was too little and too late to make a real difference to the war. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-VI_Konigstiger.php

The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer variant of the Panther tank. The concept of the tank destroyer was to engage other tanks at long range and the type mounted an 88mm anti-tank gun in the heavily armoured, sloping hull. It proved to be a very successful vehicle and served in all theatres.
 http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Jagdpanther.php

Brummbar or Sturmpanzer 43 was a heavy assault gun mounted on a Panzer IV chassis. Designed to provide fire support against armoured positions, the Brummbar mounted a 15cm short barrelled howitzer. The type was introduced in 1943, serving on the Eastern Front at Kursk and later in the Normandy campaign. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Sturmpanzer-IV_Brummbar.php

Jagdpanzer IV was another successful tank destroyer variant of the Panzer IV. Armed with a 75mm PAK anti-tank gun offset to the right. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Sd-Kfz_162_Jagdpanzer-IV.php

Sturmeschutz III assault gun. www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Sturmgeschutz-III.php

When Germany entered the war in 1939 most of its artillery was still horse drawn. To meet the demands of mobile warfare the Germans began mounting artillery pieces on captured or obsolete tank chassis. The Marder-Hochkiss I mounts a 10.5cm howitzer over a French Hochkiss H35 light tank.
  http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/Hotchkiss_H35_39.php

Germany's desperate need for firepower on the Eastern Front lead to the creation of bizarre compromise vehicles. The Marder III simply mounted a long barrelled 76mm PAK gun, including  shield onto an obsolete Czechoslovakian Light 38 tank body. The crew were exposed in the gun compartment. It was not a particularly successful design. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/panzerjager-38t-fur-7-62-cm-pak-36r-sd-kfz-139-marder-iii/


A Jagdpanzer IV 70L variant. The 70L variant was an attempt at a simpler build to the standard Jagdpanzer. You will note the superstructure appears tacked onto a Panzer IV hull. Most likely the original Panzer had been damaged in action and was returned for recommissioning and a prebuilt superstructure was added with minimal modification. The 70L variants lost the sloped glacis of the standard Jagdpanzer and had a higher silhouette. This vehicle has taken some serious hits. Three shells have penetrated in the right hand front and a very large shell has penetrated beside the gun.

Another Jagdpanzer IV variant with frontal sloped armour.

A recovery variant of the Panther.

Germany made extensive use of half tracks during the Second World War, far more than any other combatant. They were used as both soft and armoured troop transport, artillery tractors, command vehicles, self propelled artillery and even tank destroyers. The half track in the foreground is Maultier half track Nebelwerfer battery. The Maultier was a late war conversion of a standard truck into a half track for the Eastern Front. The Nebelwerfer was a multi-barrel rocket launcher system. We now know them as MLRS.  

Half tracks even came in motorcycle form. The NSU Kettenkraftrad was a light tractor and scout vehicle. It was quite a successful little vehicle. Behind it is a SdKfz 251/7, which was a standard lightly armoured troop carrier. Note the bridging equipment carried on the side.

1935 Trippelwagen amphibious vehicle. Hans Trippel was a vehicle designer who seemed to have regularly produced bizarre vehicles. He attempted to produce bubble cars under his own name in the 1950s and was involved in the design of the Swedish Troll car, of which only about a dozen were built. His most successful vehicle was the Amphicar.

Trippel's boat-like amphibian failed to secure a contract as the Wehrmacht did not see a need for such a vehicle in 1936. It was only after Germany's Polish campaign that the need for an amphibious capable scout vehicle was recognised. Ferdinand Porsche's son Ferry and Erwin Komenda would fill that particular niche with the Schwimmwagen.

The extraordinary robot mine built by Borgward. The Goliath Sd.Kfz 303 is a really strange concept. Designed as a mobile mine / demolition change that was wire guided to its target by an operator. It was powered by either a Zundapp two-stroke motorcycle engine or electric motor. This example is two-stroke powered and the hand starter crank is visible on the back deck,

Borgward manufactured thousands of these little tanks but they were completely ineffective in combat. Being wire guided, the operator had to be relatively close to his target. Unless the target was static and unable to defend itself, it was extremely difficult to get one of these very noisy little devices close enough to do any damage.

Hanomag heavy tractor. These diesel powered behemoths were used as tank recovery vehicles and heavy haulers.

Sd.Kfz 6 unarmoured troop transport.

Another lighter German half track. There were many varieties built by many different companies to a standard form. This looks like a Wanderer model.

Allied Tanks - US

America's mainstay tank of the Second World War (and Korea), the M4 Sherman. It may not have been as technologically advanced or as heavily armed as German tanks it was up against, but it was easy to use and built in numbers sufficient to simply overwhelmed the Germans.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M4_Sherman.php

American M10 tank destroyer. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M10_Wolverine.php

Stuart M3A1 light tank, Staghound T17 E1 armoured car, and M8 Greyhound scout car.

Six wheeled light armoured Greyhound scout car. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M8_Greyhound.php

The American built M3 Lee/Grant tank. Built as something of a stopgap medium to heavy tank. In order to carry a 76mm gun it was mounted in a sponson on the right side of the hull. The gun mounting had reasonable traverse. The type served with British forces in North Africa where it was able to compete with Rommel's Panzer IVs on equal terms. It performed much better than British tanks like the Cruiser and Crusader. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M3_Lee_Grant.php

The US also produced half tracks as armoured personnel carriers.  This is an M2. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/M2_Halftrack.php  Behind is the DUKW amphibious truck.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/GMC_DUKW.php

A heavy amphibious tracked transporter drops off a light amphibious tracked transport. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/LVT-3_Bushmaster.php

Allied Tanks - Britain

In front is a Crusader Mark III tank anti-aircraft variant. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/Cruiser-MkVI_Crusader.php

British Mark VIII Centaur tank. The Tank Encyclopedia I have referenced in this post includes this tank in it's article, here: http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/A27L_Cruiser_MkVII_Centaur.php

Mark IV Churchill tank. Finally the British develop a satisfactory tank. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/A22_Churchill_Tank.php

Cruiser Tank "Comet." http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/a34-cruiser-tank-comet-mark-i

British Valentine tank. Another of Britain's light/medium tanks that were outclassed by the German Panzer IV. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/Tank_Infantry_MkIII_Valentine.php

Vickers Mark VI

Allied Tanks - Soviet Union

One of the greatest tanks ever built, the T34/76. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_T34-76.php

The size of the massive Soviet Su-100 assault gun is quite apparent in this scene. Beside it is the Soviet KV1 heavy tank. The KV1 totally outclassed German tanks at the start of Barbarossa. It outgunned German tanks and was invulnerable to their PAK 37mm anti-tank gun. Where it was used appropriately it struck fear into German forces. Unfortunately for the Soviets, the KV1 was not available in sufficient numbers, or used appropriately, to resist the German invasion. The KV1 would be the inspiration for the German Tiger I. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_KV-1.php

The Room of Curiosities

Parachutable, folding car. Made to be foldable into an easy to store box, this was another project that never passed the prototype phase.

Some amphibious vehicles. Sorry, no details.

A modern concept of the Kettenkradrad.

Ambitious or foolish. In France and Italy, the ubiquitous Vespa scooter was used by their respective military as runabouts. The idea to turn the little scooter into an offensive weapon by mounting a bazooka was just a little... crazy.

1939 Issoise infantry tractor. Designed to tow a ton in ammunition or cargo, the project never progressed passed the prototype stage. Its short track base made it particularly unstable.

The Ford GPA amphibious jeep was America's answer to the German Schwimmwagen. They were entered production in 1942 but had poor handling on both land and water and production was halted in 1943 after only 12,778 were built. Few survive today as were never built to last and were prone to rust.

How to successfully build an amphibious jeep. Designed by Ferry Porsche and Erwin Komenda using components from the Volkswagen Kubelwagen, the VW Type 166 Schwimmwagen proved to be an excellent and popular vehicle. It was handled well on both land and water and more than 30,000 were built during the war. http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2014/07/volkswagen-at-war.html

Trabant Kubel. The ubiquitous East German people's car was also used by their military forces - not in a combat capacity, of course. It was primarily used by the police and border guards.

Cold War

Soviet Cold War tanks.

MT-LB armoured personnel carrier.

PT-76 light amphibious tank. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/soviet_PT-76.php

One of the most widely used Soviet (and Russian) armoured vehicles is the BMP-1. Developed as an infantry fighting vehicle, it can be used as an armoured personnel carrier, scouting vehicle and a light tank. One of the type's great qualities is its simplicity. It can operated by anyone who can drive a car as I can attest, having driven one in the Czech Republic. A great experience - see here https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2020/03/soviet-bmp-drive.html
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/soviet_BMP-1.php


In the post-coldwar section we have a Panhard AML. Panhard were one of the earliest automobile manufacturers, known originally as Panhard-Levassor. They were responsible for the 'Panhard system' of mounting the engine in the front with drive to the rear wheels; an arrangement that is now standard across the automotive world. Panhard's car manufacturing arm was sold to Citroen in the 1950s and eventually disappeared in the 1970s. Panhard however became a specialist manufacturer of armoured cars. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/France/Panhard_AML.php

Panhard EBR FL11. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/France/Panhard_EBR.php

This looks to me like a Panhard EBR chassis. I think this may have been used as the gun carriage for Charles De Gaule's funeral.

A French interwar 'armoured car.'

Bren Carrier.

Cold war era German Jagdpanzer.


The Samur tank museum is an exceptional collection and well worth a visit. Samur itself is worth a trip on its own, being a famous old city on the Loire Valley.

1043 road to Fontevraud
49400 Saumur
02 41 83 69 95
museedesblindes@wanadoo.fr