Australian Armour and Artillery Museum facts for kids

The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum is a special museum in Smithfield, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It's a private museum, meaning it's not run by the government. It opened in 2014.

This museum is all about tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery (big guns). Most of the items are from the Second World War and later. It has the biggest collection of military vehicles in Australia. It's also one of the largest private collections of these vehicles in the whole world!

The museum has vehicles from many different countries. You can see items from Russia, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US, and Czechoslovakia.

An operational Panzer IV Ausf D tank

The Awesome Collection

The museum has a huge collection of military items. You can find artillery from World War I. There are also many vehicles from World War II and the years after. In total, the museum owns over 100 vehicles. More than 190 items are ready for you to see. Some vehicles are still being fixed up or are on their way to the museum. The collection includes many types of armoured vehicles. These come from Germany, the US, Australia, Britain, and Russia.

US Vehicles

The museum has many cool vehicles from the United States. These include early and later models of the Stuart tank. You can also see the M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks. There's an M110 self-propelled gun. Other US vehicles are the M3 Lee, M3 Grant, and Sherman M4A1. They also have a White half-track and a Staghound. Look out for the M52 105mm SPG and the LVT4 landing vehicle. The collection also features an M114 Command and Reconnaissance vehicle. You can see an M577A1 Command Vehicle and an M113A1. Both of these were used by the Australian Army. There's also a White M3 half-track. Don't miss the Staghound Anti-Aircraft version. They even have a special M3 Grant "local farm conversion." Finally, check out the M36 Jackson, M7 Priest, and M41 Walker Bulldog.

Australian Vehicles

Australia has made some unique military vehicles. The museum has two very rare Sentinel tanks. These are the AC1 and the AC4. You can also see a Dingo scout car. There's a Local Pattern 2 Carrier. Another interesting vehicle is the 2 Pdr Attack Carrier. They have a Yeramba self-propelled 25-pounder. Look for the LP4 Armoured Car. There's also an M113 fire support vehicle. You can see an S1 (American) Scout car. A Rover MkII armoured car is also on display. Lastly, there's a 2-pounder Portee on a Blitz truck.

British Vehicles

The museum has many vehicles from Britain. These include the Archer and two Saladin armoured cars. You can see a Chieftain tank. There's also a Humber Armoured Car. The famous Matilda II tank is there. They have a WWII British artillery tractor. Don't miss the Sherman Firefly tank. Other British tanks include the Churchill Mk VII, Churchill Flail, and Churchill AVRE. You can also see a Centurion and a Valentine tank. Armoured cars like the Saracen and Ferret Mk 2 are on display. There's also a Fox and an FV433 Abbot SPG. The Sabre tank is part of the collection. They even have a Bar Mine Layer. Finally, see the Matilda II with a special Mk3 No.1 Bulldozer blade.

Inside The Australian Armour & Artillery Museum

Russian Vehicles

The museum has many vehicles from the Soviet Union (Russia). You can see a Soviet artillery tractor. There's also a BMP-1 armoured vehicle. Tanks like the T-55, T-26, T34/85, T-60, T-70, and T-72 are on display. They have a BTR-152 armoured personnel carrier. Self-propelled guns include the SU-76, SU-100, and ISU-152. A powerful 2S7 Pion 203mm SPG is also there. You can see a BTR-60 Command version. There's an ATL Artillery Tractor. A SA-2 (Surface to Air Missile) is also part of the collection. Don't miss the 2S1 Gvozdika. They even have a rare KV-1 tank that is being fixed up.

German Vehicles

The museum has many vehicles from Germany. These include the Panzer 38(t) and Jagdpanzer 38(t). You can see a Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf J. There's also a Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger" tank. They have a replica of the Tiger from the movie "Fury." Other vehicles include the Hummel and Leopard 1 tank. The Kanonenjagdpanzer is also on display. You can see several versions of the Pz.Kpfw. IV: Ausf D, Ausf E, Ausf G, and Ausf J. There's a Jagdpanther tank destroyer. Smaller vehicles include the Kettenkraftrad (Sd.Kfz. 2). They have several Sd.Kfz. 250 models: 250/3 Ausf A, 250/3 Ausf B, and 250/8. You can also see a Sturmgeschütz III Ausf A and a Sturmhaubitze 42. There's a Beobachtungpanzer Artillery Observation Vehicle. They have different Sd.Kfz. 251 models: 251/1 Ausf D, 251/9 Ausf C, and 251/22. Don't miss the Sd.Kfz. 11/1. The powerful Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf A "Panther" is also there. Other tank destroyers include the Jagdpanzer IV and Sturmgeschütz IV. Finally, see the Raupenschlepper Ost RSO mit Pak 40.

A Sturmgeschütz III Ausf G is currently being fixed up and is not on display.

Other Countries

The museum also has vehicles from other countries. These include a Canadian Ram Kangaroo. There's a Czech OT810. You can see a Canadian Lynx. A French Panhard AML armoured car is also on display. They have a Ford Gun Tractor with an Australian Limber and a British 25 pdr gun. Lastly, there's a Czech Praga with a 30mm AA gun.

Vehicles Not Yet on Display

The museum owns even more vehicles that you can't see yet. Most of these are being worked on in workshops. Some are still overseas or on their way to the museum. These include a Cromwell Medium Tank and a Goliath tracked mine. There are almost 25 more items planned to be shown in the future.

AusArmourfest

Sherman Firefly at AusArmourfest 2019

Every year, the museum celebrates its birthday with a special three-day event. It's called AusArmourfest! This is a super exciting time. You get the chance to ride in some of the museum's working vehicles. In past years, visitors have ridden in vehicles like the Hetzer, T72, Panzer IV G, Leopard, Kettenkrad, and Sabre. It's a great way to experience these amazing machines up close!

Australian Tank Donation

The museum is home to two very rare Australian Cruiser tanks. Only six of these tanks are left in the world! One is an AC1 Sentinel. The other is a special AC1 with an AC3 turret, shown as an AC4. The AC1 Sentinel was bought and given to the museum by Wargaming Inc. This company makes the popular tank game, World of Tanks. The Sentinel tank was in the United States. When the Littlefield Collection sold many of its vehicles, Wargaming Inc wanted to buy it. They wanted to bring it back to Australia, its original home. As part of the deal, Wargaming could study the tank. This helped them make a very accurate copy of it for their game.

Shooting Gallery and Workshop

The museum site also has a 50-meter shooting gallery. This is a place where you can try out shooting. There's also a special workshop for repairs and restoration. Here, skilled staff work to fix up old vehicles. They can also change or even build vehicles from scratch. Since 2015, the museum has grown. It now has more space to keep all its amazing vehicles.

Tiger 1 Replica

In 2016, the museum's workshop built a replica of a famous tank, the Tiger 1. They used parts from a very accurate Tiger 1 that was partly built for the movie "Fury". That movie replica was already very similar to a real Tiger 131 tank. The museum used the top part of this replica. They also used real Tiger parts they had bought to make the whole tank. The bottom part of the tank was made stronger so it could drive. This was the first time the museum built its own tank from the ground up! This Tiger replica uses a Scania truck engine. Some parts like the tracks and road wheels come from other tanks (T55 and M110). The driving parts are from a T62. But from the outside, it looks almost exactly like a real, working Tiger 1. It was finished in November 2016. It was the only large-scale replica tank built in Australia. This specific replica is no longer at the museum. It was sold to another collector in Australia. The museum now has a different, later-model Tiger 1 in its collection.

See Also

• National Military Vehicle Museum – South Australia
• Royal Australian Armoured Corps Memorial and Army Tank Museum – Victoria. Australia
• The Army Museum Bandiana – Victoria, Australia
• Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology, Koblenz, Germany
• Deutsches Panzermuseum – Munster, Germany
• Musée des Blindés – Paris, France
• Royal Tank Museum – Amman, Jordan
• The Tank Museum – Bovington, United Kingdom
• United States Army Ordnance Museum - Virginia, USA
• Polish Army Museum – Warsaw, Poland