United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility facts for kids

This is a German railway gun from World War II. It was called "Leopold" or "Anzio Annie".

The United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility helps train soldiers. It uses old military equipment and weapons to teach them. This facility is now located at Fort Gregg-Adams in Petersburg, Virginia. Before this, it was known as the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum. That museum was at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and closed in 2010.

What is the Ordnance Training Facility?

The main goal of the U.S. Army Ordnance Training Support Facility is to collect and keep important military equipment. This includes weapons and other gear. These items show the history of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps. They also show how U.S. military equipment has changed over time. This collection covers items from the American Colonial Period until today.

The museum first opened in 1924. It was created to show equipment captured from enemies. It was located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Being there made it easy to get equipment that was being tested after World War I. In the 1960s, local people started a group to help run the museum. This group is called the Ordnance Museum Foundation, Inc. They started running the museum in the early 1970s.

Why Did the Museum Move?

In 2005, a law called Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was passed. This law decided that some military bases and facilities needed to move. One of the things that had to move was the Ordnance Museum. It was moved from Aberdeen to Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams). The process of moving all the old equipment started in 2009.

Who Can Visit the Collection?

The collection of military items is mainly used for training soldiers. It is not open for everyone to visit. Only soldiers who work in certain jobs in the Army can enter. These jobs are related to ammunition, maintenance, or ordnance.

What Can You See at the Facility?

The facility has many large military items on display outside. These are used to help soldiers learn. Here are some of the things you can see:

• The M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which is a powerful armored vehicle.
• A large 12-inch gun M1895 that was carried on a train.
• The Pershing 1 Field Artillery Missile System, a type of missile launcher.
• An Armored Recovery Vehicle from 1939, used to pull broken tanks.
• The T-12 Cloudmaker demolition bomb, a very large bomb.

Other Places to Learn About Tanks

If you are interested in tanks and military vehicles, there are other museums around the world that you might like:

• Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia
• Musée des Blindés in France
• The Tank Museum in the United Kingdom
• Deutsches Panzermuseum in Germany
• Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Belgium
• Base Borden Military Museum in Canada
• American Heritage Museum in the United States