Adam's Military Photography

Musée des Blindés // Cold War: French vehicles and weapons

Collection of French Cold War vehicles that were on display during my visit to the tank museum in Saumur, France, two years ago.

Musée des Blindés // Cold War: vehicles and weapons of the Eastern Bloc

Collection of Cold War vehicles and weapons of Eastern Bloc countries, that were present during my visit to the tank museum in Saumur, France last year.

Musée des Blindés // Allied powers: vehicles and weapons of WWII

Collection of WWII vehicles and weapons of Allied powers, that were present during my visit to the tank museum in Saumur, France last year.

Musée des Blindés // French vehicles and weapons of WWII

Now we return to the photos from last year's visit to the tank museum in Saumur, France. This time from the exhibition dedicated to the French vehicles and weapons that the country deployed during the Battle of France in 1940.

NATO Days 2025

A few pics of flying displays from my visit this year to the annual "NATO Days", one of the largest military shows in Europe. It is held near Ostrava, Czech Republic at the Ostrava-Mošnov International Airport.

These pics show only a small part of what can be seen at the event, much more can be seen in the static displays, there are also ground dynamic displays (police, fire-fighters, military), worshops and seminars.

Military Museum Lešany // The opening of the 2023 season

Let's take another short break from the photos from the Saumur museum and have a look at a showcase of vehicles that were presented during the opening of the 2023 season at the Vojenské technické muzeum Lešany VHÚ, Czech Republic. It is a selection of former Czechoslovakian army equipment as well as some more modern vehicles from the current Czech Army.

Musée des Blindés // German and Italian vehicles and weapons of WWII (last batch)
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This is the last batch of pics of German vehicles and weapons of WWII that were on display during my visit to the tank museum in Saumur, France. In the following pics you can see several half-tracks, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns as well as some utility vehicles. Two Italian armoured vehicles of the World War II are also included as well as some bonus pics:)

Musée des Blindés // Pz.Kpfw. Tiger Ausf. E
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A German heavy tank of World War II, arguably the most famous tank of the war, known for its high firepower and heavy armor (especially for the time it was introduced).

Development of what we today know as the "Tiger I" began in May 1941, but it roots can be traced back to the late 1930's with work on a 30-ton tank from Henschel, from which and several other projects some design features were eventually used in the Tiger I. The first prototype of the Tiger was completed in April 1942, with serial production beginning in August of that year. However, development was rushed, especially after the Germans encountered the new Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks, which in certain parameteres outmatched their German counterparts and of which German forces had no information prior the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. The hasty development and the effort to deploy the new tank into combat as soon as possible led to a number of technical problems that accompanied the tank.

The original designation was Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H, but in the middle of production in 1943 was changed to Pz.Kpfw. Tiger Ausf. E. However, the Tiger designation appeared in official documentation already during the tank's development phase.

The first German unit received the new tank in August 1942 and that same month it first participated in combat action on the Leningrad Front in the Soviet Union, where three of the four tanks deployed broke down. Despite its shortcomings in reliability, thanks to its powerful 88 mm gun (the first German tank to be equipped with such a weapon) and heavy armor, the Tiger I quickly gained a reputation as a feared opponent and eventually became one of the moct iconic tanks of World War II.

A total of 1,346 tanks (plus 4 prototypes) were built between August 1942 and August 1944. In 1944, it was gradually replaced in production by the Tiger II. The resulting number of Tiger I tanks produced could not equal the numbers of Panthers or even Panzer IVs, which was influenced, among other things, by the complexity and cost of producing one Tiger tank.

The vehicle on display in Saumur museum was built in late April/May 1944 and belongs to the late-production run. Typical late-production features that can be seen on this vehicle (but not necessarily in my pics) are the all-steel road wheels, the smaller diameter idler wheel, the turret ring deflector (all in production from February 1944), the gr***de-launcher (Nahverteidigungswaffe) fitted in a traversable mount on the turret roof (from March 1944), the binocular gunner's sight replaced by a monocular one, which is recognizable by the single hole in the mantlet to the left of the main gun (from March 1944).

The tank also has a rather interesting history. He served with the German 102nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion, with which the tank fought in Normandy against the Allies in the summer of 1944, and was eventually ambushed by the British along with two other Tigers near the village of Nécy, southeast of Falaise, on the night of 18-19 August 1944. During the attack, the Saumur's tank collided with another Tiger, putting the vehicle out of action (and is the origin of the dented front armour that can still be seen on the tank today). The disabled Tigers then remained in the same location for several months until they were recovered by French forces. Saumur's Tiger was then repaired and incorporated into Captain Guy Besnier's French army squadron, which was equipped with captured German vehicles (including Panthers, Jagdpanzer IV, Stug IIIs and Panzer IVs). As part of the same unit, the Tiger later took part in the encirclement of Germans troops still holding out at the former submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, where the Germans resisted until the end of the war in May 1945. In June 1945, Besnier's unit was sent to Germany as part of the occupation forces in western part of the country. The tank returned to France in the late 1940s and was stored. It was later transferred to the study collection of the tank development facility at Satory near Paris, eventually joining the collection of the Saumur museum when it opened in 1977.

As you can see from the photos, the tank is currently undergoing restoration (and is still undergoing today, more than a year after these pics were taken), to running condition. The plan is to restore its appearance to the way it looked in May 1945 in the hands of Captain Guy Besnier's unit. This means that there will soon be two running Tiger I tanks in the world (along with the well known piece at the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK). And it probably won't stop with these two, as similar projects are underway in other places. British collector Kevin Wheatcroft and his team are currently working on at least two more Tiger I tanks (and possibly a third later), and even that may not be the end of the story as there are apparently other restoration projects going on.

Musée des Blindés // Jagdpanther Ausf. G1 & Bergepanther Ausf. G
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After the post about the German tank Pz.Kpfw. V Panther, the following text describes two of its variants, the Jagdpanther tank-destroyer and the Bergepanther armoured recovery vehicle, both of which are also in the collection of the French museum in Saumur.

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Jagdpanther Ausf. G1
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Development of a tank destroyer based on the new Panther chassis began in August 1942, before the first prototypes of the Panther tank had even been completed. The first prototype of the Jagdpanther was ready in October 1943, and the first serial production vehicles were delivered in January 1944. A total of around 415 Jagdpanthers were built between January 1944 and April 1945. Production was heavily affected by Allied bombing, and the required production numbers were rarely, if ever, achieved. As with the Panther tanks, the very last Jagdpanthers were built under the supervision of the British Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers unit (REME) and then shipped to Britain for testing. They were assembled between August 1945 and spring 1946 in the town of Laatzen near Hannover, Germany. A total of 12 "REME" Jagdpanthers were built.

The Jagdpanther used a modified Panther tank chassis, with early vehicles sharing some features (in the engine compartment layout) from the Panther Ausf. A and later Panther Ausf. G models. Compared to the Panther tanks, which were armed with the 75 mm KwK 42 gun, the Jagdpanther was armed with the more powerful 88 mm PaK 43 gun, similar to the one on the Tiger II.

First unit received the Jagdpanthers in February 1944, and the first combat action of the Jagdpanther took place on 11 July 1944 in Normandy, France. Most of the vehicles were issued to the Western Front, while German units fighting on the Eastern Front did not receive their first Jagdpanthers until January 1945.

The vehicle on display at the Saumur museum appears to be the first production model designated as the Ausf. G1. The G1 was featured an engine compartment layout similar to the Panther Ausf. A tanks. In addition, this vehicle seems to have some mid-production features, such as a single driver's periscope (from June 1944), a vertical mount for a 20-ton jack on the rear of the hull (from May 1944), missing bolted circular plates at the top of the rear engine deck covering the engine air intake hole (where a telescopic tube would have been installed in case the vehicle waded) and the original Panther tank antenna mount (on the Jagdpanther the antenna was relocated to the rear of the superstructure). Both of these holes were no longer cut into the rear deck after April 1944. On the other hand, the vehicle lacks several features typical of late-production vehicles, such as the thicker, externaly bolted rim of the main gun mount (not the gun mantle itself), which began to be installed from October 1944. The turret is also missing three sockets for a small maintenance crane (from June 1944), the engine access hatch on the rear hull plate is missing towing brackets (installed from May 1944), and crew compartment heater was installed from October 1944, typical of the raised fan construction on the rear deck above the left engine cooling exhaust fan.

In 1945, production of the Ausf. G2 model began, which had a rear deck layout similar to the Panther Ausf. G tanks. It is recognizeable primarily by the air intake opening with an armored cowl located in the middle of the rear part of the deck and the narrower rear pair of rectangular air intakes and exhaust guards. Compared to the G1 variant, the entire rear deck plate of the Ausf. G2 was also slightly longer towards the rear side of the superstructure, which was in contrast slightly shorter.

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Bergepanther Ausf. G
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Development of a recovery vehicle based on the Panther tank chassis began in the spring 1943. The first vehicles were produced in May 1943 and were simply conversions of Panther Ausf. D tanks. They had the turret removed, with the turret ring covered by a cylindrical cover with a hinged hatch. These first vehicles had no special equipment fitted, no winch or spade. This came later into production, especially with the introduction of a new hull developed specifically for the Bergepanther. Initially, this new hull was based on the Panther Ausf. A chassis and was prepared for a winch, spade, crane and 2 cm KwK gun, however, a significant number of Bergepanthers never had any of this equipment installed due to a lack of the necessary parts and served only as tow vehicles. In the case of the 2 cm KwK gun, which was supposed to be installed on the upper front glacis plate, only one prototype vehicle was probably equipped with this weapon, and the rest of the Bergepanthers had either only a mount for this gun, or none at all. The new hull was also characterized by a square-shaped panels on top of the superstructure, which covered the space for the winch (even if the winch was not installed).

As with the first Panther tanks, the first Bergepanthers were deployed in July 1943 during "Operation Citadel" (part of the Battle of Kursk) on the Eastern Front. They were used for the rest of the war and in some countries even after the war. One of these was France, where the last ones were phased out probably with the rest of the Panther tanks during the 1950's. Bergepanthers were also used in post-war Czechoslovakia, where they remained in the army until at least 1959. It is documented that at least one machine was still in use in 1964, when it helped to eliminate the consequences of a railway accident at the train station in Ústí nad Orlicí, but it is not known whether this Bergepanther was still in service with the Czechoslovak army or was used rather by the Czechoslovak State Railways.

The vehicle on display at the Saumur museum is the Bergepanther Ausf. G and, as the designation suggests, was based on a modified hull/chassis of the Panther Ausf. G tank. The Ausf. G based Bergepanther entered production in October 1944 and only 74 (or 94, depending on the source) vehicles of this version were built by the end of production in February 1945. This surviving example was built in November 1944 and served with the French Army after the war. The 2 cm KwK gun, visible on the front glacis plate, was installed by the museum. The Bergepanther in Saumur is one of only two complete surviging vehicles. The other is located at the Military Technical Center in Trier, Germany. There are also at least three other wrecks.

Musée des Blindés // Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. A & Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. G
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The Panther is a German medium tank of World War II, considered by many to be one of the best, if not the best, medium tanks of World War II (if it worked).

Its development was initiated by the first encounters of German forces with the new Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks, which in certain parameteres outmatched their German counterparts and of which German forces had no information prior the invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. The first prototype of the Panther (still without a turret) was completed in September 1942, and the first production series tank in January 1943. Production of the new tank was rushed and brought with it a number of technical a reliability issues, some of which were not fully resolved by the end of the war two years later. Unlike previous German military vehicle designs, the designations of the three existing Panther development variants were not ordered alphabetically. Instead, the first Panther variant was designated Ausf. D, followed by Ausf. A, and finaly the Ausf. G version.

Reliability issues (especially with the first tanks produced), "overengineering" of the new design, and increasing Allied bombing meant that the required production numbers of the Panther were rarely ever achieved. Despite this, the Panther became the third most numerous German armoured fighting vehicle of the war (after the Stug III and Panzer IV) with a total of around 6,000 tanks completed. Ironically, the very last Panthers were produced shortly after the war at the German MNH factory in Hanover under the supervision of the British Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers unit (REME) and then shipped to Britain for testing. The Panther chassis was also used for specialised variants such as the Jagdpanther tank-destroyer and the Bergepanther recovery vehicle.

The first combat units received their first Panthers as early as January 1943, and their first combat deployment took place in July 1943 during the "Operation Citadel" (part of the Battle of Kursk) on the Eastern Front. However, their combat debut was not exactly successful due to persistent technical problems that plagued the new tanks. Nevertheless, over time, the Panthers earned a reputation as a formidable opponent of the anti-German coalition, which they remained until the end of the war.

As with other German vehicles, the Panthers were also used to a limited extent even after the war, when several countries decided to accept the type into service of their armies in the first post-war years. For example, in France (last ones phased out in the mid 1950s), Romania (until 1950) or Bulgaria (until 1948). In Czechoslovakia, dozens of Panther tanks were repaired to a combat-ready state, but were never officially put into service. Instead, they went straight to mobilization depots, where the last ones lasted until 1959 (a large part of the surviving Panthers had already been converted into tank tractors with a turret, but without an installed gun). An interesting information is that in 1955 the Czechoslovak government offered Syria 32 Panthers. However, the Syrian side rejected this offer, unlike the offer for Panzer IV and Stug III tanks/assault-guns, which the Syrian government decided to buy from Czechoslovakia and which were later used in the wars against Israel as late as in the second half of the 1960s.

In the following pics you can see two Panther tanks in two different versions, Ausf. A and Ausf. G.

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Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. A
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The older Ausf. A variant was produced from August 1943 to July 1944, with a total of around 2,200 completed vehicles. Compared to the first Ausf. D variant, the Ausf. A featured mainly a modified turret (a new commander's cupola, a new periscope for the loader, an improved turret traverse mechanism, a new gun mantle sealing which came together with redesigned cast turret sides behind the gun mantle or a slightly different interlock pattern of the turret front plate and side plate). Eventually, some hull improvements were also added (a new ball mount for a hull machine gun replacing the original rectangular flap cover, strengthened road wheels, a modified exhaust pipes). However, it must be said that some of these changes were applied during the Ausf. A production and some early Ausf. A tanks retained some of the Ausf. D features despite Ausf. A improvements being already implemented in part of the production. For these reasons, some of the very early Ausf. A models were externaly hardly distinguishable from the Ausf. D variant.

Seeing the vehicle on display in the Saumur museum, I would say this is a late-production vehicle. Its turret actually comes from a different tank, but the turret and the hull both show late-production features, such as the gr***de launcher mount on top of the turret (applied from late 1943/early 1944), the cast, more rounded type of turret ventilator cover (from summer 1944), the engine access hatch having a towing brackets (from February 1944), on the other hand, the turret lacks the three sockets on the top used for installation of a small crane construction used for tank maintenance (from June 1944). The Saumur museum even has two Panthers of the Ausf. A model, and the second one, which was not on display in the public parts of the museum at the time of my visit, is even in running condition.

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Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. G
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The second Panther on display is the Ausf. G version, the last to enter production (there was a planned Ausf. F model, which didn't make it before the end of the war). The vehicle on display was built in July 1944, so it is rather a mid-production vehicle, as the Ausf. G variant was produced from March 1944 to April 1945. A total of around 2960 Ausf. G tanks were built.

When it comes to differences between the Ausf. A and Ausf. G models, the Ausf. G was mainly distinguished by its sligtly redesigned side armor of the superstructure, which was now less angled than on previous models. To maintain the same protection, the thickness of the side armor was increased, and to compensate for the increase in weight, the lower hull plate and front belly plate armor protection was slightly reduced. Other new features included for example a new rotating periscope for the driver at the top of the front hull, removing the driver's visor in front of the hull, a new type of hatches for the driver and radio operator, or redesigned armored ventilators guards at the rear of the superstructure. The tank also has some features that only appeared during the production of the Ausf. G, such as three sockets on top of the turret used for installation of a small crane construction used tank maintenance (from June 1944) or guard installed over the gap between the turret and the gun mantle (from summer 1944).

The tank currently bears the markings it had at the time of its capture by the French 2nd Armored Division in September 1944 in Eastern France. Together with another Panther, the tank was sent back to liberated Paris, where it was displayed in front of the Les Invalides for several years. It was sent to Saumur in 1976.

Musée des Blindés // Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J
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The Panzer IV is a German medium tank of World War II, arguably the most importat tank of the German Army during the war.

Originally developed in the mid-1930s for infantry support role, armed with a short-barelled 75 mm gun (while the Panzer III, armed with anti-tak gun, was intended to engage enemy armor), but eventually, with the introduction of the Ausf. G variant in March 1942 (formerly designated as the Ausf.F2), the Panzer IV evolved into the main offensive weapon of German panzer divisions, when it was re-armed with a 75 mm anti-tank gun.

With over 9,000 tanks produced (however, the number varies depending on the source), the Panzer IV was the most numerous German tank of WWII and the second-most numerous German fully-tracked armoured fighting vehicle, surpassed only by the StuG III assault gun. It was also the only German tank to remain in production throughout the war (in Europe), as it was produced from 1936 until the last days of April 1945. The Panzer IV chassis was also used for a number of other specialized vehicles, such as the Stug IV, Jagdpanzer IV, Möbelwagen, Brummbär, etc.

The Panzer IV's first combat action took place during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 (but had previously been used also during the Anschluss of Austria and the occupation of Czechoslovakia), and although used in small numbers at the beginning of the war (far outnumbered by the Panzer I, Panzer II and captured Czechoslovak tanks), as the war progressed the importance of the Panzer IV grew along with their increasing numbers in the ranks of the German army.

Interestingly, the Panzer IV was still in service even after the end of World War II, as several countries, such as Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Finland or Spain, decided to use a number of vehicles that were either left in their countries after the Germans troops or received these tanks from Germany during the war. The last time the Panzer IV saw an action was in 1967, when a number of these tanks was used by the Syrian army against Israel during the Six-Day War.

The vehicle on display in Saumur is the Ausf. J variant and was built in March 1944. The Ausf. J is the last and most numerous model of all Panzer IV versions (over 3,000 tanks). It was basically a simplified variant compared to previous models, which was a consequence of increasingly deteriorating economic and military situation of Germany at the end of WWII, when it was necessary to speed up production and make it cheaper using less valuable raw materials. The main identification feature of the Ausf. J is the absence of the small rectangular exhaust muffler of the auxiliary engine, which in previous models powered the electric generator of the turret traversing mechanism (so the turret had to be rotated manually in the Ausf. J). Production of the Ausf. J began in January 1944 (some sources say February) and lasted until the end of April 1945, so the exhibited vehicle is from an early production run. Late production Ausf. J model received several changes that are not seen on this vehicle. For example, replacing the original horizontally positioned cylindrical muffler with two separate mufflers pointed upward, reducing the number of return rollers from four to three, or extended side plates of the lower hull with built-in towing eyes at the front.

The tank was recovered from a live firing range near the city of Bourges in central France. I have not been able to find out when this happened, nor any information about the history of the tank. The museum in Saumur also owns another Panzer IV, in the Ausf. H variant, which is in running condition.