Allied/Nazi Air Force Museums?
 

Traveling to France and Italy, soon. I am most interested in World War Two sites and will be doing the Normandy Beaches thing. Are there any Allied/Nazi Air Force Museums in Europe/France/Italy? Are they worth the time/trip? Do you know how many aircraft they have? I have a print out of "The Worlds Greatest Tank Museums" and several are in Belgium, so I may have to 'swing by there'. (By the way, Fort Knox, Kentucky is the best I have seen in the US---so far...)

You might also try posting to soc.history.war.world-war-ii it's a moderated NG with alot of WW II buffs who might be able to help you with info. Regards, Walter <BR>p.s. In Italy you can also buy Italian WW II reproductions of medals, insignias, swords/knives etc., esp. at the gift shops around Rome's train station. <BR>

Dave, where are the tank museums in Belgium? We're going there in a couple of weeks, and are scheduling the Battle of the Bulge Museums near Arlon and at Bastogne into the itinerary. We're also going to the air museum at Scheissheim, just north of Munich, which is supposed to have a lot of aircraft - don't know, however, from what time period.

Some more suggestions: <BR> <BR>1) War Museum in London. Covers all wars Britain has been involved in, but (surprise!) World War Two covers a lot of the area. <BR> <BR>2) Churchill War Rooms. The actual rooms Churchill used during the war, with many original materials. <BR> <BR>3) The RAF Museum. Check www.rafmuseum.org.uk/flat/hendon/intro.cfm for more info. <BR> <BR>4) General Patton's grave, surrounded by the graves of his soldiers. Patton was certainly the only person to ever demand to be buried in Luxemborg, saying (basically) "If that's where my ^@@%^$# men are buried, then I'll be buried in %%#%^$##@ Luxemborg" :^) <BR> <BR>One thing about Italy -- World War Two is a topic the country would rather forget. I saw only two plaques while there, one to those who died during the "War in Africa", the other (at the U.S. Embassy) to the Americans who "liberated Rome from foreign occupation." It's almost as if Italy and the U.S. have a silent agreement -- "We won't mention that you bombed our country to rubble and you won't mention WHY you did so." <BR> <BR>

Walter, <BR>Thank you much, that is good news! I will check it out. <BR> <BR>Nickie, <BR>I will get that to you as soon as I can...probably tommorrow sometime (I do not have it with me). <BR> <BR>Paul, <BR>About the 'unwritten' Italian/US agreement.....WORKS FOR ME! Adolf and Mussolini(wrong spelling--most likely) got theirs in the end. That's what counts, I guess. Musse and his 'squeeze' got theirs at Lake Como. But, I heard that there was something BIG in the way of Memorials and/or Museums at Anzio...No?

Nickie, <BR> <BR>This is the 'print-out' that I have of: <BR>TANK MUSEUMS and ARMOR DISPLAYS of EUROPE <BR>I hope this helps... <BR> <BR>The Victory Memorial Museum; Hondelange, Belgium <BR>The Brussels Tank Museum; Brussels, Belgium <BR> <BR>The Tojhmuseet; Copenhagen, Denmark <BR> <BR>The BWB War Museum; Koblenz, Germany <BR>The Auto UndTechnik Museum; Sinsheim, Germany <BR>The Motor Tecknik Museum; Bad Oeynhausen, Germany <BR>The Panzer Museum; Munster, Germany <BR> <BR>The Panzer Museum; Thun, Switzerland <BR> <BR>The Tank CollectionE.R.G.M.E.B.; Glen, France <BR>The Saumer Armour Museum; Anjou, France <BR>The Hackenberg War Museum; Veckring, France <BR> <BR>The Bovington Tank Museum; Wareham, Dorset, England <BR>The Imperial War Museum; Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England <BR> <BR>The Museo Militar; Bucharest, Romania <BR> <BR>The Military Museum; Kbely, Czechoslovakia <BR> <BR>The War Museum Collection; Trieste, Italy <BR> <BR>The Armored Vehicle Maint. Centre; Segovia, Spain <BR>The Artillery Academy; Segovia, Spain <BR>The El Goloso Barracks; Madrid, Spain <BR> <BR>The Panssarimuseo; Parola, Finland <BR> <BR>The Pansarmuseet; Axvall, Sweden <BR> <BR>The Military Museum; Oslo, Norway <BR> <BR>There are several others in Russia, let me know if you would like those. I omitted the one in Serbia...since <BR>we are at war. <BR> <BR>-- <BR> <BR> - Dave Crane - <BR> <BR>email: [email protected] <BR>web--: http://www.genome.utah.edu/eng/dcrane/

Dave, <BR> <BR>If you're going to be in France, I would highly recommend following the "Operation Cobra" (Patton's breakout)route from Normandy to Paris, i.e., Mormandy south to Avaranches (Definitely do le Mont St. Michel while this close); east to the area of battle of the Falaise pocket whene the German 7th Army as annihilated. The tiny village of Chambois was at the center of this battle, and the keep there is worth the trip alone. Go slightly north to the hilltop museum and memorial to the Polish troops. From here you can look out over the valley where the Germans were, and you can easily se how the massacre happened. Also, while at the Normandy beaches, don't miss the German cemetary at LeCambe, only a very few miles from Point du Hoc. It is very different from the American cemetary at Omaha, but equaly moving (after all, the Germans were just kids too!). If you're interested, I can give you more specific directions and perhaps some additional information. Have fun! <BR> <BR>Ralph Cooke <BR>[email protected]

<BR>Dear Mr Crane <BR> <BR>As you've been told, there is a RAF museum in Hendon, and there are planes in the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth North, London. But the latter museum has a much larger branch in Duxford, out towards Cambridge, which is an air force museum -- or rather two, with British and American sections. It is iun your checklist already, and I think it has a web site. You can reach it in two hours from Aldwych East in central London: if you phone the Imperial War Museum they'll tell you how, and at what time. <BR> <BR>I think there may be a small museum at Biggin Hill in Kent, but am unsure. Perhaps your web search engine can find "Biggin Hill" and tell you. <BR> <BR>Observers who watched the Luftwaffe come over sat in bunkers under Dover Castle, and the bunkers are now part of a good museum. Dover is 90 minutes along the line from Victoria and from Charing Cross stations, both in London. <BR> <BR>The City historical museum in Dresden has something to say about the fire bombing, but is surprisingly gentle in its coverage. In London we have abjured a memorial of Dresden and Hamburg, though there is a controvesial statue of Bomber Harris in front of St Clement Danes Church on the Strand, near Temple tube station. Coventry Cathedral is of itself a monument for reconciliation and peace, and I think worth a visit. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcolme to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

Hey tank man-Did you get to see the Pink Tank in Prague? In 1990 or so when the Russians were leaving, the students and then the city council painted the Russies' monument a lovely shade of pink in protest. I took pictures but when friends toured Prague a few months later, it was gone.