Visit to Tank Museum - IC Alumni Association of Northern California

On September 10, 2005, members of the Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California were afforded the chance to tour the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation’s Tank Museum.

On September 10, 2005, members of the Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California were afforded the chance to tour the Military Vehicle Technology Foundations Tank Museum. Nestled in Portola Valley, California, this collection of military vehicles is arguably the biggest of its kind in the world.

The visit was kicked off by a presentation by Jacques Littlefield, President and Benefactor of the Foundation. He started by telling the group many little-known facts about the closely-knit world of tank collecting. When he continued with an outline of the museum's restoration methods, they could see the parallels with any world-class museum. For instance, when a 1940's tanks has been refurbished in the 1950's and put back into battle soon after, to what decade should the present-day restoration be faithful to? Engineering implications of this decision point run the gamut of material to be used (e.g. fiberglass or sheet metal) to engine design.

Jacques talk was followed by a tour of the museum by Curator Roy Robertson. Housed in a sprawling 100,000 square foot indoor climate-controlled campus, the defanged tanks were color coded by country (brown for the former USSR, etc.) and well laid out. Roy's sense of humor was a great counterpoint to these mute witnesses to the horrors of war.

The variety of tanks was also remarkable, ranging from an amphibious 1924 Citroen tank (replete with hand paddles) to a Scud Missile carrier used in the First Gulf War of 1991. One extremely rare specimen was the Vickers Matilda Mk 2, used by the British in the North African campaign of WWII. They also had the opportunity to get into the driver's seat of some of the tanks. For a brief moment the group was transported to the conflicts of yore and the heat of battle!

Afterwards, they regrouped for a pleasant lunch in the gardens of the Alpine Inn, where Jacques regaled them with war stories on some of the more spectacular acquisitions in his collection. Their thanks go to him for opening up his collection to the ICENAE and for the time he personally gave to them.

Contributor: Arjuna Jayasinha

Note: for more details on the museum's inventory of tanks, visit http://www.milvehtechfound.com/.

A big thanks also goes to Imperial College alumnus KC Fong for organising this great event for the benefit of ICAANC members.