Panzermuseum Thun
The Panzermuseum Thun was a museum in Thun in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. Exhibited in the museum were foreign and Swiss tanks as well as examples of Swiss self-propelled artillery and static artillery. After an announcement in November 2023, the museum's outdoor collection was dissolved and closed to the public in 2024.
Description
Until the museum's dissolution, a number of vehicles were exhibited in the open air at the Thun weapons range and were able to be viewed during office hours of the Swiss Army Museum Association within the Dufour barracks, entrance on Military Street. Since some of the over forty exhibits had been stored in the open air for a long time, a large number of them were restricted in their ability to drive and function.Due to the museum's closure, its outdoor inventory was largely transferred to other collections. Non-swiss vehicles were moved to the Swiss Military Museum in Full-Reuenthal, while domestic vehicles were handed over to the collection of the Historic Military Equipment Foundation in Burgdorf, Switzerland. A small selection of vehicles remains in Thun, though this collection is now inaccessible to the general public save for guided tours upon request.
Exhibits
The following exhibits were able to be seen on the exhibition grounds:| Name | Type – year of manufacture – procurement | Characteristics | Photo |
| Vickers-Carden-Loyd | Light combat vehicle, manufactured in 1934, 6 units were purchased for the Swiss Army | 2 men, 1 × 7.5 mm machine gun, 3.8 tons | |
| Renault FT | Light combat vehicle, manufactured from 1917, 5 units were purchased | 2 men, 1 × 3.7 cm cannon, 6.7 tons | |
| Tiger II "Königstiger" | King Tiger B, main battle tank, manufactured in 1944, handed over to the Swiss Military Museum in 2007 as a permanent loan. | 1 × 8.8 cm cannon L71, 3 × 7.92 mm-MG, 5 men, 68 tons | |
| T17E1 Staghound | Scout tanks, manufactured in 1943, 64 units were purchased, never introduced, used as target vehicles | 5 men, 1 × 37 mm cannon, 2 × MG, 12 tons | |
| M3 | Special tank, year of manufacture 1941/42, conversion from M4 main battle tank | 6 men, dummy cannon, 27 tons | |
| Panzer 68 | Panzer 68/88, Swiss main battle tank, manufactured 1988–1993, 195 units | 4 men, 1 × 10.5 cm cannon, 2 × 7.5 mm MG, 41 tons | |
| Centurion (tank) | Centurion main battle tank, procurement 1958–1960, 100 units procured | 4 men 1 × 10.5 cm cannon, 2 × 7.5 mm MG, 50 tons | |
| Entpannungspanzer 65 | Prototype special tank on chassis Pz 61, one example procured | 4 men, 40 tons | |
| M48 Patton | Main battle tank, year of manufacture 1954, exchange item | 4 men, 1 × 9 cm cannon, 1 × 7.62 mm MG, 1 × 12 mm MG, 45 tons | |
| Nahkampfkanone 1 | Self-propelled gun, year of manufacture 1943, prototype on an extended Pz 39 chassis | 5 men | |
| 7.5 cm cannon | later 10.5 cm Howitze 42 | 10 tons | |
| Nahkampfkanone 2 Gustav | Assault gun, year of manufacture 1942–1945, prototype in four versions, no series production | 5 men, 7.5 cm anti-tank gun, 24 tons | |
| Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 | Armored personnel carrier, manufactured from 1956, two prototypes without a turret in military testing, exchange item | 2+8 men, 1 × 20 mm cannon, 14.6 tons | |
| Panzerwagen 39 | Light combat vehicle, year of manufacture 1938–1939, 24 purchased | 3 men, 24 mm cannon 38, 2 × 7.5 mm machine guns, 8 tons | |
| Universal Carrier T16 | Transport vehicle for Panzer-Grenadiers, manufactured in 1944, 302 purchased, sold again in 1965 | 2+6 men, 4.7 tons | |
| Hetzer | Self-propelled gun, year of manufacture 1944–1949, 158 purchased | 1 × 7.5 cm anti-tank gun 1940, 1 × 7.5 mm MG, 4 men, 16 tons | |
| Leichter Panzer 51 | Scout tank, year of manufacture 1953–1957 | 200 bought | |
| 7.5 cm tank gun 51 | 1 × 7.5 mm machine gun, 3 men | 14,5 tons | |
| AMX 13 self-propelled howitzer | Tank artillery, manufactured in 1956, 4 purchased for troop trials | ||
| 10.5 cm howitzer L30 | 1 × 7.5mm or 7.62mm machine gun, 5 men | 16,5 tons | |
| Panzer 58 | Main battle tank, year of manufacture 1958, 2 prototypes, 10 pre-series vehicles | 1 × 8.4 cm tank gun 58, 1 × 20 mm cannon, 1 × 7.5 mm MG, 4 men, 35 tons | |
| Saurer Tartaruga | Combat armored personnel carrier, manufactured in 1959 or later, an exhibit purchased for testing | 1 × 20 mm MK, 3+9 men, 18.2 tons | |
| Mowag Pirat | Combat armored personnel carrier, manufactured in 1962, an exhibit purchased for testing | 1 × 20 mm cannon, 3+9 men, 18.1 tons | |
| Fliegerabwehrpanzer 68 | Special tank, year of manufacture 1977/78, 2 prototypes | 2 × 35 mm cannon Oerlikon KDA, 3 men, 46 tons | |
| 15 cm heavy howitzer 1942 | L28 howitzer, manufactured in 1942 | ready to fire 6.8 tons | |
| 76.2 mm anti-tank gun | Anti-tank gun "Ratsch-Bumm“, manufactured in 1938 | 2 tons | |
| 4.7 cm Pak on Renault R35 | Tank destroyer, year of manufacture 1941–1944, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 4,7-cm-anti-tank gun, 3 men, 10 tons | |
| Sturmgeschütz III | Sturmpanzer, year of manufacture 1943–1945, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 7.5 cm cannon L48, 1 × 7.92 mm MG, 4 men, 24 tons | |
| Hetzer | Tank destroyer, year of manufacture 1944–1945, gift from F, trials in CH, predecessor of the G13 | 1 × 7.5 cm anti-tank gun 39 L48, 1 × Flab-MG, 4 men, 16 tons | |
| Jagdpanzer IV/48 | Assault gun, year of manufacture 1943–1945, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 7.5 cm cannon L48, 1 × 7.92 mm MG, 5 men, 24 tons | |
| Panzer IV Typ H | Main battle tank, year of manufacture 1937–1945, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 7.5 cm cannon L48, 2 × 7.92 mm MG, 5 men, 22.4 tons | |
| Jagdpanzer V Jagdpanther | Tank destroyer, year of manufacture 1943–1945, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 8.8 cm cannon L71, 1 × 7.92 mm MG, 5 men, 46 tons | |
| Panther tank | Main battle tank, year of manufacture 1943–1945, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 7.5 cm cannon L70, 3 × 7.92 mm MG, 5 men, 44.8 tons | |
| 8,8 cm PaK 43 | L71 from battle tank VI Tiger II, manufactured in 1944 | Ball screen Tiger II from battle tank VI Tiger II, year of manufacture 1944, thickness 150 mm | |
| M7 Priest | Self-propelled gun, year of manufacture from 1942, gift from F, trials in CH | 1 × 10.5 cm howitzer, 1 × 12.7 mm MG, 7 men, 24 tons | |
| Schützenpanzer SPz 11-2 Kurz Hotchkiss | Armored personnel carrier, year of manufacture 1951, exchange item, special equipment for radio operators | 1 × 7.5 mm MG, 2+5 men, 8 tons | |
| M47 Patton | Main battle tank, manufactured in 1950, purchased for trials in CH | 1 × 9 cm cannon L70, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 1 × 12.7 mm MG, 5 men, 44 tons | |
| M4 Sherman | Main battle tank, manufactured in 1942, purchased for tests in Switzerland | 1 × 7.5 cm cannon, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 1 × 12.7 mm MG, 5 men, 32 tons | |
| Centurion Bridgelayer | Bridge-laying tank, year of manufacture 1961–1963, 2 exhibits purchased for tests in the CH chassis such as the Pz 57 Centurion | 3 men, 50.8 tons | |
| Centurion (tank) | Main battle tank, year of manufacture 1948–1952, purchased in Canada | 1 × 8.4 cm cannon, 2 × 7.6 mm MG, 4 men, 50 tons | |
| T-34/85 Kampfpanzer | Year of manufacture 1943–1953, exchange item | 1 × 85 mm cannon, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 5 men, 32 tons | |
| AMX-VCI | Armored personnel carrier, manufactured from 1955, purchased for trials in Switzerland | 1 × 7.62 mm machine gun in turret, 2+10 men, 12.5 tons | |
| T-54 | Main battle tank, exchange item | 1 × 10 cm cannon, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 4 men, 36 tons | |
| Leopard 2 | Main battle tank M+77101 was the first of 35 Leopard 2s delivered from Germany in 1987, 345 Leopard 2s were manufactured in Thun until 1993 | 4 men, 120 mm smoothbore cannon, 42 rounds, 62 tons |
Literature
- Martin Haudenschild: The development history of the Panzer 68, SAM, March edition 2006,