The Redhunter

You can view all 70+ photos I took that day on my photobucket site.

The Cold War

Here's a British Centurion, their first good post WWII tank. As with most of these tanks, it has served in many armies. Most notably, perhaps, it was the mainstay of the IDF when they defeated the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians in the 1967 war.

And in action

Here, I believe, is an American M-60 Patton, the main battle tank of our military in the latter half of the Cold War. The Marines were still using them as late as Desert Storm

And of course their counterparts from the Warsaw Pact where there. First up is the venerable T-54/55 in action

This T-54/55 has an additional armor skirt around the front of the turret, something I'd never seen before

The more modern T-72G. We faced this tank in Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom

There were some Vietnam reenactors, all decked out in period gear and weaponry beside an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). I talked with these guys for awhile, and like all reenactors I've encountered they knew the history of their unit backwards and forwards.

The BMP was the world's first Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV). The difference between an APC and an AFV was that the former was designed to simply carry men into combat whereupon they would exit the vehicle and fight, whereas the APC could not only carry troops, it could itself fight and the men inside could shoot with their rifles through small holes in the side. The American M113 had only machine guns for firepower; the BMP a 73mm cannon and at least one machine gun. Here is a BMP with some enthusiastic reenactors

Warsaw Pact Headquarters

World War II

The British Valentine, a light infantry tank. It doesn't look like much, but was very useful in North Africa, where it served the British well

The first American heavy tank, the M-3 Lee/Grant (I'm not sure which version this one is). My understanding was that the unusual arrangement was due to our inability to produce a turret strong enough to house the main gun. Despite this, it was better than most British tanks and was a match for the German tanks of the time.

The ubiquitous M-4 Sherman, the main and best of the heavy American and British tanks of the war. They had two there, this one with welded plate construction, and another with a cast hull. The latter was the later design and considered better protection. Any weld point is a weak point.

The T-34/85 was one of the best tanks of the war and won the war for the Soviets. Some Red Army reenactors are standing by this one

Waffen SS reenactors

The Wehrmacht's version of the half-track, called the Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251)

and the American M3 Half-track. I'm not sure how this played out in performance, but it's interesting to note that although the American vehicle had a smaller track, it had front wheel drive, whereas the front wheels of the German vehicle were unpowered.

A few more photos are at my photobucket site. Any additional information commenters have about any of these historical military vehicles is most welcome.