Museum: Wings of liberation (Best, the Netherlands)
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Netherlands
Best
Sonseweg 39
€6,00
Every day from 10.00 to 17.00
http://www.wingsofliberation.nl
Good
Enough Soviet and East German equipment to make a visit to Best worth while
Wings of liberation in Best, North Brabant the Netherlands is a private collection of war vehicles dedicated to the US airborne troops involved in the liberation of the Netherlands in Word War II. The museum exists of seven buildings with diorama's on various theme's like Operation Market Garden, American command post, the Scottish highland division and much more. Also are there three buildings with various vehicles (mainly American) and some aircraft displayed. The pride of the museum are also two beautiful DC-3 Dakota's displayed outside. What drew Comtourist to the museum however, are the Operation Barbarossa theme building, a displayed Mig-21 trainer and a Czechoslovakian VT-34 recovery vehicle. The museum is quit far away from the Netherlands main cities but certainly wroth a visit.
US M-47 Patton tank guarding the entrance
Entrance of the Barbarossa exhibition
Museum theme building: Operation Barbarossa
The main attraction at Wings of Liberation for Soviet war equipment enthusiasts is the theme building dedicated to Operation Barbarossa. Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Hitler expected a quick Blitz Krieg victory over the "inferior Russians", but the advance of the German army stalled in the Russian winter and the Hitler was now staring to lose the war. In the Barbarossa theme building a T-34, BM-13 Katyusha and a ZIS-3 anti tank Gun are displayed in lively diorama's. There is also a German Jagdpanther tank displayed. Besides the vehicles are there, photo's, display boxes with all sorts of Red Army items and marquette's with scene's for the battle for Berlin. There is also a large amount of Red Army uniforms exhibited from various parts of the Soviet army. A separate part of the exhibitions is dedicated to the border between East and West Germany. A section of the Berlin Wall is recreated with guard towers and border guards. This is done a bid amateurish but it does serve it's main aim, making children aware Europe was once divided by an iron curtain.
Gun: ZIS-3
Rocket launcher: BM-13
Tank: Hetzer
ZIS-3 anti-tank gun
BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher
Nazi Hetzer
The ZIS-3 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun, ZIS stands for Zavod imeni Stalina (Stalin plant). The ZIS-3 is regarded as one of the best artillery pieces of World War II with German 88-mm FlaKs and British 25pdr howitzer.
The Katyusha named Stalin Organ by the Germans is probably one of the most famous weapons of World War II. This rocket launcher can fire 16 rockets simultaneous at a distance of some kilometers. Here the rocket installation is mounted on a Zil-151 truck.
The Hetzer or Jagdpanzer 38 Sd.Kfz. 138/2 was a German tank destroyer of the Second World War and the small brother of the famous Jagdpanther. It was based on a modified pre-war Czechoslovakian Panzer from the Skoda factory.
Tank: The famous T-34
Right site of Soviet T-34
Front site of Soviet T-34
Back site of Soviet T-34
Many second word war allied weapons are branded "the weapon that won the war", the T-34 is probably the one that deserves the title most of all. The Germans did not believe the Soviets could build a tank that would outclassed them on the battle field. Shocked reports were send to Berlin however after the first confrontation with T-34 during the Russian campaign. The T-34's revolutionary design with sloping armour and powerful 45mm gun made it fearsome adversary on the battlefield. It was simple to build and produced in great numbers, helping the Soviets to defeat Hitler in the East.
Museum exhibits: Various Soviet military equipment
The museum owns a large collection of Red Army equipment like tanks radio's artillery and tank measurement instruments, helmets, footwear, medals etc.
Hats and boots
Artillery instrument
Tank radio
P-123M Tank radio
Soviet insignia
Soviet insignia
Medals
Soviet insignia
Marquette: Scene's from the battle for Berlin
Two marquette's display street fighting scene's from the battle for Berlin at the final day's of World War II in Europe.
Tanks
Soldiers
Defensive position
USSR Army uniforms
A large number of Red Army uniforms is displayed in the Wings of Liberation museum.
Radio unit
Para trooper
Tank uniform
Parade tunic
Radio unit
Soldier
Winter tunic
Camouflage
Soviet pilot
Soviet sailor
Uniforms: East German border guards
A special section of the Barbarossa theme building is dedicated to the East German Border during the cold war. Different uniforms of border guards are displayed and a part of the Berlin wall is recreated in the museum.
Three uniforms
Guard at the Berlin wall
Guard in watch tower
Jet: Mikoyan Mig-21UM trainer
The Mig-21 is the most produced Jet fighter off all times. Wings of liberation owns a twin seat Mig-21UM trainer aircraft (NATO designation Mongol). The Mikoyan OKB developed a series of tandem-seat MiG-21 trainers, to learn fighter pilots how to handle the aircraft.
Mig-21UM trainer
Rare artifact: Original Mig-23 simulator
Wings of Liberation has a hall dedicated to flight simulators. The top piece is an original Mig-21 simulator. The flight's simulator hall is only open for public one a week.
Cockpit of the Mig-21 simulator
Mig-21 simulator
ARV: VT-34
The VT-34 ypro??ovac? tank (recovery tank) is a Czechoslovakian purpose-built armored recovery vehicles with front superstructure, thirty-tonne winch, and entrenching spade. The VT-34 is built on the chassis of a Russian T-34 tank. The purpose of ARV's is to tow damaged tanks from the battle field so they can be repaired beyond the line of fire.
The VT-34
The tank driver
