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'{{Infobox museum | name = Kubinka Tank Museum | native_name = Военно-Исторический музей Бронетанкового Вооружения и Техники | native_name_lang = ru | logo = | logo_upright = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | map_type = Russia Moscow Oblast | map_relief = y | map_size = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|55|33|54|N|36|42|56|E|region:RU_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}} | former_name = | established = {{Start date|1972|df=y}} | dissolved = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} --> | location = [[Kubinka]], [[Moscow oblast]], [[Russia]] | type = | accreditation = | key_holdings = [[Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus]], [[Karl-Gerät]] | collections = | collection_size = | visitors = 70,000 a year<ref>http://www.mbtvt.ru/about/history-of-the-museum</ref> | founder = | director = | president = | ceo = | chairperson = | curator = | architect = | historian = | owner = | publictransit = | car_park = | parking = | network = | website = http://www.mbtvt.ru/ | embedded = }} [[File:Isu152 Kubinka.jpg|thumb|[[ISU-152]] at Kubinka]] [[File:Metro-maus1.jpg|thumb|[[Panzer VIII Maus]] at the Kubinka Tank Museum]] [[File:Kugelpanzer.JPG|thumb|[[Kugelpanzer]] at Kubinka]] The '''Kubinka Tank Museum''' is a large military museum in [[Kubinka]], [[Odintsovsky District]], [[Moscow Oblast]], [[Russia]] where tanks, armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) and their relevant information are displayed and showcased. The museum consists of open-air and indoor permanent exhibitions of many famous tanks and armored vehicles from throughout the 20th and 21st centuries (between 1917 to the present day). It is also known to house and display many unique and one-of-a-kind military vehicles, such as the Nazi German [[Panzer VIII Maus]] super-heavy tank, the [[Obyekt 279|Troyanov heavy tank]] and a [[Karl-Gerät]] heavy self-propelled artillery, amongst other single or limited-production prototypes from the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. == About == The Kubinka Tank Museum is located on a historically "classified" [[Red Army]] armor testing facility. Most of its displays in the museum were derived from the research collection of the still-functioning{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}} Kubinka armour testing and proving ground. Most Cold War-era Western tanks (from the USA or Western Europe) were war trophies from the Middle East, Africa, Vietnam and Latin America, which were all sent to the armour testing facility at Kubinka to study and focus on any strengths and weaknesses. Due to its secretive history as well as its close relationship with the military, the museum is still staffed entirely by [[Russian Army]] personnel today. === Admission and visitor restrictions === As of 2016 access into museum is available for all visitors, however foreign citizens pay 1500 rubles and 1700 rubles during weekends, while Russian citizens pay only 400 rubles and 500 rubles during weekends. Guided tours in English are more expensive, starting at 4000 rubles. Access to children under the age of 6 is free. Permission to film and record videos cost 350 rubles. Foreign citizens are highly recommended to have a copy of the passport to enter the museum as well as the original.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mbtvt.ru/tickets |title=Центральный музей бронетанкового вооружения и техники |date= |website=mbtvt.ru |access-date=24 September 2016 }}</ref> Weapons and alcohol are prohibited, at the entrances inspections are carried out by security staff with the help of metal detectors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tankmuseum.ru/ |title=Танковый Музей Кубинка |website=tankmuseum.ru |access-date=24 September 2016 }}</ref> === Exhibits === The museum hosts a wide variety of tanks and armored vehicles developed and used throughout the 20th century by the Soviets, Germans and many other nations. Around 60% of the exhibits are Soviet-era vehicles, with the most recent display being the Object 172, the prototype of the [[T-72]] MBT. Apart from that, the only remaining [[Panzer VIII Maus]] and a captured British tank of First World War-vintage (used by the White Russian forces during the Russian Civil War)&nbsp;– along with several different Hungarian, Polish, Japanese, British and American vehicles&nbsp;– are on display as well. == Access == Located in the outskirt of Moscow, Kubinka is easily accessible by suburban train from [[Belorussky railway station]], Moscow. Until the recent times, the complex network of local trains and the lack of ads in English made it difficult to take the right train without the knowledge of the Russian language. Since 2016 The Kubinka Tank Museum has 2 sites 12 km. each by each. Since 2017 the shuttle bus is available during the official celebrations or the special events (as Army forum or International Army Games, but not Tank troop day). There is also the local taxi from Kubinka or Golitsyno railway stations. == World War II History == Kubinka was a top-secret armour testing range and proving ground from before World War II. All new tanks from Russian research and design bureaus and facilities and factories had to be first tested here. Also, Nazi German tanks and armoured fighting vehicles that were either captured by Soviet troops or transferred by the USA and the UK were tested in Kubinka. Before [[Operation Barbarossa]] in June 1941, some German tanks and AFVs were sold to the Soviet Union and these were also tested at Kubinka. Some of these tanks included the [[Panzer I]] light tank, the [[Panzer II]] light tank and the [[Panzer III]] medium tank, which were all carefully studied and evaluated by the Soviet Union. After 1941, several captured tanks and AFVs of Nazi Germany (like the [[Panzer IV]] medium tank, the [[Jagdpanzer IV]] tank destroyer, the [[Sturmgeschütz_III]] and [[Sturmgeschütz_IV]] assault guns/tank destroyers and the [[Elefant]] heavy tank destroyer, amongst others), including half-tracks, were evaluated here as well. A few captured [[Tiger I]] heavy tanks were brought to the testing and proving grounds at Kubinka in 1943 to be subjected to firing tests. From the tests, it was learnt that the most effective weapon against the tank's thick armour was the Soviet 85&nbsp;mm AA-gun 52-K model 1939 anti-aircraft gun, which successfully penetrated the Tiger I's frontal armour (100&nbsp;mm thick) from a range of 1000 metres. Several [[Tiger II]] heavy tanks were also captured by the Soviet Union and were brought to Kubinka for more evaluations in 1944. In 1945 the Soviet Union also tested captured Japanese tanks that were seized after the rapid Soviet invasion of [[Manchuria]], [[South Sakhalin]], the [[Kuril Islands]], northern China and northern Korea. (These include the [[Type 95 Ha-Go]] light tank, the [[Type 4 Ke-Nu]] light tank, the [[Type 2 Ka-Mi]] amphibious light tank (which has all of its pontoons and floatation devices fitted), and the Type 95 Ri-Ki crane vehicle (a combat engineering vehicle), amongst other types.) == Cold War History == Soviet tank technology was chiefly concentrated at the Kubinka Force Technology Center, which provided a series of technical evaluations and testing and relevant information to the national defense system to facilitate potential or future tank designs. Today, the Kubinka Tank Museum exhibits more than 50 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles procured from abroad during the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://preservedtanks.com/Locations.aspx?LocationCategoryId=2130&Select=4 |title=Kubinka NIIBT Research Collection – Foreign Vehicles, Kubinka, Moscow oblast, Russia |website=preservedtanks.com |access-date=24 September 2016}}</ref> Some of these vehicles are as follows: * An [[M24 Chaffee]] light tank, which formerly belonged to one of the French colonial armies and participated in the [[First Indochina War]] between 1946 and 1954. During the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]], the Viet Minh captured at least three French M24 Chaffees and sent a few of them to the Soviet Union after the war. * An [[M41 Walker Bulldog]] light tank was sent to the Kubinka Force Technology Center during the early 1960s or early 1970s. Most sources state it was one of five captured by Cuba in 1961 during the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]]; however, the M41 may have also been one of several hundred captured by the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN) during the [[Vietnam War]]. * Some [[M48 Patton]] medium tanks are also on display there. Some of these were captured by Syrian troops in Lebanon during the [[1982 Lebanon War]] and were later sent to the Soviet Union for evaluation. One of the M48 Patton tanks displayed was also fitted with "Blazer" ERA (explosive reactive armour), while others were captured by the PAVN during the Vietnam War. * An [[M60 Patton]] main battle tank (MBT) was also captured by Syria in 1982 and donated to the Soviet Union, which proceeded to analyse the latest types of ammunition and weaponry on the tank. The few other M60 Patton tanks at the museum were captured by Egypt in the [[Yom Kippur War]] of 1973 and by Iraq in the 1980s (which captured theirs from Iran during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]) and inspected by Soviet military officers. One IDF (Israel Defence Forces) M60 Patton was captured in 1973 in the Sinai by the Egyptian Army and was flown to the Soviet Union after some negotiations with Egyptian government. Interestingly enough, one of the first M60 Pattons that fell into the hands of the [[USSR]] during the Cold War came from Iran, from where an army officer reportedly defected to the USSR in a stolen M60A1 Patton. * Former American [[M26 Pershing]] and [[M46 Patton]] medium tanks which were captured by Chinese [[People's Volunteer Army]] (PVA) during the [[Korean War]] and were sent for testings and evaluations at the Kubinka Force Technology Centre. One of these tanks is now on display at the museum. * Several [[M113]] armoured personnel carriers (APCs) were captured by North Vietnam during the [[Vietnam War]] and also sent to the Kubinka Force Technology Centre for careful studies and evaluations. Other M113 APCs might have been acquired from Somalia (which, before the 1970s, was an ally of the USSR). * Several British [[Centurion_(tank) |Centurion]] MBTs are displayed at the museum. A British Army Centurion Mk.III was captured during the [[Korean War]] (most likely by Chinese PVA forces) and sent to the USSR. It has been theorised that at least one South African [[Centurion (tank)#South_Africa|Olifant Mk1A]], a variant of the Centurion Mk. 5, was also transferred to Kubinka after being captured by [[Angola]]n and [[Cuba]]n troops during [[Operation Packer]]. Israeli Centurions captured by Egypt during the [[Yom Kippur War]] were evaluated at Kubinka. * A British [[Conqueror_(tank)|Conqueror]] heavy tank is also on display at the museum. This tank was donated to the Kubinka Tank Museum by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in the UK to the Soviet Union in exchange for an IS-2 heavy tank in 1988. * A former Iranian Army [[Chieftain_(tank)|Chieftain]] Mk.5 MBT and an [[FV101 Scorpion]] light tank were sent to the Soviet Union by Iraq during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]. * An IDF M51 [[Super Sherman]] medium tank was captured by either Egypt or Syria and was sent to the Soviet Union. * A French [[AMX-13|AMX-13/75]] light tank that was received from Algeria after the [[Algerian War]] during the 1950s and the 1960s. *Two French [[Panhard AML]] reconnaissance vehicles and their South African counterpart, an [[Eland Mk7|Eland]]. * A Swedish [[Stridsvagn 103]] (S-Tank) amphibious main battle tank is also on display at the museum (how the USSR obtained one is not known). == See also == ;Tank museums *[[Musée des Blindés]] – France *[[The Tank Museum]] – United Kingdom *[[Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor]] – United States *[[Yad La-Shiryon]] – Israel *[[Parola Tank Museum]] – Finland *[[Military museum Lešany]] – Czech Republic *[[German Tank Museum]] – Germany *[[Military Museum, Belgrade]] – Serbia *[[Canadian War Museum]] – Ottawa, Ontario *Canadian Forces [[Base Borden Military Museum]] – 100&nbsp;km North of Toronto, Ontario == References == {{reflist}} == External links == {{Commons|Tank Museum, Kubinka}} * [http://www.tankmuseum.ru/ Tank museum, Kubinka, Russia at the Test Range of NII BT; old website with all information in English] * [http://www.mbtvt.ru/ Official new museum website in Russian only] [[Category:Museums established in 1978]] [[Category:Military and war museums in Russia]] [[Category:Tank museums]] [[Category:Museums in Moscow Oblast]] [[Category:Odintsovsky District]] [[Category:World War II museums in Russia]] [[Category:1978 establishments in the Soviet Union]]'