I had too much time before my flight, so I basically just walked the length of the entire terminal several times. Saw this "Escape Lounge" and wanted to imagine that it is actually an escape room but travellers aren't informed until they are locked in.
Finally on the plane and oof, dead airline just sitting out there.
Flew into Atlanta and began the process of various trains to the rental car place.
From there, driving south towards Columbus, where I (thought that I) had a hotel booked. Love the foliage here, with the pines.
I had heard about Cook Out Burgers as a good local chain to try so I went there for dinner.
Pulling into my hotel that I had booked months ago, found that the owner or manager was outside and told me they were remodelling and the hotel wasn't open. Great. Great you guys. Really appreciate you taking my reservation, then not honoring it, and not contacting me about it. Anyway, I found another hotel (more expensive) and finally landed for the night. The food was fine, but not exceptional. Cheerwine (southern cherry soda) was good but not worth shipping to Missouri.
The local Columbus magazine apparently had an article that was going to fill in my knowledge gaps on some very fundamental things:
Next morning after a somewhat lackluster hotel breakfast, headed out to the car and this vehicle...there's just so many layers, I love it. Worth enlarging it to read in full. These people have the same voting rights you and I do!
First stop, a bonus museum...the National Infantry Museum. It's in the area, and opens before the open house. But first, get a load of that Nissan Versa. It was my third choice after sitting in two rental cars and finding issues with them, and this (newer than mine) Versa fit like a glove. Shame 2025 was the last year.
Statue in the atrium...
Cutaway TOW missile and launcher.
American bayonets through the years.
I think I went in backwards order, doing each section from modern to older periods. This was the modern section...starting with the evolution of the M16.
This guy looks like GREAT fun. WALL-E HAS HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SHIT
What was with Saddam and his boys' needing to gold-plate Kalashnikovs? Tacky as hell. But hey, our country is sadly not empty of tacky old men who feel strange urges to gold plate everything in sight.
Bradley Bushmaster cannon and another TOW.
Nork weapons and uniforms.
A weapon much like the one I took my first deer with! SMLE Mk4 with scope and cheekpiece, in 303 British.
A design so insane it feels like it came from Fallout...the Davy Crockett, launches a small nuclear bomb 1-2 miles. Not nearly far enough for my preference!
The Claymore.
Looks like a captured German MP38.
A decorative baton given to Goering by Hitler. Quite the prize!
Captured Japanese swords.
Allied light machine guns, including a Bren.
Moro weapons from the conflict in the Phillipines.
Some interesting weapons including the Martini-Henry!
Well into WWI here with the Hotchkiss machine gun.
A large antitank rifle.
These look more like initial "age of exploration" weaponry.
Colonial era weapons...
An early sharpshooter rifle.
Hale rocket...
Krag rifle.
A variety of WWI rifles and machine guns.
A Renault FT light tank...the first tank to have what people general recognize as the standard layout with the turret.
An M3 Stuart...will be seeing more of these later.
On the way out, the bargain bin at the gift shop...guessing lentil stew wasn't a huge hit with the lads.
From thence to Fort Benning...at which point I realized my ID wasn't in my wallet. Some mild concern ensued and I drove back to the hotel, found my ID on the table as I expected, and then came back a second time, this time securing entry.
Fort Benning is fairly large, but I arrived at the spot intended...
First tank spotted, in a restoration bay...the Jagdtiger!
It is large, as you might expect. The Germans used unused Porsche chassis (I had to google that that is the correct plural) for the Tiger II I believe for this, and it had a 128mm gun, very large for the time.
Rear entrance to the fighting compartment. This one has sat outside for probably decades at Aberdeen.
Not sure if these were combat strikes, or just from being used as a range target after the war and capture.
First tank into Baghdad! Hat tip to Muhammed Saeed Al-Sahaf, Mister There Are No Tanks in Baghdad.
Think this is a Hetzer, getting an oxide primer.
A StuH with its wheels off.
What Happens in the Jadgpanther Bay Stays in the Jagdpanther Bay indeed
Inside the main hall, we go in rough chronological order. First up a British Mark V* that fought in 1918 (with an American crew apparently).
An Anglo-American Mark VIII.
An American M1917 that is basically a copy of the Renault FT.
M1918 that is a lot more of a "tankette".
Very early armored car in somewhat well restored condition.
A French Somua S35.
Panzer II! Built a model of this one as a kid. Basically became a scout tank as it was undergunned almost immediately in the war.
PaK 36, German AT gun.
An early Stuart (note the fixed hull .30 cal machine guns).
I think this was the interior of the Mark VIII.
Vickers Mark VI light tank, twin machine guns in the turret.
Japanese Ha Go.
Interwar T4 / M1 medium tank that had a Christie suspension.
I think also interwar M2 light tank, multiple turrets were a thing back then.
T5E1 medium tank prototype...starts to hint at the M3 Grant/Lee in form.
The Tiger's restored Maybach engine! Cueing Joe Hewes, "will it start"?
The Army not being in the business of maintaining old tanks as museum pieces, they had to justify retention of these for use in training, so the armor was cut away on one side on some of these to allow viewing of the interior. This being of course, a Tiger I.
Pzkpfw VI to be precise. Big, beautiful, powerful tank. The Allies didn't really have a counter for a while.
Panzer IV, with cutaways.
Another early tank, M2A1, with side sponsons for guns and a small top turret.
M3 Lee, an odd one but was more commonly fielded in WWII...main 75mm cannon in the hull with a 37mm turret up top. Not the most low profile tank around.
A German Flak 88!
Late model Panzer III.
The somewhat rare T-34/76! I say somewhat rare, during WWII they were thick on the Eastern front but most of them were knocked out or converted to the later T-34/85 class, whose survivors are much more numerous. Highly innovative design, with its sloped armor and diesel engine.
Another Stuart, opened up for us.
The British variant of the Lee, the Grant.
Another Stuart. Note the patched over hull machine gun spots.
And one of MANY M4 Shermans, the workhorse of American armor in WWII.
PaK 40 (German 75mm anti-tank gun).
Marder II self-propelled antitank gun.
Gosh I love a StuG. Built a model of this one! Is roped off because it is one of the few ones with original paint.
Canadian Grizzly (basically a Sherman).
Recovery vehicle, based on a Lee.
OK, you'll notice a theme, but I built a model of the Kuebelwagen as well! The original Volkswagen basically, their silly version of a Jeep.
M10 Wolverine, tank destroyer.
The Panther!!!
Pzkpfw V, Germany's best medium tank although you could almost call it a heavy tank in comparison with some of its competitors at the time. Sloped armor, good mobility, good protection and a powerful long barrelled 75mm gun.
Sherman Firefly, the Brits put on a more powerful 17 pounder gun on the Sherman.
The Staghound, British armoured car.
Still not done with the Stuarts! This the improved M5 version.
Another fairly normal Sherman...
A Sherman up-gunned to a 105mm howitzer, to be used as an infantry assault tank.
German SdKfz 234/4, an armoured car with a PaK40 AT gun on top.
SdKfz 251/9, their halftrack but with a low-velocity 75mm gun.
One of the best in the collection! The MASSIVE T28 super heavy tank. Made for crawling towards the Siegfried line under heavy fire. Double tracks even! Only this one remains in the world.
T23 prototype, a test tank designed to replace the Sherman.
Jagdpanzer IV/70. Not my favorite Jagdpanzer (that comes later!) but nice, low slung example.
This is a Panther ausf G, with cutaways. Check out those interleaved roadwheels!
One of the best looking tanks of WWII.
Next up, the King Tiger! Quite the imposing chap.
And next to it, probably my favorite here (I lingered over it!), the Jagdpanther.
It's a beauty. Glad she's in out of the rain.
King Tiger and Jagdpanther rear aspect.
Nice little bonus, a Schwimmwagen! Amphibious German Jeep.
T29 heavy tank, designed to counter the German heavies like the Tiger II.
Not too sure about this one, looks like a possibly up-gunned Sherman? Well I am sure it's a Sherman but just not sure the specifics of this one.
T34 tank, not the famous Soviet one, but another prototype US heavy tank. Massive 120mm gun.
Another in that same vein, this one a T30. 155mm gun.
M18 Hellcat tank destroyer.
Looks like another Sherman (told you there'd be lots), but if you look at the gun, it is obviously fake...that housing is holding a flamethrower. So this is a flame tank.
Another Stuart...
And yes, another Sherman.
A Churchill! But not just any Churchill...
This is the Crocodile...a flame tank as well. Flamethrower is in the hull in place of a hull MG.
Up-gunned Sherman assault tank.
Couple am-tracks...
And the much smaller M24 Chaffee light tank.
M8 Greyhound armoured car...
M36 tank destroyer, mounting a 90mm gun.
Looks like a Sherman ARV (recovery vehicle).
M26 Pershing.
Soviet IS-3, showcasing that "turret is melting into the hull" look the commies seemed to really dig.
A Priest (mobile artillery).
Sherman with the 76mm gun.
And as a big fan of a certain British Youtube channel where they work on old tanks, was chuffed to see this one...a Centurion.
Definitely -looks- cleaner than the ones they work on, but a well painted tank doesn't mean the components are remotely workable.
T37 light tank prototype, developed into the Walker Bulldog.
Whoops took a picture of this one twice. 76mm Sherman.
Soviet SU-100. Sort of like their Jagdpanzer/StuG concept. T-34/85 next to it.
M46 Patton.
Back of the T-34...
Soviet 85mm AT gun.
And as alluded to, the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank.
T69 prototype...not the oscillating turret where the whole thing shifts up or down instead of just the gun (similar in the French AMX-13 light tank).
Another American ARV...
Soviet ASU-57, basically a lightweight tankette / self-propelled gun that can be airdropped.
Interior of the ASU (open topped).
T43 heavy tank prototype, 120mm gun.
Soviet T-54.
West German KanonenJagdPanzer...heir to the Jagdpanther (but smaller).
A Leopard I, also out of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
M47 Patton, with cutaways.
View inside of the hull...
Getting a bit more modern...M60, with a dozer blade.
And another British favorite...the Chieftain!
It is one of the better looking tanks of its era, I think. And it has a dedicated tea kettle system!
Leyland L60 for the powerplant.
Licence plate, I guess!
Speak of the! A French AMX-13, with the odd oscillating turret.
T-62, maybe Iraqi? But not the cleanest example available...
Possibly an Israeli modified T-54? Upgraded with a Western 105mm gun.
Israeli M51 Sherman.
M56 Scorpion, an air-droppable self-propelled gun, similar concept to the ASU-57.
M48 Patton.
M60 with night vision...
Truly an odd one! MBT-70 prototype. Really low slung, like a Lamborghini.
Soviet PT-76 amphibious tank.
M551 Sheridan. Unique lightweight tank, could be airdropped and the gun could fire HE shells or missiles.
M67...our third flamethrower tank so far...note the nozzle.
M103 heavy tank (was a T43 initially).
A Jeep with some early anti-tank missiles. Probably manually guided by wire, and I bet very hard to score hits. Nord SS-10s?
Recoilless rifle on another Jeep...
The Ontos! Weird little idea but basically 6 recoilless rifles on a small AFV. Unfortunately, you'd have to hop out to reload.
M706 Commando armoured car.
The breeches on the Ontos.
A variant of the M60 with the gun of the M551, so it could fire Shillelagh missiles. Wasn't a huge success.
XM803...an attempt to make the MBT-70 project cheaper and more reasonable. Given the "X" in that name I'm pretty sure it didn't pan out.
XM800, a scout vehicle. Paved the way for the Bradley.
XM808 armoured car with a two part hull. Absolutely weird idea.
M42 Duster, anti-air.
M728, combat engineer tank. Probably like the ones that cleared the Highway of Death in the Gulf War.
A Swedish S-tank!
I enjoyed reading the markings in the authentic sing-song Swedish accent for all to enjoy.
Love the umlauts. RISK FOR KLAMSKADOR! BEWARE THE KLAMS!
Look at this little Ferret. I want one! I am telling Debra it could be used as a tornado shelter.
Nice and cozy in the Ferret.
British Fox armoured scout car.
French AMX-30.
M48 Patton.
Another M60...
Soviet (Iraqi?) BRDM-2.
A T-64 with reactive armour, let's hope nicely deactivated!
XM1, pilot vehicle for the Abrams.
M2 Bradley IFV, with its armament displayed (25mm Bushmaster and TOW).
Soviet BMP-1.
Gun ports on the BMP.
Soviet BTR...
M8 light tank, a few were made but never really took off.
BMP-2.
Interior compartment of one of these Soviet APCs. Maybe the MTLB?
Cobra is here just for fun!
This is the Kiowa Warrior.
Better look at it...
Soviet MTLB again...
British Challenger I! The side skirts always make it obvious.
Another Abrams...
Had to take another look at the heli, I guess...
An Abrams with an unmanned turret...idea did not succeed.
M3 Bradley, as I recall more of a scout variant from the M2's IFV role?
Marine M60 with reactive armor...
M1128 mobile gun system, a Stryker with a 105mm gun.
Similarly, M1134...Stryker with TOW missiles.
This was BAE's submission, the XM1302, for the program that is developing the M10 Booker. Light tank. BAE did not win the bid, so this is first and last of its kind, it seems.
Oh, and this is the actual M10 Booker.
Rounding it out we are back at square one, with an M1A2 Abrams sitting next to a Mark V*.
I wandered a bit, then took another quick jaunt around. Had to get another pick of these two (Jagdpanther and King Tiger).
This is a German 88mm in AT format.
Missed this one first time round...M22 Locust.
The French 75mm that gave its name to the cocktail.
Czech hedgehog...
Rather wide variety sitting outside, as well.
I've done my tank ID'ing for the day, your turn now!
Back in the bays, love looking at the work notes on the board.
A front view of the Hetzer...
StuH art...
Same, guys, same.
Front view of the StuH.
Nuts and bolts to NOT lose.
Storing nuts in a nut container was mildly amusing to me.
OK, headed out back to the hotel. But I had to say, I didn't reckon on it being A NEW ERA IN SKIN TIGHTENING. WHEN DID I MISS THIS NEWS
Bit of a walk at the hotel.
Fledgeling bird I thought the kids would like. Hopefully he figures this aviation thing out before local cats show up.
God, I love the old Covid artifacts you find lying around everywhere. The locals/staff no longer see them because they are used to them. One of my favorite things.
Did a bit of locomotion in the hotel gym, because I had little else to do. I was going to go to the National Civil War Naval Museum but you had to pay for it, and I had filled up the Museum Tank quite sufficiently, as it were.
Got a pizza and a salad...the salad was a bit too much, so I saved most of it, finding out the next morning that it had frozen in the minifridge. Frozen salad is not highly recommended.
Next morning, drove back up to Atlanta for a long day of waiting in the airport.
Back on the train after returning the rental.
A sad sight. I mean, not for me, it would take a lot to convince me to downgrade from Southwest to Spirit, but sad for them.
Airport Art...is the worst art...of all of the art. Seriously if you are an artist and want a quick buck, get someone building an airport to buy your art, they have no standards.
I found an empty (mostly) terminal!
The ATL plane train or whatever they call it is crowded and awful but the pedestrian tunnels underneath...fantastic.
Walking back from the international terminal after I changed my flight (after they delayed my original one).
I flew into St Louis and then to KC. Got home just a bit later than expected. A fun trip...were I to do it again I would just come back a day sooner, I had too much time to myself in the hotel room, and I think I could have managed flying back Saturday evening. But a fun box to check, since I never went to Aberdeen Proving Grounds as a kid!
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