Monday, 8 July 2013

Normandy trip – Day four – Bayeux and Radar Museum

The group stopped in Bayeux for lunch and a tour of the museum of the Bayux tapestries. During lunch Jan and I found a guide-book at the tourist information centre, and found something called Musée Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie.
Given the choice of old cloth (Ok, they are interesting, and are war-related) and D-Day, we chose the latter.
The museum turned out to be very interesting, with a lot of gear and vehicles inside, and a good movie also. Absolutely recommended if you happen to be in the vicinity. Unfortunately there was a ban on photography inside the museum, but there were some AFV:s outside that I hadn’t seen before on the trip.
Hetzer, one of the very few German AFV:s we saw. In bad condition sadly enought.
American M10
And a Sherman, always Shermans….
A Churchill Crocodile, unfortunately missing its armoured trailer. But still.

Next stop: Musée du Radar.
This relatively new museum shows the radar facility in Douvres-la-Délivandre and gives a good overview of its history. Don’t miss the very good guide-book when you buy your tickets.
Würzburg Riese radar. Very impressive.
On site in 1944 was also a Wasserman radar, but it was destroyed in the fighting. Here is a diorama of how it looked. One of six very nice dioramas in 1/87 scale showing different wartime radars.
Bunker turned into a museum. This two-story bunker was the nerve centre of the base, and was used as fighter command.
A diorama in 1/47 scale, showing the construction of the bunker. Really nice.
Assorted stuff on display.
Another bunker, this one a shelter.
A barracks, if I remember correct.
A smaller radar.
A great museum showing something quite unique, well worth a visit.

Rest of the trip:
Part 1 – Day 1
Part 6 – Day 3 - Merville
Part 9 – Day 4 - Bocage

3 comments:

  1. I was just pondering what paint scheme to use for my 251 for the group build. Your Hetzer solved the problem. Awsome camo!

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    1. Looking forward to seeing that 251. It is a striking camo.

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  2. Nice pictures. The nit-picker in me noted several things:

    The tracks on the Shermans are painted the same colour as the tanks. Me suspects a repaint. On the other hand, the churchill does not have it's tracks painted, and appears to be a spot-on match for Vallejo Russian Uniform.

    Oh, and the MG in the bunker is a french Chaterrault M/29. So I wonder if it was used by the germans, it's quite possible that garrison troops used it. Interesting nevertheless.

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