The Musée des Blindés (“Museum of Armoured Vehicles”) or Musée Général Estienne is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur in the Maine-et-Loiredepartement of the Pays de la Loireregion. It is now one of the world’s largest tank museums. It began in 1977 under the leadership of Colonel Michel Aubry, who convinced both the French military hierarchy and the local political authorities. Started 43 years ago with only a few hundred tracked vehicles, it has become a world-class collection which attracts visitors interested in the history of multinational tank development as well as professional armor specialists. From the very beginning, Colonel Aubry had made it a key policy of the museum to restore to running condition as many historically or technically significant vehicles as was feasible. read more…
