Today we went to a nearby shopping outlet (I got sandals) and they had a section for the Museum of American Armor. This is an off shoot of the American Airpower Museum which the kids and I visit a lot.
My 11 year old son is a WWII armor vehicle buff. He looked at a vehicle labeled the M-8 Greyhound and started explaining that the placard said wasn’t for that vehicle. That vehicle on display was the British Bren Carrier.
This impressed the museum guide and when he got to the 57mm anti-tank canon my son replied like so.
Yes, but by the end of the war it was deemed inadequate. The 57mm anti-tank canon was adequate for fighting earlier German tanks like the Panzer I, II, and III. The Panther had thick sloped armor that shells would bounce off. They got the idea from the Russian T-34/76 tank.
Seriously, he said that. I just asked him to repeat it in case I got it wrong.
He’s been reading and has a few books on the topic and for the last couple of years has become an expert.
The museum guide was wowed and suggested that he should sign up to give tours. I think that’s a great idea and it would really build a lot of confidence for him. Hopefully next spring the museum will break ground in Bethpage and we’ll visit them regularly. In the meanwhile we’ll see the armor on display at the American Airpowered Museum this Labor Day weekend.
