Military Tuesday : Tompei’s Museum of Machines

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008, 9:01 amRoys

Tompei’s Museum of Machines contains an excellent pictorial reference to modern Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and other armoured vehicles in service worldwide. Of note are the many quality photos of tanks and other armoured vehicles of the post-WWII Japanese Self-Defence Forces taken during the JSDF’s Fuji Firepower Review exercises like this 203mm self-propelled artillery exhibited during Fuji Firepower Review 2005.

As the description of each vehicle is completely in Japanese, readers who are interested in a more technical study of the major MBTs are recommended to visit Fabio Prado’s The Armor Site!.

The Japanese language site also has a section devoted to the owner’s favourite (primarily military) machines on land like this sleek Kawasaki Pashina-type pre-WWII steam locomotive, air and sea of the 20th century.

There’s also a series of photos taken at military museums like the Yamato Museum in Kure, Hiroshima with a massive 26.3m long 1:10th scale model of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato. More photos at this page.

Other photos include those taken at the museum of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine like this sculpture of a Fukuryu suicide diver. More photos from museums around Japan.

I found the photos taken at the Yokosuka Naval Base Open House and Fuji Firepower Reviews quite eye-opening experiences too - imagine clambering on top of the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk or watching live firing by a platoon of Type 90 tanks during Fuji Firepower Review 2006.