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Location Category ID:
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67010
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Added to Database:
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May 2008
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Last Edited:
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11 September 2010
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Address: |
Patton Museum, P.O. Box 208, Fort Knox, KY 40121-0208, USA.
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Telephone: |
(502) 624-3812
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Email: |
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Opening Times: |
9am – 4.30pm weekdays. 10am – 4.30pm weekends and holidays October - April. 10am – 6pm weekends and holidays May – September. Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, December 24, 25 and 31, January 1.
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Official Website: |
Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor
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Other Links: |
Patton Museum Foundation
Armored Ghosts of Fort Knox
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Latitude, Longitude: |
37.91210689
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-85.95909119
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Location Accuracy: |
7
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Tanks Previously Here: |
1: Sturmgeschütz III Assault Gun - Panzermuseum, Munster, Soltau-Fallingbostel, Lower Saxony, Germany (Until 1979)
2: Hummel Self-Propelled Howitzer - Panzermuseum, Munster, Soltau-Fallingbostel, Lower Saxony, Germany (Until 1976)
3: Hummel Self-Propelled Howitzer - U.S. Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, USA (Until March 2010)
4: Panzer IV/70 Tank Destroyer - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Dates unknown)
5: Panther Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
6: Panther II Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until December 2010)
7: Tiger II Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until December 2010)
8: 15cm sIG 33 Grille Self-Propelled Howitzer - U.S. Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, USA (Until 2010)
9: Leopard Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
10: MBT-70 Tank - U.S. Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford County, Maryland, USA (Until early 1990s)
11: XM803 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
12: Ford 3-ton Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
13: M2A3 Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
14: M24 Chaffee Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until March 2010)
15: M42A1 Duster Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until March 2010)
16: M551 Sheridan Airborne Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until December 2010)
17: M3A3 Lee IV/V Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 8 December 2010)
18: M51 Sherman Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
19: M7B2 Priest Howitzer Motor Carriage - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (February 1965 – 15 December 2010)
20: M47 Patton Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
21: M48 Patton Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
22: M48A1 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
23: M48A5 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
24: M48A5E1 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
25: M60 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 19 October 2010)
26: T29E3 Heavy Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
27: M51 Tank Recovery Vehicle - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (1979 - 19 October 2010)
28: M56 Scorpion Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun - 82nd Airborne Division Museum, Fort Bragg, Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA (Until Spring 1984)
29: M50A1 Ontos Self-Propelled Recoilless Rifle - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until December 2010)
30: LVT(A)1 Amphibian - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
31: T-34-85 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
32: T-34-85 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
33: T-54A Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
34: T-55 Enigma Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
35: Type 69-IIB Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
36: T-72 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
37: A34 Comet Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
38: A41 Centurion Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
39: FV4201 Chieftain Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
40: FV4030/4 Challenger 1 Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until October 2010)
41: Mark V* Heavy Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
42: A22 Churchill Crocodile Flame-Throwing Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
43: Type 97 Te-Ke Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until December 2010)
44: Renault FT Light Tank - US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA (Until 2009)
45: Renault FT Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until 15 December 2010)
46: AMX-13/90 Light Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until March 2010)
47: Stridsvagn 103C Tank - National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA (Until November 2010)
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Fort Knox is situated about 30 miles south-west of Louisville and can be reached from there by following Route 31W. Although famous for its Bullion Depository, it is in fact one of the largest military installations in America and houses about 30,000 military personnel. It is the U.S. Army's Armor Center and many modern armoured vehicles can be seen all around the Post, for instance M60 Patton and Ml Abrams main battle tanks, as well as older M47 and M48 Patton tanks in reserve areas.
During the Second World War a number of armoured vehicles and guns captured by the Third US Army were sent to Fort Knox for study and evaluation. After the war these vehicles aroused public interest and were collected together, along with various pre-war Allied vehicles found on Post, into a building on Old Ironsides Avenue. In May 1949 this was dedicated as the “Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor” in memory of General George S. Patton, Jr., the renowned commander of the Third US Army, who had died in a road accident in December 1945.
The museum was moved to its present location on 11th November 1972, the 87th anniversary of Patton's birthday, and it is now one of the largest in the U.S. Army Museum System. The museum building (number 4554) was built using only donations from armour enthusiasts and organisations from around the world. An extension was added to the museum building recently which has allowed more of the museum's vehicles to be displayed within it. A fund-raising campaign is in progress to pay for further expansion of the museum and any donations for this are gratefully received by the museum. The museum building is located in Keyes Park, beside the Godman Army Airfield. It is near the main entrance to Fort Knox and is reached from there by turning left off Chaffee Avenue down Ballard Avenue, and then down Fayette Avenue.
The museum's collection is not confined to fully-tracked armoured vehicles, but also includes half-tracked and wheeled military vehicles as well as artillery (particularly anti-tank guns), uniforms, small-arms, and even helicopters (there are two on display in the museum building and one on the Post). It also has, of course, a great many exhibits related to its namesake, General Patton. These are on display in the Patton Gallery and include his personal jeep, his mobile headquarters van, and the Cadillac limousine he was in when he had his fatal accident. This car has since been restored to its original condition. Also on display are his famous ivory-handled revolvers, some of his uniforms, and many of his personal effects which were donated by his son Major-General (retd.) George S. Patton. The museum also depicts the history of Fort Knox itself, from the American Revolution to the present day.Most of the museum's vehicles cannot be displayed in the museum building because of lack of space. Some can be seen on display in Keyes Park surrounding the museum, others are stored in warehouses, and the rest are scattered around the Post. The museum has three warehouses; Nelson Hall (building number 1539), Austin Hall (number 1538) and Trover Hall (number 1531). The latter is the one used mainly for restoring and maintaining vehicles. Austin Hall is also known as the LST Building because it is in the shape of a Landing Ship Tank.
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