National Museum of Military Vehicles

[River Rat 1]

Just went to this museum on military vehicles in Wyoming. It might take two days to really see everything. Here is the address 6419 US Highway 26
Dubois, WY 82513. Open Every Day9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 307-455-3802 the website https://www.nmmv.org  A few photos for a teaser. They even got the first rifle that fire the first shot at bunker hill in the American revolution. A must-see museum. 

[River Rat 1]

The last photo the rifle that fired the first shot in the battle of Bunker Hill.

 

[River Rat 1]

One that I thought was interesting was the STAB seal assault boat. I went mainly at the last SBU 11 reunion I was told they had one of our PBR's there. Right next to the PBR was this STAB last time I saw a STAB was at SBU 11 maintenance was doing repairs on one I think for a museum since they been out of commission since the Vietnam war. The Navy only made 22 of them so rare. Think they had jet-pumps like the PBR's this one had props. Maybe when someone bought the haul surplus that was the easy way to get it operational. The STAB used gas engines not diesel like the PBR, MATC, SEAFOX other boats I seen.

[River Rat 1]

A few more photos of the museum.

[River Rat 1]

A few more photos. US Navy anti-aircraft gun that was on most US Navy ships in WW2 you can imagen a gun crew trying to save their ship from a kamikaze attack. A Higgins Boat same type used on D-Day did you know it was made of wood not metal. And a Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) used in the pacific it could get over reefs that the Higgins boat could not. Used to be a crew member on a 6 and 8 boat the landing craft used in the 1980's-1990's they were a little bigger. When in SBU XI the SS Jeremiah O'Brien a liberty ship museum in SF. Was doing something for D-Day anniversary. Our CO had us take over an 8 boat to pick up a reenactor WW2 jeep and put it in the well deck to do a landing at Crissy Field just as we landed on the beach to pick up the jeep the port engine took a dump someone had alligator clips on the port starter that engine controlled the hydraulics it burnt up the starter these boats have two engine and two props. No steering and you can't drop the gate. We are stuck on the beach.  A lot of reenactors with vehicles around believe this a WW2 duck pulled us off the beach. We went back to Mare Island on one engine behind the coxswain flat you pull off a cover put in this pole to steer it since no hydraulics so one guy steering and one guy on the throttle when it normally one guy doing it all. We got back to Mare Island fix the started and did it right this time. And get back to the SS Jeremiah O'Brien just as it was turning night. Spent the night aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien and did the beach landing right this time the next day.

[mikie]

Awesome report. Looks like a great place.

My problem going to places like this is that I quickly od on all that OD. Need to take at least a second pass through to absorb it all, get my eyeballs back in my head, jaw off the floor, etc.

Thanks!

 

mikie 

[River Rat 1]

Here is a interesting Indian US Army motorcycle designed for the desert but never went into mass production. Has a drive shaft instead of a chain. Debris in a desert environment was damaging the chains so the Indian motorcycle co came up with this. Rare since not many were made with a drive shaft.

[River Rat 1]

Marine ingenuity. The Japanese would use magnetic mines to stick on US tanks to blow them up. Well, the Marine put wood on the sides so the Japanese mines would not stick. Also, around the top hatch sharpen spikes to stop the Japanese from putting grenades down them.

[River Rat 1]

A few more. In the movie Saving Private Ryan. at the end of the movie were there trying to slow down the Germans in that town they were driving around in a captured German odd-looking tracked motorcycle the museum has one.

[earlymb]

That looks to be a very interesting museum!

 

Apart from the last photo, the other German vehicles you've shown appear to be either post-war or reproduction.

[River Rat 1]

If I remember correctly when the owner of the museum was giving the tour, he said he found the Higgins boat in the Netherlands was beat to hell and had a shipyard there do major repairs to it before it got shipped to the states. Thought I would let earlylmb know where that one came from saw you were from there. Wonder how that ended up in the Netherlands.

[earlymb]

10 hours ago, River Rat 1 said:

If I remember correctly when the owner of the museum was giving the tour, he said he found the Higgins boat in the Netherlands was beat to hell and had a shipyard there do major repairs to it before it got shipped to the states. Thought I would let earlylmb know where that one came from saw you were from there. Wonder how that ended up in the Netherlands.

 

Dutch marines used them too, but it could also have been used as a civilian workboat... who knows? Glad it was saved though