Stahl auf der Heide 2016 – Part 1

On September 4th it was time for "Stahl auf der Heide" (Steel on the heath) in Munster, Lower Saxony at the German Tank Museum.

On this Open Day the museum raises the interaction with the exhibits. A selection of roadworthy vehicles is presented during a one hour show, and a lot of the shown tanks are available for climbing and getting yourself into the driver's seat.At 09:30 in the morning, half an hour before it started, we got ourself a parking space and queued for the entrance. It took 'til 10:20 to get inside. The museum took care of the crowd at 4 lines. Due to the security checks it took a bit to get in, but all very civil.

It was a mixed crowded, from some old timers, technophiles, video gamers and a few odd balls (but lot less than expected).

At the entrance the visitors were welcomed by the first tank, a Leopard 1 on a wagon. Next to the entrance on the right side was a Leopard Prototype and several vehicles from the Bundeswehr / German Armed Forces, and a goat - yes a goat.

We headed direclty to the t-shirt sale, as those were limited, but the queue was short. Then it was time to get a proper spot for the first presentation at 11:00. On both sides of the track were stands, so so that spread across the three presentation (11:00, 13:00 and 15:00) every one of the 7,500 visitors should have had the chance to get a proper view on the tanks.

The mobile presentation began with vehicles from the second world war, and directly with the Tank V Panther. This was a big surprise, as the panther just got ready a few days before the show. You could hear the exaltation from the ranks, and see the tension of the crew.

Each tank stopped three times and was introduced. First the name, the use and how it got to the collection in Munster. Some of them took insane long tours until the ended in the tank museum.

After the Panthe came the Sturmgeschütz III.

Which was followed by a halftrack, the SdKfz 11 Entgiftungswagen.

And the last of Wehrmacht tanks, was the Jagdpanzer 38t, also known as Hetzer.

The engines and driving sounds were impressives. It was just a bit sad that they onle drove in a straight line to the front and back. No turns, no moving of the turret, but that was most likely due to the fact, that they didn't want to stress the ground and the material. You have to keep in mind, some of the gear is 70-80 years old.

The second block was covering vehicles from the German Armed Forces. Starting with the Hotchkiss Schützenpanzer Kurz.

The secret star of the show, who made a great deal of noise, was the Leopard 1A5.

In the first moment a bit unremarkable, but then the lukes opend up and the rocket launcher was raised - it's a Jaguar.

A bit more dynamic was the entrance of the Leopard 2A4, he did a little sling while starting and even moved the turret.

The M48 Brückenlegepanzer, based upon the allied M48 Patton, showed the lengthy procedure of laying a bridge. Could have been a bit more dynamic, maybe let a tank use the bridge, but well...

He was followed by the Minenwerfer Skorpion. Again, with covers, straight line ahead and back. Done.

The final tank was the FlakPz Gepard, and a great end to the show. A lot of movement, with the radar dish, the AA guns and the turret. Interesting carriage.

As this was the end of the dynamic presentation, we headed towards the now parked vehicles, to take a closer look. But more on that in Part 2 - Stahl auf der Heide 2016.

Link: Das Panzermuseum