Event information
Located in Bloemfontein at the Tempe Military Base, the South African Armour Museum opened its doors in 1996 with the sole purpose of preserving South Africa’s armoured history, and for the restoration of armoured vehicles.
It consists of a main building which features an indoor exhibit showing the history of The Armour Corps in South Africa dating from the early mounted riders of the South African War, both World Wars and the South African Border War.
The SA Armour Museum includes a Research Library with a collection of rare photographs, a variety of indoor and outdoor exhibits, an auditorium, function venue and a visitor’s shop, The Gun Barrel.
Lesakeng (meaning corral for old horses) is an open-air space, housing examples of armoured vehicles used by the South African Armour Corps such as Saracen, Ferret, Eland and Rooikat. Visitors can also see unique examples of experimental armoured vehicles and armoured vehicles captured during the South African Border War such as the T-34/85, T-55.
The museum has the only collection in the world of all three variants of the famous Sherman medium tank dating from the Second World War. A wide variety of British, American, Canadian, Soviet and South African tanks, armoured cars, infantry combat vehicles, support vehicles, trucks and ambulances are on display all conveying the military heritage of South Africa’s Armour Corps.
