Visiting the Military Technical Museum in Ivanovskoye

In the village of Ivanovskoye, within the urban district of Chernogolovka, 40 km from Moscow, you will find a wonderful but little-known technical museum, called the Military Technical Museum. It was created through the passionate effort of vehicle enthusiasts several years ago and is situated on the former area of a Soviet pioneer camp.

Despite the name of the museum, “Military Technical Museum”, a large part of its collection consists of examples from civilian technology. Today, the museum’s collection combines samples of equipment of the Soviet Union, Germany, France, USA, Japan and various other foreign countries. Covering more than 100 years of history – from the end of the 19th century to thepresent day. The museum is situated in a rather remote area, so it’s better to arrive there by car.

I arrived to the museum about 30 minutes before it was about to close, so I couldn’t observe a big part of collection. It was also heavily raining that day.

On the left side from the entrance, near the wooden buildings of a hotel, there is an interesting thing that most visitors will never notice… The starting ramp of a German V-1 rocket. I haven’t seen anything like it anywhere else in Russia.

This UFO is located near the entrance of the Military Technical Museum. It’s called EKIP. It was developed in the 1980s by Soviet aircraft bureaus. According to officials, the project was frozen in 2001 due to lack of funds.

The pioneer history of the territory reveals itself in this Soviet statue of Yuri Gagarin. In front of the statue is a wreckage of a World War II IL-2 aircraft.

Near the EKIP (see photograph 2), you will see a large amount of various military vehicles, mainly from World War II. Luckily, it’s situated under the shelter so I could remain relatively dry (I forgot to bring an umbrella that day). The vehicles in this part of the museum are awaiting restoration.

A German Horch, in rather bad condition. There are two others in better shape in a building nearby, but I was too late to go there.

An IS-2 (Joseph Stalin-2), a Soviet heavy tank from World War II.

The German Flakscheinwerfer 40”-43″ searchlight.

A Bussing-NAG 500S (Germany).

An M2 High-Speed Tractor (or colloquially, M2 Cletrac), an aircraft tug used by the United States Army Air Force in 1942. It was designed to tow aircraft on primitive airfields.

A British Pioneer R100 heavy artillery tractor, used throughout World War II to tow medium and heavy artillery pieces. It had accommodation for the gun’s crew, tools, equipment, and ammunition.

A T-34/76. This is an early model, and most of the remaining tanks from this series are T-34/85.

Here you can see the engine of German submarine behind the boat.

Some special Soviet vehicles that were used mainly for emergency services. The first three from the right are amphibious vehicles.

Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns from World War II. Unfortunately, I couldn’t visit the area behind the ship on this photo due to the rain, but I hope to during a future visit.

There are many unique exhibits in the museum, but I couldn’t take photos of many of them, due to the lack of time and the rain. This is one of unique vehicles in the museum you can’t see anywhere else. The 1K17 Szhatie is a self-propelled laser vehicle of Soviet origin.

The platform uses a Msta-S chassis with a battery of laser projectors mounted in the turret. It was developed by the Soviet Union in order to disable the optical-electronic equipment of enemy missiles, ground and aerial vehicles. The 1K17 Szhatie was developed in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The complex used an intense laser beam to disable the optical-electronic equipment of the enemy vehicles. This was created by focusing light through 30 kg of artificial rubies which made the whole system very expensive to produce. The optics that produced the laser were placed at the end of a silver coated spiral which helped amplify the beam and increase convergence. The energy to power the laser was provided by a generator and an auxiliary battery system. The lenses themselves were able to operate in different environments by moving metal caps closer to protect the lens. It was also equipped with a 12.7mm NSV machine gun to defend itself against attacks by infantry and air. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of the Szhatie was abandoned, as the development and manufacturing of the laser projection system had become too expensive and unnecessary. Two of these “tanks” were tested, with one being scrapped and the other being displayed here.

A Soviet fire-fighting vehicle, the AA-60 (7310)160.01, used at airports.

A fire truck, built along the lines of the Italian truck OM Leoncino.

This armored fire vehicle GPM-54 was developed in 1967-1977 on the hull of a T-54 tank by specialists of the 482th Design Technological Center of the Ministry of Defense to equip fire brigades of civil defense forces with. In 1978, small-scale production of machines of this type on the hulls of T-54 and T-55 tanks began at the 17th Tank Plant in Lviv (Ukraine). The GPM-54 was used to alleviate damage from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Later, one “fire tank” GPM-54 remained for fire- fighting with the forestry service at the “Chernobyl forest” for fighting fires in the “zone of alienation”. Also, the GPM-54 was used to extinguish fires at rocket and artillery ammunition warehouses of the Ukrainian army.

The 2K22 Tunguska is a Russian tracked. self-propelled. anti-aircraft weapon armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles in all weather conditions.

Here is a BM-13 (Katusha) rocket launcher mounted on a lend-lease Studebaker US6 truck. This is an unusual appearance for one of these rocket launchers, because in most places in Russia they’re mounted on Soviet trucks. The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area more quickly than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are inexpensive, easy to produce, and usable on any chassis.

Red Army troops adopted a nickname of the launcher from Mikhail Isakovsky’s popular wartime song, “Katyusha”, about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who has gone away on military service. Katyusha is the Russian equivalent of Katie, an endearing diminutive form of the name Katherine: Yekaterina → Katya → Katyusha. German troops coined the nickname “Stalin’s organ” (German: Stalinorgel), after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, comparing the visual resemblance of the launch array to a pipe organ, and the sound of the weapon’s rocket motors – a distinctive howling sound that terrified German troops, adding a psychological warfare aspect to their use.

It’s time to enter the second building of the museum. Unfortunately I couldn’t visit the first. This building has an impressive collection of fire fighting vehicles, military trucks, ancient Ford motor cars, and other interesting vehicles.

Here is a real beauty.

The Type 95 Ha-Gō was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan’s military in combat-operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War at Khalkin-Gol against the Soviet Union, as well as in the Second World War. Approximately 2,300 units were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armored fighting vehicle during the war. This tank was found in rusty condition on Shumshu island in the far east, several years ago. Although tank brigades equipped with the Type 95 were present during the 1945 Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the war ended before the Red Army had engaged their main formations. The only use of the Ha-Go in any numbers against Soviet forces was at the Battle of Shumshu, during the Invasion of the Kuril Islands, when shortly before the Japanese surrender had been finalized, they formed part of an armored force which unsuccessfully attacked the Soviets, but was defeated by anti-tank guns.

A Canadian Ford F60L and a GMC CCKW 353.

The Lorraine 37L was a light tracked, armored vehicle, developed prior to World War II by Lorraine, a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was in response to an April 1936 French Army requirement for a fully armored munition and fuel supply carrier to be used by tank units for front line resupply. A prototype was built in 1937 and production started in 1939. Mainly equipping the larger mechanized units of the French Infantry arm,the type was extensively employed during the Battle of France in 1940. After the defeat of France, clandestine manufacture was continued in Vichy France, culminating in a small AFV production after the liberation and bringing the total production to about 630 in 1945. Germany used captured vehicles in their original role of carrier, and later, finding the suspension system to be particularly reliable, rebuilt many into tank destroyers (Panzerjaeger) of the Marder I type, or into self-propelled artillery.

The Renault UE Chenillette–a light tracked armored carrier and prime mover produced by France between 1932 and 1940.

The Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 is one of the most iconic German half-track vehicles of WWII. It was designed in June 1939 by engineer Heinrich Ernst Kniepkamp and initially used by forestry workers. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The military immediately saw the potential of HK 101 as an all-terrain vehicle. It was modified to be used as a light tractor for both army and airborne troops, very suitable for moving artillery systems or any kind heavy cargo. The compact design of the Kettenkrad allowed easy air transportation (it could fit inside a Junkers JU 52 plane). It was operated by turning the handlebars and for sharp turns the track brakes could be also used. The vehicle came with a separate cargo trailer, enabling it to haul large loads. In muddy terrain, it was possible to remove the front wheel and drive it using only the tracks. There were 8,345 units built during the war. In 1944, the Allies bombed the factory where it was built and production was stopped.

The M3 Scout car and the M5 Half-track (USA). They were supplied to Allied nations under the Lend-Lease program, so you can see them in some Russian museums.

The Morris Commercial C8 FAT (Field Artillery Tractor), is an artillery tractor used by the British and Commonwealth (including Canadian Army) forces during World War II.

These are all the photos I took at the museum. I couldn’t see many exhibits, but the things I did see show that this museum is definitely worth visiting. It’s located fairly near where I live, so I will make a point of visiting it again. Three final photos follow.