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First Round of Guest Appearances Announced for TANKFEST 2024

Photo Credit: Geni / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

The Tank Museum in Bovington, United Kingdom has announced the first round of guest tanks that’ll be making an appearance at TANKFEST 2024. The annual event, which will be taking place from June 28-30, is known for its live-action demonstrations, guest talks and more, and is slated to be more jam-packed than ever before.

AMX-13 in action in the TANKFEST arena. (Photo Credit: The Tank Museum)

The M47 Patton – one of four tanks named for the famed general – will be making its TANKFEST debut in 2024. Considered the first American main battle tank (MBT), it was equipped by NATO countries and allies of the United States throughout the Cold War. Its most notable deployment was to West Germany in 1955.

The medium tank was built for combat with its 90 mm gun. However, it was the only one under the Patton name to never see any action on the battlefield with the American forces. It was largely retired in the 1960s, with only one country today, Iran, keeping it in active service.

The unit making an appearance at TANKFEST 2024 is currently being restored by Dan Pyle.

The second tank announced is no stranger to the annual event. The French AMX-13 is a post-war light tank that continues to see use by nations across the world. It was first deployed by France during the Suez Crisis, and export models saw action during the likes of the Six-Day War, the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, the Sand War and the Lebanese Civil War, among other conflicts.

As The Tank Museum explains, it’s “a versatile and speedy tank” that played a critical role following the Second World War. The AMX-13 slated to make an appearance at TANKFEST 2024 is owned by FARG Motorpool.

M47 Patton, which is slated to make its TANKFEST debut in 2024. (Photo Credit: The Tank Museum)

Speaking in a press release about the 2024 event, Chris van Schaardenburgh, the head of collections at The Tank Museum, said, “At TANKFEST, we are proud to showcase the greatest display of historic moving armour in the world. We are delighted to work with other collections to bring in ‘guest stars’ to treat the audience and keep the show fresh.”

The program for TANKFEST 2024 is still being planned, with single and multiday tickets currently on sale.

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Clare Fitzgerald: Clare Fitzgerald is a Writer and Editor with eight years of experience in the online content sphere. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from King’s University College at Western University, her portfolio includes coverage of digital media, current affairs, history and true crime. Among her accomplishments are being the Founder of the true crime blog, Stories of the Unsolved, which garners between 400,000 and 500,000 views annually, and a contributor for John Lordan’s Seriously Mysterious podcast. Prior to its hiatus, she also served as the Head of Content for UK YouTube publication, TenEighty Magazine. In her spare time, Clare likes to play Pokemon GO and re-watch Heartland over and over (and over) again. She’ll also rave about her three Maltese dogs whenever she gets the chance. Writing Portfolio Stories of the Unsolved

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