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Origin and history

The Musée des Blindés de Saumur, also known as the Musée des Armoured Général-Estienne, is a space dedicated to military armoured vehicles. Inaugurated in 1977 in the former hangars of the Beaufort fence, he moved in 1996 to premises purchased from SEITA and renovated by the Ministry of Defence. The museum covers 22,000 m2 and includes collections formerly scattered in Fontevraud, Bourges and Le Mans. It welcomes about 80,000 visitors a year and pays tribute to General Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, pioneer of the French armored weapon.

Originally, the museum was created to preserve and study German vehicles recovered after the Second World War, notably by Colonel Aubry, founder of the establishment. The equipment, restored to the AMX factory in Satory, was used to train the students of the Armoured and Cavalry Weapons Application School (AEABC). The Centre de Documentation sur les Engins Blindés (CDEB) was established in 1965, followed by the opening of the first museum in 1977 with 200 pieces. In the same year, the Association of Friends of the Shield Museum (AAMB) was established.

Officially created by an order of 29 March 1982, the museum was entrusted to the AAMB in 1983 through an agreement with the Ministry of Defence. This association, which was recognized as a public utility in 1984, now manages more than 800 vehicles, 100 of which are in service. The museum presents French armoured vehicles from 1917 to the present day, such as the Schneider CA1 or Leclerc, as well as German collections (including a Tiger II), allies and the Warsaw Pact. A model space and a monumental fresco by Florent Mausson complete the exhibitions.

The museum is organized into several thematic rooms: the First World War with tanks such as the Saint-Chamond or the Renault FT, the 1940 French campaign with Somua S-35 or Renault B1 bis, and a large room dedicated to the German tanks of the Second World War. Another section covers the Soviet tanks and the Warsaw Pact, while a room traces the evolution of the French armored weapon from 1945 to the present, including weapons of the Indochina and Algeria war.

In 1996, the Musée des Blindés and the Musée de la Cavalerie, both based in Saumur, regrouped within the Association Reconnaissée d'Utility Publique (ARUP): the Association of Friends of the Musée des Blindés et de la Cavalerie (AAMBC). General Jean-Albert Épitalon is its current president. The museum also exhibits iconic engines, such as the Maybach V12, and contemporary armored armies of the German, American, British, Brazilian, Canadian, Swiss and Israeli armies.

Finally, the museum maintains a park of wrecks awaiting restoration and offers dioramas featuring more than 600 models of armoured vehicles. A portion of the Berlin Wall is also on display, symbolizing the Cold War and the evolution of military technology during this period.

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