Our writer looks at the role a rural attraction is playing in the modern-day fight against Russian president Vladimir Putin
5 March 2024
Visit the award-winning Tank Museum in the garrison village of Bovington, Dorset, on any given weekend, and you will find scores of families admiring its historical fleets.
Top attractions include Little Willie, the world’s first ever working tank from 1915 (its name is believed to be an irreverent sobriquet for the German Crown Prince, Kaiser Wilhelm), Germany’s famous Tiger tank, known for its impenetrable armour and powerful gun, plus the A22 Churchill, used extensively in the Second World War and admired for its heavy armour and ability to climb steep slopes.
Yet what is perhaps less well-known is the role this rural attraction is playing in the modern-day fight against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Late last year, it dug out long-forgotten manuals, diagrams and documents from its extensive archive on how to repair damaged Soviet-era tanks currently used in Ukraine.
It has since passed this specific information to a leading UK defence company, enabling it to make repairs on the tanks’ tracks – or solid chain caterpillar treads – that are needed in trench warfare. These new tracks are now out in Ukraine, helping the army keep the Russians at bay in what is now a long, brutal war of attrition.
“When we were asked to help we immediately went and looked for anything that might be of assistance,” says David Willey, curator of the museum.
“UK defence companies are very keen to assist but in some cases the people from the Cold War era are no longer around and knowledge has been lost.
“Details such as the angles, pitch and tension required for the new tracks were sought and our archive was able to provide them with old manuals and blueprints for the tanks.
“We also found examples of the actual items required such as T-72 tracks and pins from one of the vehicles in the collection. The new parts could then be made accurately in the UK.”
Since war began in February 2022, the UK has supplied Ukraine with 14 of its top Challenger 2 main battle tanks used in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq. But much of the country’s fleet is composed of ageing tanks from the 1960s and 1970s, when Ukraine was still part of the USSR.
These include the MT-LB, a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibious, tracked armoured fighting vehicle in use since the 1970s, the BMP-1, the first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle of the era, and the T-72, the main Soviet battle tank.
But in recent years, many of these have had their tracks damaged by mines, with Ukraine unable to fix them due to lack of manpower.
Last year, Cook Defence Systems, based in Stanhope, County Durham, was commissioned by the UK and UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine to supply spares for up to 500 of these Ukrainian armoured vehicles.
In order to build new tracks, the company had to use reverse-engineering to deconstruct the design and understand how they were built. Engineers then got in touch with the Tank Museum, asking if it had any diagrams and instructions of how the treads were made in its archive.
Willey adds: “We have hundreds of thousands of reference documents, diagrams and drawings. Lots of material is squirrelled away, but it didn’t take us too long to find what we were asked for.
“It is all fascinating, and the irony is that the need for these historical documents comes round again and are of contemporary relevance. The company also came and took a link from the track off one of our T-72s.” Even then, the company struggled to develop new steel alloys to match the original Russian specifications.
“We have a long history of supplying tracks for all the armoured vehicles of the British Army and many allied militaries,” says Cook Defence Systems manager William Cook, “but delivering these contracts for Ukraine has been a very different challenge.
“We have had limited reference material and we are doing all this with an urgency unknown in peacetime. We know there are Ukrainian soldiers on the front line whose lives depend on what we do.”
The war, which has claimed the lives of 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers, has now become a stalemate, which both sides dug into set positions. But Willey says the tanks are needed to bolster defences, act as mobile artillery and be ready to exploit a “break-out” should the opportunity arise.
“The tanks are particularly used to shell the enemy’s position,” he says, “or when a break-out comes.” And he says every tank is of value – no matter how old it is. “Some of Ukraine’s tanks were made in the 1950s, but if they still have an engine and a gun, then they are still an effective threat,” he says.
“They may not be at the top end but Ukraine wants every one it can get. There is a requirement to keep as much hardware as they can on the battlefield.”
It is not the first time the museum has used its expertise and historical stock to help out in more modern warfare.
In 2011, the RAF and French air force jets led a mass bombing campaign in Libya, which ended the rule of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The Libyan army mainly used T-54 and T-72 tanks, which the Tank Museum had among its exhibits. It enabled the RAF Tornado jet pilots to fly over them, so as to get used to them by sight.
The museum also regularly provides vehicle examples, literature and expertise to help in the servicing and maintenance of British military kit that has been gifted or sold around the world.
Willey says: “It’s surprising how many issues for defence contractors, designers and of course the actual soldiers, come back again and again. “Part of the museum’s role is to help retain corporate memory.”
The museum, which boasts 300 tanks from 26 nations, also has particularly close links to Ukraine. In recent years, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have received training at Bovington garrison, learning how to drive the Challenger 2 tank, work together and effectively identify and engage targets.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky was shown around Lulworth Camp, which is part of the Bovington garrison, during a visit last February. “We regularly meet these soldiers,” Willey says. “They are a huge mix. Some are very experienced and some are new conscripts. But they are all keen to learn and their heart is in the fight.”
He adds that he is proud to help in the war, saying: “It has been an honour to play a small part in helping our allies in their war against an aggressor. We are duty-bound to support them. Common sense says that we should help allies in trouble. If we don’t stand up to this dictator and Ukraine falls, other countries will be next. We have to do our best.”
“He adds that he is proud to help in the war, saying: “It has been an honour to play a small part in helping our allies in their war against an aggressor. We are duty-bound to support them. Common sense says that we should help allies in trouble.”
Well said Mr Willey. A straightforward thing to say that is so normal that you’d think everyone in civilization thinks the same way. Yet so many do not.
Am reminded of the suave Hollywood actor David Niven, who immediately put his career on hold in 1939 to resume his army career.
He became friends with Churchill. He first met him at a dinner party in February 1940. Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, “Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Mark you, had you not done so – it would have been despicable.”
He became a Lieutenant Colonel. About to lead his men into action, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, “Look, you chaps only have to do this once. But I’ll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!”
They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. After the war, he resumed his stellar career and refused to discuss his distinguished service record.
Goid point about David Niven, Scradge. In the US, James Stewart “became the first major American movie star to enlist in the United States Army to fight in World War II” (Wikipedia). And he served admirably, too, leading his men into air battle. Those guys were real stars, not mere posers, their strength of character made them shine! Unforgettable. 🌟🌟
Interesting story about Mr. Niven. Thanks for sharing.
Great story, excellent news for Ukraine. Since this did become a war of artrition, the supply of spare parts has increasing importance. The industrious and resourceful maintenance technicians are making small miracles happen to keep the brave countries tank fleet strong, but they need stuff to work with. The UK apparently shines in identifying the urgent needs and filling the voids. And that makes great economic sense, too, since it’s more effective to put dozens of tanks back into working order by providing spare parts than to provide a single Nato tank at the same cost. I wish other countries would follow that great example.
And to bring it up to date, we should mention the many Ukrainian entertainers who volunteered to fight for their country. Such as the rock bands BoomBox and Antytila, to name just two.
It’s amazing all the things that are happening to help Ukraine fight the ghoul ruskie horde. Thank you, Great Britain!
On the other hand, it makes me so angry knowing the vast amounts of military equipment in our country that are getting old … useless junk that will have to be disposed of one day, instead of killing cockroaches.