Musée des Blindés Saumur

Saumur, FR

The Musée des Blindés in Saumur, along the Loire River, is France's national armoured vehicle museum and one of the largest tank collections in the world, with over 800 vehicles of which approximately 200 are on permanent display. Founded by the **Cavalry and Armour School**, the collection spans more than a century of armoured warfare. The Second World War collection is exceptional in breadth: it includes French tanks of the **1940 campaign** (Char B1 bis, Renault R-35, Somua S35), German vehicles captured during the liberation, and a comprehensive array of Allied armour — American **M4 Shermans**, British Churchills, and Soviet Lend-Lease vehicles. The museum's **Panther Ausf. A** is particularly noteworthy — one of the very few surviving Panthers that retains its original running gear and armour in unrestored condition. The collection also includes vehicles used during the **Battle of France in June 1940**, making it one of the few places where visitors can encounter French armour from the moment of the country's most devastating military defeat. Many vehicles remain in running condition and are operated during annual public demonstrations.