Trip to the War Museum

Several weeks ago, I took my youngest, S to the War Museum here in Ottawa.  We had an interesting time; we had to leave on my insistence due to my inability to stand & walk more than a couple of hours due to my back. He was interested enough to stay longer- inheriting my interest in history? Perhaps...
The highlight for me was the war paintings. I bought this book on the way out (http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/cyberboutique/the-1087/Canvas-of-War/Detail ), which is terrific, but doesn't really do the artwork justice. Many of the murals are 10 feet tall by 40 feet wide, or more; they're breathtaking and hypnotic. At the time it was a new type of war art- the public were acutely aware that World War 1 was not like past wars, and the art style of past wars (Generals on horses, clean and smart-looking soldiers marching, etc.) didn't resonate well. This new art depicted the reality of the common soldier's plight- mud, blood, terror and despair. I wish I could present some photos here, but the museum isn't keen on the use of flash photography of their paintings, understandably...
However, I did take some pickies; here are a few of them:

A couple of the artillery piece that I remember so well from my first visit to the museum some 40+ years ago:

 

Apparently the entire gun crew was killed. I can only suppose that in the heat of battle, the crew was unaware that there was a misfire, or assumed that the shell was a dud, and was long gone--it was likely jammed in their gun's barrel. The next round struck it, and that was the end. Pretty gruesome. Quite an unforgettable artefact.

The next is S in front of a destroyed German tank destroyer. I think it's a Sturmgeschütz (Stug) III. And I'm pretty sure it was used for target practice, either that, or it met an extremely violent end....

Next up is an extremely(!) small Italian tank, a Carro Leggero 3 (L3). It's smaller than S!!:

I recall reading Rommel's memoirs, about how insufficient the Italian tanks were in the desert war in World War 2. How would you like to go into battle in one of these? Yikes! Especially if you were up against a British Matilda or an American Grant or Sherman.

Here's S in front of a Sherman:

The Sherman was a fine tank, but it wasn't as good as the best German tanks, or even the bast Soviet tanks.

And here's a pic of a Grant tank (er, I guess its a Lee (same thing)):

Now this beast was obsolete right off the assembly line, but it fared okay in the desert. It was at a disadvantage against the better German tanks (Panzer 3's) and the German anti-tank weapons (even the smaller ones), but it was a behemoth compared to the smaller Panzer tanks and the little Italian jobs.

Here's some pics of some of the big boys. A Soviet T-34, and a German Panther:

These were the state-of-the-art tanks at the end of WW2. Now my buddy Frank will cringe when I say this, but the Panther was a much better tank than the T-34. More refined, better gun, better armour, better everything. Looking at the build quality of the two up close is very telling. However, to be fair, the T34 was first, and it was the most influential tank of the war. Everything built after it used it's main design attribute: sloping armour. And the Soviet's understood war economy- build lots of the same thing. The Germans never quite got that. Enough of the lesson; and more pics:

First a Churchill tank, one of the better British types (they weren't the best tank builders):

And this is a British Valentine tank (older design, and not quite so good as the Churchill):

There were many other sights at the War Museum, including a lot of older and newer artefacts. From ancient native artefacts through to the Seven Years's War, the War of 1812, the Boer war, and finally the 20th century world wars, and all of the business since. 

One of Hitler's limousines is there, a complete Spitfire, all sorts of rifles and hand guns, uniforms of all sorts, and those haunting paintings. 

There's a fair exposure to the horror of war; the museum curators didn't overly focus on the glory aspect- a welcome balance.... We don't want our kids thinking that war is cool (as suggested by every friggin' video game in my house... don't get me started!). 

The War Museum is a really informative and interesting walk through (military) history. Highly recommended for those so inclined.