Military Historic Museum in Dresden, Germany

[Dronic69]

Good Evening All,

Just wondering if anyone is planning to visit the Military Historic Museum in Dresden in the near future?

http://www.mhmbw.de/


If so, could u please PM me?

Thanks

Cheers

Drew

 

[Manniman]

I was there in 2012. May be I can help?

 

[Tony Williams]

Hmmm. If their website is anything to go by, it sounds like one of those modern-style museums (e.g. IWM North) full of themed social issues.

Me, I like my museums to be big barns stuffed full of hardware! :xd:

 

[blu97]

I was there too and found it waste of my mony, WO 1 and 2 is just one room and has some ammunition but with wrong tags. There is a nice V-2 rocket but the guides say that it launched the spoetnick satelite. On one sealing the have some ordnance that where dropped on Dresden in WO-2, aperently the also dropped a honest john rocket and a SS-11 guided missile.

 

[pzgr40]

Must be one of the earliest version of SS11's. LOL

 

[Alpini]

I am living not far away from there and visited the museum last time in summer 2013 and fully agree with blu97. Especially for people interested in ordnance or military history it's a waste of time and money. Since reconstruction the title military historic museum is not longer applicable. Today they should call it better anti war museum or something else. And yes 70% of the tags on the few ordnance objects contain failures or are being totally wrong. And even ordnance objects are presented like in a beginners collection of a school boy. For example the show a French studded shell with a Prussian fuze fitted (not even the fuze thread is the right one). It's all a shame because just their ammunition collection fills a complete floor in a 50 x 30 m warehouse but they present only 0.00x % mostly uninteresting items in the actual exhibition.

@Drew what do you need?

 

[Dronic69]

Firstly thanks for all the replies /feedback - much appreciated!

I recently came across photos of early torpedoes from the German Imperial Naval Collection, which was housed in the old "Museum fur Meereskundle" located in Berlin around the early 1900s. Unfortunately the Museum was extensively damaged during WW2 and the various museum collections were then placed in trust by the Humboldt University, however what was left of the Imperial Navy Collection has now been given to the Dresden Military Museum.

(I have been researching this for some time now - i.e. tracking down where the old Imperial Navy Collection is currently)

Below are photos of the early torpedoes from the Imperial Naval Collection (first 3 photos) that were located in the original Museum fur Meereskundle (Museum of Oceanography) - the other set of photos indicates the surviving torpedoes now located in Dresden, however I not sure if the last photo relates to Dresden?

The simple "wish" is to obtain some close-up photos of the early torpedo pistols (fuses) plus a snap of the torpedo details plaque, so I can construct a chronology of pistol design (at this stage just for the Schwartzkopff /Whitehead torpedo as it was "supposed to have been a direct copy of the British Whitehead") - however it seems that now most of the early bronze torpedoes in the Dresden Museum no longer have their pistols!

This is part of my current research on early torpedo pistols during the "golden years" of torpedo development (i.e. late 1800s to early 1900 up to WW1), in particular the Schwartzkopff version, which I intend to at some stage post my findings in the Underwater Ordnance" section for those that may be slightly interested.

As it seems a number of members have been in recent years, could you perhaps confirm /remember seeing the torpedoes during your visit? (as per the attached Dresden related photos)

Thanks

Cheers
Drew

 

[Alpini]

Yes, the last photos are from Dresden (I recognize the sand-stone pillars). But they must be very old, I think still from communistic times in the GDR (the Name "Armeemuseum" is also from the GDR). Chances are good that these interesting pieces are still in their depot but there are no old torpedoes in the actual exhibition. And I don't know anyone who could walk through their depot completely. It's military area, top secret and nobody knows why...

 

[Dronic69]

The photos came from Eberhard Rossler book "Die Torpedos der deutschen U-Boote" which was first published back in 1984, so yes a lot would have changed by then if the photos are around the same vintage. In addition, most Museums will change exhibits around and only the "crowd pleaser" exhibits would tend to be more the permanent displays.

Simply comparing the photos from the Meereskundle to the later Dresden exhibits, it unfortunately appears that the few torpedoes on display are missing their pistols anyway..........I remember reading that a lot of the original Meereskundle Collections pieces went "missing" after the war.

Thanks for the update!

Cheers

 

[Nabob]

Hi,
I suppose that a museum has not only exhibitions for the broad public but also depots for researchers.
The czech military history museum allows to study documents and as I was told it is possible to ask for materiel to study.
It is a little time consuming though.
I was visiting the Dresden Museum recently and both of the gentlemen I met were very kind and helpfull with a lot of knowlege.
And yes they have some torpedoes and fuzes there.

Bob