DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM KOBLENZ (Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung Koblenz)

Last week, I decided to visit the Military Technology Museum in Koblenz, just 50 km from my home. Despite its warehouse-like exterior in a residential area, the four-story building was packed with exhibits showcasing weaponry and related technologies.

On the first floor, tanks, cannons, aircraft, and even submarines are densely packed without any gaps. The overall setting is dark, the exhibits are close, and aircraft wings are often overlapped, making photography challenging. There used to be some WWII tanks such as a Panther with night vision devices, but they almost disappeared. However, the array of vehicles on display consists mostly of prototypes, specially modified models, or vehicles with a “Let’s try building this” vibe, making the visit worthwhile. There are tanks like the VT1 with two protruding main guns, a Marder with the main gun from the Leopard 2, and prototype versions of the Leopard 2, among others. Since it’s a museum of technology, many vehicles and guns are boldly cut open to reveal their internal workings.

A split-open Leopard 1, resembling a cut by Goemon. While displays with removed outer panels are common elsewhere, this one is remarkable. The inside is fully exposed, providing an excellent understanding of the internal components.

Rail-gun prototypes, I was excited to see such past secrets

Thanks to the East German era, there are Mil-24 Hinds and MiG-21s here, which is a delight to see for the first time. F104 might seem commonplace, but there’s the CCV research aircraft, an extremely rare sight with only two in the world. Behind that is the VAK 191B, a VTOL research aircraft of which only three were made. The array of engines includes familiar ones like J79 and Jumo 004B, but also rare ones like the RD33 from the MiG-29 – quite satisfying.

Adding just one horizontal tail wing to the back, it’s a somewhat haphazardly modified CCV. Of course, touching is not allowed, but due to the proximity, everyone who comes here ends up manually turning the emergency power fan, which is left open. I wonder why it’s left open. On the floor in the back is a brought-in mini step ladder. Even with something like this, whether you can capture the top of a tank or not is a clear difference.

Cannons are stacked again, and in the foreground, the beloved 88mm gun looks like a toy compared to the towering 17cm, 21cm, and 24cm giant barrels that almost touch the ceiling.

On the 2nd and 4th floors, there is an extensive collection of weapons covering anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, howitzers, grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, pistols, and every genre imaginable. Beautifully finished wooden grips and gunstocks of old guns are captivating. Unfortunately, all the exhibits are behind glass, and the lighting is not particularly well thought out, causing severe reflections, making photography extremely challenging. Sniper rifles and anti-tank rifles are my personal favorites.

Whether due to the nature of a technology museum or not, most of the pistols are automatic, and while there is a rich variety of historical models of revolvers until the establishment of the current form, there are only a few examples of guns from the established period onward. For automatic pistols, the era when various mechanisms were rampant is well represented, but from the Colt M1911 onwards, only the really notable ones are showcased until the present day. Interestingly, as new technologies emerge, there seems to be a curiosity, evident in the display of Glock and other polymer-framed firearms. Quite thorough indeed.

Anti-tank rifles have a certain allure. It’s the romance of holding a weapon capable of penetrating 30mm steel plates from 100 meters away. The one at the bottom left is the Japanese Type 97 20mm, quite robust. The cleanly designed Boys rifle from Canada is in the top right. The harmonica-shaped flash hider, absent in the British version below it, adds a cool touch. Below that might be the Simonov, judging by the appearance. At the bottom right is Switzerland’s Solothurn, a 20mm rifle. It seems that the 20mm caliber doesn’t fit within the realm of rifles that can be carried and weighs over 50kg. It’s a shame that Finland’s Lahti isn’t present.

On the 2nd to 4th floors, there’s a technical exhibition showcasing a wide range of electrical, electronic, and optical devices, including radars, night vision equipment, rangefinders, communication devices, map-making tools, inertial navigation systems, and more. The famous German military encryption device Enigma is also on display. The information about it mentions improvements made throughout the war but doesn’t explicitly state, “decoded by Alan Turing.”

Enigma seems to be quite proud of itself; there’s an extensive display covering the operating methods, mechanisms, and even separate arrangements of wheels. They’re putting a lot of effort into showcasing and explaining it all.

I was there from the morning until the museum closed at 4:30 pm, and during that time, there were probably only a few dozen visitors. It was great to explore freely from any angle. As usual, I brought my step ladder for photography, and the staff graciously allowed me to use it. The guy at the reception even commented, “You can bring it, but that seems low,” so next time, I’ll bring one that’s about 1 meter tall :-). The entrance fee was only 3 EUR, which is unbelievably cheap. Since it’s a military facility, they required a passport for entry.

The exterior look like this. The main building on the front and right like a warehouse, house tanks and airplanes. The white apartment-like structure on the left holds exhibits of machine guns, firearms, equipment, and military gear. The parking lot seems quite empty.

This museum doesn’t have a gift shop. Since there are no restaurants nearby in the residential area, my wife made onigiri (rice balls), and I managed with those inside the museum (even though eating and drinking might be prohibited). When I inquired, the staff said there’s no gift shop, but there’s a bookshop located behind the building, and it’s open even on Sundays. When I went, it looked like a somewhat makeshift building, and inside, it was dimly lit and a bit eerie. But to my surprise, there were rooms filled with a mountain of military-related books. There were some English books, and I found several in Japanese too. When I asked for assistance in finding a book about experimental German aircraft from World War II, an older lady guided me to an interesting one. It was slightly wet due to a leak, so I got it at half price. Some shelves had models displayed, and it was incredibly niche. I’ve never seen so many Verlinden small boxes in one place. There were plenty of vacuum-formed, resin, and photo-etched kits, as well as modification parts. Although the shop was supposed to close at 5 pm, the staff and maybe regular customers were fixing leaks and chatting, and there was no sign of being kicked out. So, I stayed until 5:30 pm. http://www.buchhandlung-collectiana.de/index_en.php

I took soooo many photos. Enjoy visiting below link.