The military uses monstrous vehicles that can handle air, sea and land and help soldiers protect their countries. Even though these machines aren't toys, they look like fun vehicles to drive or fly around. Fortunately, there are hundreds of military vehicles you can own. You can even get a tank, even though you won't be able to take it on the road because no one will give you the license to operate.
You might think that military vehicles are pricey, but prices range from affordable to insanely expensive. There are tanks, cars and even airplanes for sale if you look in the right countries. You can even find vintage units. Of course, you can get a customized civilian machine with fake equipment, but nothing beats a tested and true military vehicle. Besides, you'll have a chance to restore a magnificent war machine. Here are the world's largest private collections of military vehicles.
15 The Wheatcroft Collection
The owner of the collection, Kevin Wheatcroft, has been collecting military vehicles for 30 years. It's one of the largest private collections in the world and the largest in the UK. It has 200 items, including 130 vehicles, of which 88 are tanks. Most vehicles come from Germany, Britain, and America.
14 Jacques Littlefield's Collection
Jacques Littlefield was the founder of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation known as the Littlefield Collection. He owned many military vehicles, including two M4 Sherman tanks, a Panther tank and an SS-1 Scud launcher. According to estimates, he had 220 military vehicles to his name. He would often show his collection to visiting students.
13 MVPSSA Members' Collection
The National Military Vehicle Museum is an Australian military car museum founded in 1993. The museum is unique in that the majority of vehicles are privately owned by MVPSSA members, and most machines are maintained in running condition. The collection is used in Christmas pageants and many support events (e.g. Anzac Day).
12 Jon Phillips Armor Collection
The Jon Phillips Armor Collection is a huge private collection of military machines owned by Jon, a WWII vehicle hobbyist from England. The highlights of his collection include a restored original Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. D, a restored Volkswagen Schwimmwagen and a replica Panzerkampfwagen III. He often shares restoration processes on social media.
11 Allan Cors' Collection
We all love a bit of history, but some of us take this passion a bit further than that. Allan Cors "spent the last 30 years putting together a collection of over 100 tanks, 9/11 artifacts and other assorted military memorabilia. Allan's private collection is on permanent display at the National Museum of Americans."
10 Muckleburgh Collection
The Muckleburgh Collection resides at a former military camp in England. Even though it's opened to the public, it is privately owned. The vehicles and the facility have been used for movies, dramas and documentaries. Among the working tanks are Stuart M5A1, Soviet T-55, Panzer P-68, Chieftain and Canadian-built Sherman tank.
9 Herman Rowland's Collection
Herman Rowland purchased 7 military vehicles, and this was the beginning of his huge collection. Of all vehicles he owns, Patton’s command jeep is the most popular. His collection also includes a "World War II Achilles tank, one of only six remaining in the world and a Marmon-Herrington tank, one of only three in the world."
8 Dan Starks' Collection
Dan Starks, the owner of a huge military collection, said "I had an interest in military history since I could read. I purchased a number of tanks at the auction, which included mannequins outfitted with original authentic WWII uniforms. Many of the vehicles, in various states of repair, are spread through several restoration companies."
7 Rob Lowden's Collection
Rob Lowden owns a large collection of military vehicles that can be found in the Australian Armoured Vehicles and Artillery museum. The collection includes machines from both world wars. It consists of 150 armored vehicles, which can't be found anywhere else in Australia. It's the largest collection of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
6 Brian Boys' Collection
An interest in military vehicles runs in the Boys family. He is an avid collector and car enthusiast who's got one of the largest private military vehicle collections in the UK. He said that all models are cared for by specialists. His most valuable collectible is a Ferret Scout Car.
5 Michael Dezer's Collection
Michael Dezer is an Israeli-born real estate developer who started collecting military vehicles at the age of 16. He owns a huge museum that holds the majority of his collection. The exhibition area displays over 1,000 vehicles. One of the most valuable possessions is a T-55 Soviet tank from GoldenEye.
4 Kevin Purcell's Army Truck Collection
Kevin Purcell’s military vehicle collection is known to truck lovers. You might have seen some of his valuable possessions at the Sylvia’s Gap Convoy. You will run out of fingers trying to count the FWDs, Jeeps, Dodges, Bren Gun Carriers, MUTTs, Kaisers and Land Rovers. He owns an original 1942 Diamond T ex-Australian Army wrecker.
3 Vladimir Yakushev's Collection
One Belarusian man, Vladimir Yakushev, has been looking for tanks littered all over Belarus and restoring them. He said, "We raised two brewed-up Panzers 38(t)s, and a German StuG III self-propelled gun - a tank-like vehicle with an artillery gun - all of them piece-by-piece. One example, a KV-1, was lifted up in November 2015 near Senno."
2 Mr. Vadnjal's Collection
Mr. Vadnjal's obsession with military vehicles became a hobby in 2000. Now he has the biggest collection of WWII vehicles anyone knows of. He owns 60 military vehicles, 27 of them are displayed in various museums. His machines regularly take parts in parades, which cost him up to $10K for fuel.
1 Tom Rancour's Collection
In a town of Wasta is a plain looking building. But get inside and it's like going back in time. It's a private collection of military vehicles and armor that belongs to Tom Rancour. He also owns a Marine Corps a4C Skyhawk ground attack aircraft that went on missions during the Vietnam era.