The Museum of Armaments is located on the site of the former Fort Winiary, erected by the Prussians in 1828-1842. Despite the destruction that occurred during the battles for Poznanin 1945, the Citadel survived until the 1960s. Its remains were demolished, creating a park of over 100 hectares, where the Armory Museum is located. This facility occupies the shelter of the former SKL War Laboratory, added in 1872. Originally used to manufacture gunpowder and elaborate shells, it was later used as an ammunition storage facility. The facility was opened on May 9, 1965, and for many years operated under the name of the Museum of the Liberation of the City of Poznań. The original preserved interiors of the shelter house exhibitions of militaria, documents, photographs, plans and relics from the fortress buildings of the Poznań fortress, from the time of its construction until modern times. A significant part of the exhibition is devoted to the battles for the fortress in February 1945 and the participation of Poznan residents in them. Visitors can see various types of Soviet and German armaments, including a set of syst. The biggest attraction of the facility is an open-air park of military equipment. On display are more than a dozen examples of military vehicles, several aircraft and helicopters from the post-war period, as well as many guns and mortars of various types. Prominent among the tanks is the T-34/76, consisting of a hull produced in 1941 and a six-gun turret typical of 1943 vehicles. The museum additionally has an interesting collection of special-purpose trucks, including a standard BM-13N "Katyusha" rocket launcher mounted on the chassis of an American Studebaker US-6, a unique ZiS-5/12 with an anti-aircraft searchlight, and a set of Poland's first P-3A warning radar station on a ZiS-151 car, used after the war. The aviation part of the museum is related to the post-war development of Polish aviation. Shown here are, among others, bomber aircraft: Il-28 and Su-20, fighter aircraft: MiG-15, Lim-5, MiG-21, training and training aircraft: Jak-11, TS-8 Bies, TS-11 Iskra, liaison aircraft Jak-12A, multirole An-2 and two multirole helicopters: SM-1 and Mi-2.
01.09.2014
