Tag Archives: France

Cambrai Tank 1917 Museum

The Cambrai Tank 1917 Museum is built around the remains of Deborah, a British WW1 tank that took part in a major armoured attack on German lines in November 1917. Battle of Cambrai The town of Cambrai in the Nord department of France, north of Paris and...

Caudron G.III Aircraft

There’s more to this weird box-frame aeroplane than you would imagine. Over 1500 were produced by the Caudron brothers, René and Gaston, in their factory at Le Crotoy on the eastern side of the Somme estuary, from 1913 onward. And it proved to be, despite appearances, tough,...

French Siege Mortar Models

This is a set of 1/5th scale French siege mortars from the 19th century. They are in the 1,000-piece collection of artillery models at the Musée de l’Armée – Invalides in Paris. Models like this were made for a number of reasons; as royal gifts, as design...

Dunkirk Maritime and Port Museum

The Dunkirk Maritime and Port Museum (Musée Maritime & Portuaire de Dunkerque) tells the history of France’s third largest port, its workers, its ships, and its seamen. “Wait! What? Third largest?” That may come as a surprise to some, because to most people, especially anglophiles, Dunkerque or...

Citroën P17 Half-Track

You have to love this amazing car, the Citroën P17 Autochenille (‘caterpillar’ or in this case ‘half-track’). It is exactly the sort of thing I would fully expect to see Tintin driving across the Sahara in, wearing an arab headress and with Capt. Haddock floundering around in...