Parola Tank Museum

Parola Tank Museum

Panssarimuseo
Parola Armoured Vehicle Museum courtyard with the latest extension, Hall 2, on the left.
Location within Finland
Established	18 June 1961 (1961-06-18)
Location	Parola, Finland
Coordinates	61°02′31″N 24°20′39″E / 61.04194°N 24.34417°E / 61.04194; 24.34417
Type	Military museum
Public transit access	Parola
Website	www.panssarimuseo.fi

Parola Tank Museum, officially Armoured Vehicle Museum and Parola Armour Museum (Finnish Panssarimuseo, Swedish Pansarmuséet) is a military museum located 110 kilometres north of Helsinki in Parola, Hattula, near Hämeenlinna, Finland, a few kilometres from the Finnish Army Armoured Brigade training unit.^[1][2]

The Parola Tank Museum is a branch of the Finnish Defence Forces located in Hattula, showcasing the history and equipment of armoured and anti-tank troops. The museum has an extensive collection of tanks, armoured vehicles, anti-tank weapons, and an armoured train from Finland's independence era. The museum features an anti-tank simulator. It was founded on June 18, 1961, and it attracts over 30,000 visitors annually.^[2][3]

The museum's exhibitions include two large heated halls displaying, among other things, tanks and military uniforms.^[2]

In 2023, the museum displayed the Tiger II, a German heavy tank, which attracted a high number of visitors.^[4]

In addition to exhibitions, the Tank Museum offers various events, such as driving demonstrations and family days, especially during the summer. The site includes a café (Tankkitupa) and a museum shop offering war history-themed souvenirs and literature.^[5][2]

Full list of vehicles

Source:^[6]

• Renault FT
• Vickers-Carden-Loyd
• Vickers 6-ton
• T-26
• T-28
• T-50
• T-60
• T-70
• BT-42
• T-34
• T-34-85
• JSU-152
• KV-1
• KV-1E
• BA-20M
• BA-10
• T-20 Komsomolets
• T-54
• T-55M
• T-72M1
• ZSU-57-2
• BTR-50
• BTR-60
• BTR-80
• BMP-1
• PT-76
• Leopard 2A4
• StuG III Ausf. G
• Panzerkampfwagen IV
• FAMO
• Daimler Ferret
• Sisu armoured car
• Humber "Pig"
• M2 White
• Landsverk Anti II
• M4 Sherman
• Patria AMV
• Patria AMV AMOS
• MT-LB
• Charioteer
• Comet
• Armoured train

Light tanks

• 
  Renault FT light tank (1917)
• 
  Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank with 37mm Bofors gun
• 
  Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank (T-26E). This was upgunned during World War II with a captured Soviet 45 mm gun in a T-26 turret.
• 
  T-26, Ps.163-16
• 
  T-26, Ps.163-33
• 
  Soviet T-50
• 
  Soviet T-60
• 
  Soviet T-70

Medium tanks

• 
  Soviet-made T-28E captured by the Finnish Defence Forces
• 
  Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. J with Finnish roundel 1945-. Imported from Germany during WW2
• 
  Finnish T-54

Heavy tanks

• 
  Finnish T-72M1, Ps 284-202
• 
  Finnish KV-1E

Special tanks

• ZSU-57-2 anti-aircraft gun^[7]

Assault guns

• 
  Finnish BT-42 assault gun, a modification of the Soviet BT-7
• 
  BT-42 from another angle
• 
  Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G

Armoured cars

• 
  Captured Soviet BA-10 in Finnish markings, registered as Ps.27-12
• 
  Captured Soviet BA-20 in Finnish markings, registered as Ps.6-11
• 
  Humber Pig

Infantry fighting vehicles

• 
  BMP-1

Modern vehicles

• 
  XA-360^[8]

See also

• Parola
• Hattula
• The Artillery Museum of Finland
• Military Museum of Finland

References

1. "The Parola Armour Museum".
2. "Parolan panssarit kiehtovat monia | Tykistomuseo.fi". tykistomuseo.fi. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
3. "Parolan Panssarimuseossa voi sihtailla aidon tykin takaa, onnistuisiko panssarivaunun pysäyttäminen". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
4. "Harvinainen Kuningastiikeri-panssarivaunu vetää väkeä Panssarimuseoon ennätystahtia". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
5. "Parolan Panssarimuseo & Tankkitupa-kahvila - Hattula.fi" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
6. "Museokalustoa". Panssarimuseo (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-10-28.
7. [1] Archived August 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Panssarimuseon kesä 2011" (PDF). Panssarimuseo.fi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2015-05-16.