Dorset's Tank Museum edging closer to restoring M47 to running order
The Bovington site's looking to raise the final £5,000 needed for the work
Dorset's Tank Museum say they're just £5,000 away from their target to complete the restoration of an M47 tank and get it back to running order.
The Bovington attraction is looking to restore a US-built Cold War era armoured vehicle for visitors to see on site.
They've had a recent £15,000 private donation towards the work, taking their total up to £45,000 raised.
The project has an overall target of £50,000, so they're very close to getting the tank fully restored.
Head of Collections at the Tank Museum, Chris van Schaardenburgh, said:
“We are hugely grateful for this generous donation towards the M47 restoration project. We have worked closely with William Bannister for many years. His collection of historic vehicles and support of the Museum’s Workshop and restoration projects has been invaluable.
“The Bannister Collection compliments our own running fleet of significant Second World War tanks, which allows The Tank Museum to put on shows like TANKFEST and Tiger Day.”
The restoration work is now well underway in the workshop of engineer Matthew Pyle.
The M47 is expected to be in running condition ready for TANKFEST 2025 – the world's biggest live display of historic tanks and armoured vehicles, held at The Tank Museum itself.