Auction of the Normandy Tank Museum collection
August 21, 2016: Auction of the Normandy Tank Museum Collection
Source: AFP
Author: Marc Laurenceau
The year 2016 was a fateful one for the Normandy Tank Museum, the third space dedicated to the memory of the Battle of Normandy to close in less than two years.
Last June, the historic center of Lower Normandy was shocked to learn of the closure of the Normandy Tank Museum, which had barely been established in Catz, Manche, in 2013. In the preceding months, the private collections of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and the Ranger Museum in Grandcamp-Maisy had been removed from the Battle of Normandy tourist itineraries.
- A Closure with Multiple Origins
The reasons for this closure, as cited by the owner and co-founder, Patrick Nerrant, are diverse and include a tax system that is unfavorable to private collections in France compared to public collections, as well as insufficient financial support from the State and the Region. Poor relations with local residents, who were reluctant to welcome tourists to this small Normandy town, caused several tensions throughout the museum’s operation: on the night of April 18-19, 2015, the farmer who owned one of the plots used by Patrick Nerrant’s teams decided to repossess his land by plowing it, without notifying the museum, annoyed by the presence of vintage aircraft that frightened the cows and horses. The 30% drop in visitor numbers in 2016, caused by social unrest, the international economic situation, and the state of emergency in France, definitively prevented the continuation of this family adventure.
- One of the largest private collections in Europe
The Normandy Tank Museum hangars (located near Carentan) currently house one of the largest private collections of military vehicles in Europe. This family museum is the culmination of thirty-five years of collecting. A military vehicle enthusiast and specialist, Patrick Nerrant began collecting World War II armored vehicles in the 1980s. The vehicles are exhibited on the historic site of the American airfield named « ALG A-10 ». The museum brings together the main tanks and armored vehicles, cars and trucks, motorcycles and military aircraft of the US Army and the Axis forces. We find the major automobile brands that produced these surprising combat machines, incorporating impressive technical innovations for the time. Through a chronological journey from 1942 to 1945, the museography presents all the greatest battles of the Second World War in several theaters of operation. From the North African campaign, to the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy, Operation Cobra, to the liberation of Paris and the Battle of the Bulge… Some equipment has been fully restored and is functional, as close as possible to its original condition, using period parts and accessories, sought after and acquired over many years and from all four corners of the world.
- An exceptional auction
The Normandy Tank Museum’s collection includes a 1942 Cadillac M4 Sherman tank estimated at between €80,000 and €140,000, a 1944 MB Jeep estimated at €25,000, and a 1943 Caterpillar D-8 bulldozer estimated at between €4,000 and €6,000. For those with a smaller budget, uniforms from Resistance fighters, tank drivers, and even US Navy pilots are available for sale with a starting price of €200.
This auction—dubbed the D-Day Sale—is a unique and rare opportunity to acquire these legendary and impressive World War II armored vehicles, witnesses to history and symbolizing the technical prowess of the era. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that these objects will remain in France after the sale: this superb and massive collection, which was accessible in the historic space of Lower Normandy, may be divided up around the world.
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