Tucked away on a side street just outside of St Petersburg, Florida is the American Armed Forces History Museum. Though small by museum standards (it is run by a local nonprofit group), the museum presents a pretty interesting collection of artifacts from World War One, World War Two, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, and Iraq. Here are some photos from a recent visit:
The museum, with a Nike-Ajax anti-aircraft missile by the front door.
Polish Air Force Mig-21 (painted in Soviet livery).
Mig-21 cockpit interior.
A collection of armored transport vehicles.
A showcase of military weapons.
A German WW2 Panzer-shreck, and Soviet Cold War RPG-7 and RPG-2 anti-tank weapons.
A British rifle grenade. Fans of "Star Wars" will recognize it as one of the components used to make Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber.
Re-creation of a World War One trench.
World War One aerial bombs.
US Army uniform and equipment from World War One.
German uniform and equipment from World War One.
Scale models of Japanese cruisers and destroyers, about 20 feet long. These are the original models used to film the "Japanese fleet" sequences in the movie "Tora Tora Tora".
Imperial Japanese Army uniform and equipment, World War Two.
Type 92 heavy machine gun--a Japanese copy of the French Hotchkiss. World War Two.
American Mark 14 torpedo.
American M5A1 Stuart light tank. World War Two.
German Mountain Howitzer. World War Two.
German Waffen-SS uniform and equipment. World War Two.
US bomber crew uniforms. World War Two.
Norden bombsight. World War Two.
North Korean battle flag and equipment. Korean War.
Fans of the M*A*S*H tv show will recognize the 8063rd mobile surgical hospital. Korean War.
Soviet military uniforms. Cold War.
Soviet recoilless rifles. Cold War.
American M47 Patton medium tank. Cold War.
American M1 Long Tom eight-inch gun, capable of firing nuclear artillery shells. Cold War.
American Honest John tactical rocket, used to deliver chemical and nuclear warheads.
North Vietnamese Army helmet. Vietnam War.
A homemade rifle used by the Viet Cong. Vietnam War.
US Army uniform. Vietnam War.
US Army uniform, and captured uniform belonging to Saddam Hussein. Iraq War.