The American Heritage Museum is open today! Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Open 10am to 5pm.
Hello all good people! The American Heritage Museum will be open on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 20th, 10am to 5pm. We are looking forward to seeing you soon.
The American Heritage Museum is excited to announce the launch of a new restoration project aimed at restoring a rare and historically significant piece of original World War II armor: the Type 97 Tankette “Te Ke,” used by the Imperial Japanese Army.![]()
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Read the full article at: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/2025/01/rare-japanese-type-97-tankette-te-ke-restoration-project-b...![]()
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The Type 97 Tankette was a light armored vehicle developed and employed by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Introduced in 1938, the Te-Ke was designed as a reconnaissance and infantry support vehicle, embodying Japan’s focus on lightweight, mobile forces. ![]()
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The Type 97 Tankette was powered by a 65 horsepower, inline 4-cylinder diesel engine, giving it a top speed of around 26 mph. It featured a two-man crew: a driver and a gunner/commander. Armament included either a 37 mm Type 94 tank gun or a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun, making it effective against lightly fortified positions and infantry but inadequate against heavier tanks.![]()
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Our particular project vehicle has been determined to be a variant of the Te-Ke that was specifically designed as a gas scattering vehicle to either deploy chemical agents such as mustard gas or other chemical agents offensively or similarly scatter agents to counter poison gasses defensively. Vehicles in this role carried their scattering agents in a towed tracked trailer and though we do not have one of these trailers, we are actively looking for one to add to the restoration.![]()
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The rare Type 97 Tankette will be restored at the American Heritage Museum by our restoration team over the next 3-4 years and will include a full overhaul of the original and rare Ikegai air-cooled diesel engine that is part of the project. We intend to restore it to operational configuration as a running tank and it will eventually become part of an enhanced exhibit documenting the years leading up to World War II. The restoration team is seeking any technical materials, drawings, or documentation of the Type 97 Tankette type – so if you have any resources to assist, please email us at admin@americanheritagemuseum.org
A huge THANK YOU to our hardy re-enactors, dedicated volunteers, and enthusiastic guests for braving the cold and muddy conditions this past weekend for the Battle of the Bulge History Experience! This was our first cold weather outdoor experience and we were happy to welcome so many visitors who took part, deploying in the M3 Half Tracks to our slice of the Ardennes Forest! Please enjoy a selection of photos from Warren Disbrow and Roland Brooks from the weekend! Let us know if you think we should plan another in 2025! #AmericanHeritageMuseum #battleofthebulge #tanklife #WWII #worldwar2 #worldwarii #WorldWarIIHistory #1944 #visitma #hudsonma
Looking for an adventure with the kids during school break? Come visit us at the American Heritage Museum! We are open today (Monday 12/30) and tomorrow (Tuesday 12/31), 10am to 5pm. Fun activities and Jim will have the game board set up.
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August Special Event Weekend – Automobile & Aircraft Museums Open
August 15, 2020 @ 10:00 am, ending August 16, 2020 @ 5:00 pm
$15 – $25
*We ask that everyone wear face masks and adhere to social distancing protocols.
The American Heritage Museum will host the Tanks, Wings and Wheels weekend on August 15th and 16th.
All three amazing museums will be open: The American Heritage Museum, The Historic Aviation Hangar and Classic Automobile Barn. This is a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most rare aircraft, extraordinary American classic automobiles, historic tanks, armored vehicles, military artifacts and much more.
There is over 100,000 square feet of space within the American Heritage Museum and Hangar combined. There is plenty of room for people to explore these amazing facilities while adhering to social distance protocols. Face masks are required, and pre-event ticket purchases are encouraged. People will be led direction-ally through each museum with limited group size intervals.
The weekend is particularly important as we will be observing the initial announcement of Japan’s surrender that was made on August 15, 1945 (V-J Day), bringing WWII to an end.
Admission Cost:
$25 for Adults
$23 for Active Duty Military/Veterans/Seniors
$15 for children 12 yrs. and younger.
Free for children 2 and under, WWII and Korean War Veterans.
AHM Members are admitted for free as part of your membership benefits.
Buy Tickets (Please select day)
Please select the date you wish to attend and purchase your tickets online for faster check-in.
– Saturday, August 15, 2020 (10am-5pm) – Purchase Tickets
– Sunday, August 16, 2020 (10am-5pm) – Purchase Tickets
Tank Driving Experiences Available!
For the ultimate immersion in living history, we will be offering tank driving experiences in the WWII vintage M4A3 Sherman and M24 Chaffee on both Saturday and Sunday. Learn the “in’s and out’s” of the tanks as you work directly with one of our tank instructors and get in the drivers seat for the exhilarating opportunity to drive the tank around our driving area behind the museum.
Donations for the program are $995 for the M24 Chaffee and $1495 for the M4A3 Sherman. The cost is a tax-deductible donation to the American Heritage Museum and helps support our ongoing growth and restorations. Reservations are highly recommended!
Click here to learn more and book your experience or call 978-562-9182.
