Wartime tanks, planes left to rust in central Vietnam
Friday, January 26, 2024, 18:04 GMT+7
Sixteen wartime artifacts, including tanks, artillery, and planes, are rotting away under the sun in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam.
The outdoor display area at the Thua Thien-Hue Historical Museum in Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue Province has become a graveyard for vehicles and weapons left from wartime, including MIG-21 fighter aircraft, UH-1 helicopters, A-37 attack aircraft, and M107 self-propelled artillery.
Prior to being moved to the museum in 2020, these wartime artifacts had been on display inside the Hue Imperial Citadel.
Since the relocation, they have all fallen into varying states of disrepair.
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| A legendary MIG-21 fighter aircraft covered by a layer of moss. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
In addition to the blankets of rust that now cover the machinery, visitors have left garbage throughout the free-of-charge exhibit area, including inside a UH-1 helicopter.
Nguyen Duc Loc, director of the Thua Thien-Hue Historical Museum, said the museum has hired security guards and assigned a deputy director of the museum to oversee the exhibit area in order to prevent further damage caused by visitors.
The museum has submitted to the provincial administration a plan to preserve all of the exhibits at a cost of some VND1 billion (US$40,756), Loc added.
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| M107 self-propelled artillery, which the U.S. military once called ‘the king of the battlefield,’ at the Thua Thien-Hue Historical Museum in the namesake province. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| Two artillery shells at the Thua Thien-Hue Historical Museum in the namesake province. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| An M42 Duster self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on a tank. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| Inside a rusty and downgraded amphibious vehicle. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| Trash inside the cabin of a UH-1 helicopter. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| A U.S. air force A-37 attack aircraft. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| An AD-6 aircraft. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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| The Thua Thien-Hue Historical Museum has proposed a VND1 billion scheme to preserve the exhibits. Photo: Nhat Linh / Tuoi Tre |
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