The Ropkey Collection

[Pete Nash]

In 2013 myself and three mates did a three week trip to America. Our primary aim was to go to the Air venture at Oshkosh as we are primarily Military aircraft enthusiasts, but we will go to any Military Museum as well.
While in Minneapolis to see the Raceway Museum we heard about the Ropkey collection and paid it a visit.
It was founded as a Private museum that would also let visitors in by a Lt Colonel of the US Marines who had served in Korea.
Unfortunately he had terminal cancer but he came out to see us, his First words to us were "have you come to steal my collection?"
Sadly his collection, I hear, has now been sold.

Here are some of the Images I took of his collection of Military vehicles. hope you enjoy them.

[Pete Nash]

And there's more

[Brian Ostlind]

Wow! Beautiful.

[Stephen White]

Pete, thanks for an interesting posting. Although there's a lot of plain fare there, there are two gems, the Renault FT and the 1917 Artillery Tractor, which will excite Chris and the Band of Brigands, and this very rare beast:

Type 97 Chi-Ha Japanese Medium Tank_1.jpg (130.9 KiB) Viewed 1713 times

It's a Japanese Type 97 ShinhoTo (= new turret) or Kai ("improved") Chi-Ha with an uparmoured 50mm turret and a high velocity 47mm anti-tank gun. 930 were built and another 300 of the earlier model were converted. I don't suppose more than a dozen survive in one condition or another. I remember seeing this particular tank in the wonderful USMC museum at Quantico, after which it went to the Ropkey Collection (I wonder how?!) When the latter closed, it seems to have gone to the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN, where it languishes in store. Pity. Don't think it would make much of a seller for Armortek though Kian.....

Thanks again for an interesting post and Happy New Year.

Stephen

[Pete Nash]

Thanks Stephen, I didn't realise how rare the Japanese Type 97 was, I thought at the time it was out of the ordinary, along with the artillery Tractor and Ft-17, especially being in US Army service.

Looking back I seem to have made two unintentional Mistakes. The guy was in Vietnam nor Korea and the Museum was near Indianapolis not Minneapolis. 'all those 'apolises' got me confused.

Well, it was five years ago and I've gone from being 66 to 71. That's mt excuse and I am sticking to it!!!!

[Michael Cecil]

Gents,

Some fantastic gear in that collection.

The FT17 appears to be the US manufactured copy, the M1917 with the solid steel idler wheels. A very close copy of the Renault, but with some changes such as the idler, an improved and simplified idler tensioner, a Buda 40 hp engine, and a steel bulkhead dividing the engine compartment from the crew compartment. Over 1,100 produced by three manufacturers: Van Dorn Iron Works, Maxwell Motor Car Co and CL Best Tractor Company. Originally designated the 'Six ton Special Tractor', later to be known as the M1917. There were six modified with an air-cooled engine to M1917A1 standard as an experiment in the early 1930s. (data source: Crismon (1992))

Mike