Tank Museum in Oshawa expands with major donation of 20 Gulf War tanks and armoured vehicles

North America’s largest collection of operational historical military vehicles just got a whole lot bigger with a donation of 20 tanks from the private collection of Alan Duffy – the Canadian Tank Museum’s president since 2016.

The tanks and armoured vehicles from the Duffy Historical Collection include the world’s largest collection of British military vehicles from the 1991 Gulf War in private hands, a gift valued at more than $2 million.

The problem now, says Canadian Tank Museum Executive Director Jeremy Blowers, is where to put them.

“We don’t have the space to display what we have now – we’re full,” said Blower, with the new vehicles likely being rotated in and out of display until the first phase of a $30 million expansion is ready in about two years.

The Duffy Historical Collection has been known as one of Canada’s largest private collections of operational military vehicles for several decades and includes many historically significant pieces, with many of the vehicles having actually served in the Gulf War.

The tanks and armoured vehicles in the collection were acquired, restored and researched by Duffy over many years, which included contacting the former operators and crews and reconnecting them with the vehicles of their service.

Some have been at the tank museum in Oshawa on loan while others have been transported by truck to Oshawa for one of the many public events held each year.

“It has been my passion to restore and preserve these vehicles and to keep the memory and history alive that goes along with them,” Duffy said. “There is no better organization I can entrust this legacy to than the Canadian Tank Museum. I know that they will be well cared for and enjoyed by the public for generations to come.”

CVR(T) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked

The donated collection includes 20 vehicles fully restored and in working order. Most were purchased from Europe or the USA and brought to Canada and include Soviet-era vehicles such as the T-54 Main Battle Tank and BMP-1 and 11 CVR(T) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance vehicles built in the UK and deployed with the British Army during ‘Operation Granby’ in 1990-91.

A British Chieftain Mk11 Main Battle Tank and a German-built Leopard 1A5 are also part of the collection.

“Our Museum has been fortunate in the past to receive individual artifact donations, but to receive an entire private collection is an incredible boost to the size and international composition of our collection” said Blowers, who said Duffy made the ‘official’ decision to donate the vehicles to the tank museum. “It’s quite a gift.”

The museum rebranded from the Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum in June 2024, along with a fundraising campaign and the vision for a new expanded campus, which will include a new building on the north side of the museum grounds that will house the current collection in a way that will be “more accessible” to visitors.

Blowers described 2025 as being a “foundational” year working with designers, architects, doners and the City of Oshawa, he added.

A board meeting scheduled for December 15 will hopefully see members sign off on a final design and a date for shovels-in-the-ground for the $15 million “perfect tank hangar” to show off the collection to the public.

“We’ll actually have a building to put our entire collection on display.”

Canadian Tank Museum expansion mock-up

The purpose-built exhibit building will be two floors with a 3,500 sq/foot footprint, which will be reserved exclusively for exhibit and display space, with the existing building transitioning to maintenance, storage and administration, Blowers explained. “The exterior grounds and outdoor space are also key to the expansion; providing an open-air exhibit and public programming space.”

The new museum grounds will encompass the existing structures and Oshawa’s Heritage Conservation District, which contains the last Second World War buildings at the Oshawa Executive Airport, into a larger curated heritage complex.

The Ontario Regiment will remain a component of the larger overall museum and continue to house and protect the artifacts and heritage of the Ontario Regiment RCAC. The regimental museum will be an integral part of the enlarged museum facility but will be alongside other galleries and displays including the extensive collection of military vehicles and tanks.

A cafeteria, offices and other amenities will be included in the second phase of the expansion.

The capital campaign received a major boost on its first day last year with the Dunkley Charitable Foundation, which has helped the museum purchase several vehicles in the past, pledging to match the first $4 million raised. Another $1 million in donations was matched by Duffy himself.