The machine pool of the heavy artillery display mainly dates back to the
period from 1930 to 1960, and the majority of the items formed part of the
armament of various countries in World War II and during the Cold War. The
exhibit also features a range of vehicles used by the Estonian Defence Forces
in the 1990s and even later.
The focal point of the exhibit are 24 guns and three mortars donated by
the Finnish War Museum. The selection includes howitzers and guns, light
infantry guns, anti‑tank guns and anti‑aircraft guns. The more robust pieces
are a Soviet 130‑mm M-46 gun and a German 88‑mm anti‑aircraft gun 8.8-cm-FlaK
18/36/37, and the collection also includes a 150‑mm gun.
The visitors are often fascinated by the German Sturmgeschütz III self‑propelled
gun; the Finnish army acquired these guns in World War II and kept them in its
armaments until the 1960s. The Swedish Tgbil m/42 armoured vehicle was part of
the weaponry donated by Sweden to the Estonian Defence Forces in the 1990s.
In 2015, an exhibit on Estonia’s 11‑year military mission to Afghanistan
was opened in the hangar. The highlight of the exhibit is a sauna that the
Estonian soldiers built at the Camp Bastion base camp in Helmand Province. Once
the operation ended, the sauna was returned to Estonia and reassembled in the
museum. The exhibit displays the equipment, weaponry, gear and uniforms of
Estonian soldiers during the Afghanistan mission. The photographs depict the
service and daily life of Estonian soldiers at Camp Bastion and smaller patrol
bases and control points.
Since 2022 a tank T-34/85 known as monument tank of Narva is also located in the heavy artillery hall.
The artillery guns and military vehicle hangar is located on Vehema Road (Vehema tee) 1a, 300 metres from Viimsi Manor and is open from May to November, Wed-Sun from 11 am to 6 pm. Group visits outside the opening
hours must be scheduled beforehand.Tickets for visiting the exhibition can be bought on spot for cash. Tallinn Card and Estonian Museum Card are valid. For card payments, we kindly ask you to turn to the museum shop in the main building, Mõisa Road (Mõisa tee) 1. The ticket is valid for both the main building and the heavy artillery hangar. See ticket prices here.
