Yad La-Shiryon

Museum story

Yad La-Shiryon at Latrun serves both as the memorial site of Israel’s Armored Corps and as a major armored-vehicle museum. Its purpose therefore combines remembrance of armored troops with preservation of the machines used in Israel’s wars and a broader international comparison of armored technology.

The site’s military history is visible in its landmarks as well as its vehicles. The famous Sherman mounted on the water tower became a symbol of the museum, while memorial spaces and unit history surround the armored collection. This dual role gives the site a different tone from a purely technical museum.

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Collection character

The museum states that more than 160 tanks and armored vehicles are displayed. The collection is divided broadly among vehicles that served in Israel’s wars, captured equipment, and vehicles obtained from armies around the world. That creates an unusually strong record of Israeli modifications, battlefield captures, and the coexistence of Western and Soviet-designed systems in the same regional conflicts.

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What to expect

Most of the armored collection is encountered across the open site rather than inside a conventional climate-controlled gallery. Each vehicle is presented with technical and historical information, and many carry specific stories tied to Israeli service. For Armor Archive users, Latrun is particularly useful for tracing how familiar vehicle families changed through local modification, capture, and reuse.

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