The Tank Museum in Dorset has raised £20,000 from online supporters in just 24 hours, allowing it to carry out the restoration of a British tank.
The museum ran the fundraiser on its website and promoted it on its popular YouTube channel.
In return for a £50 donation, the museum offered donors a thank you social media, a Q&A with its restoration team, and their name on the turret of the vehicle, known as an FV4005.
The tank was developed in the 1940s by The British Army, but the project was cancelled in the 1950s. It recently appeared in the World of Tanks video game, and the museum said it has since “developed a cult following with gamers and tank enthusiasts.”
Work will now begin to get the tank in working condition in time for the museum’s TANKFEST event next June.
Chris van Schaardenburgh, The Museum’s Head of Collections said: “We are incredibly grateful for this contribution from our supporters at a time when we appreciate that finances are difficult for everyone.
“This project in partnership with World of Tanks and A W Hewes will now commence to conserve and restore the turret, reunite it with a correct Centurion Mark 3 hull, and remake the gun cradle and other fittings unique to this unusual vehicle.”
