THOUSANDS of tank fans flocked to one of the biggest events in the Tank Museum’s calendar at the weekend.

Tiger Day 12, which is a special event dedicated to the Tiger 131 tank, attracted 4,500 spectators when it took place on Saturday.

The Tiger 131 is the only running Tiger 1 in the world and it only runs at the Bovington museum twice a year in April and September and always attracts huge crowds.

It took to the arena alongside its World War Two contemporaries under blue skies for what was hailed as another successful event.

The highlight of the day was a one-hour display which saw Tiger 131 take to the arena alongside its Axis and Allied contemporaries, including the Panzer III, Churchill Mk III, Comet, Stuart, the famous Sherman ‘Fury’ and an extremely rare Type-95 Ha-Go.

Only two operational Ha-Go tanks exist in the world and this is the first time one has appeared at Tiger Day. Around 2,300 of these tanks were manufactured by the Japanese Empire for the Second World War, less than 25 now survive and only two of them are in running order. The Ha-Go, which was on display, is on short-term loan to The Tank Museum.

The Churchill Mk III is an iconic British tank of the Second World War. The version which was on display at Tiger Day is on long term loan to The Tank Museum from the Churchill Trust.

Tiger fans were also able to see the museum’s Tiger Collection exhibition which runs until Sunday, November 3, 2019, ahead of the museum’s World War Two Hall renovation project.

The Tiger Collection brings all the members of the Tiger family together in a world first.

The new 3400 sq. foot Second World War exhibition, which is due to open in 2020, will tell the story of the men of the Royal Armoured Corps through a series of campaigns and battles, beginning with the British counter-attack at Arras in 1940 and finishing with the fall of Germany in 1945. Construction work on the exhibition will begin in January 2020, with phase one due to open in the spring.

Tiger Day 13 will take place on April 25, 2020, with Tiger Day 14 taking place on September 19, 2020.

Advance tickets are already on sale now through the Tank Museum’s website.