Tank Museum's Elefant is returning to USA

The return of the Elefant tank to the US Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center at Fort Lee, Virginia, means the chance for visitors to see the complete Tiger Tank exhibition at the Bovington museum in the flesh, so to speak, will be over.

Exhibit bosses say the collection has been extended into next summer, but the stateside departure leaves a gap that will be filled by another vehicle from the museum's wide collection.

The Elefant currently on show is one of just two surviving examples of the 91 Elefants that saw service with German forces.

A museum spokesman explained: "It has been part of the Tiger Collection display since the exhibition opened in April 2017.

"The new exhibition brought every member of the Tiger tank family together in one display for the first time and was scheduled to run until Autumn 2018, but due to popular demand has been extended until Autumn 2019.

"Unfortunately the Elefant has to be returned home early, so will be on display until early January 2019.

"The empty space left by the Elefant in the exhibition will be filled by another vehicle from the museum’s collection."

The Elefant, German for Elephant, was a heavy tank destroyer used by German forces in World War Two.

They were built in 1943 using tank hulls produced for the Tiger I tank. After being modified in 1944 the 70-tonne tank was renamed Elefant.

Tank Museum creator David Willey, speaking when the Elefant was first shipped to Dorset, said: "This mythical reputation, coupled with their rarity, is what makes them of such great interest. But in truth, the myth has elevated them to be greater than the reality."

Commenting on the Tiger Tank exhibition as a whole, Mr Willey added: "Tigers are large and impressive by contemporary standards – but there is a moral responsibility to remember what they were used for and the regime who created them."

The Elefant will stay on display at The Tank Museum until January 2019.