Taking them to Germany would be quite expensive, and they need to be kept in a very secure environment because they have systems that the military need to protect.' 'Moving so many vehicles to Germany would be quite a feat, especially any tanks,' said David Willey, curator of the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset. There will also be some anxiety about so many of them being relocated outside the UK, where they will not be ready for instant use in any emergency.

The UK is in the process of withdrawing thousands of troops from Germany, at the same time as thousands of military vehicles could be heading in the opposite direction. Whitehall sources hope that moving tanks and other heavy vehicles to Germany will be only a temporary measure, buying time for the MoD to find a more permanent home for them in the UK.īut while the idea might be practical on some levels, insiders at the MoD can see the potential for farce. The city in North-Rhine Westphalia is home to the British-owned Ayrshire barracks. The problem of where to put them all when the 72-hectare (178-acre) site is sold has been troubling military planners, who have plumped for Mönchengladbach in western Germany. This is where it stores or repairs up to 6,000 vehicles, ready for duty.

Thousands of the British military's tanks, carriers and cars will head across the Channel because of MoD plans to sell off its vast complex at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire.

Military tank transporters for sale