NZ Army Equipment
The National Army Museum’s extensive NZ army equipment collection includes scout vehicles, tanks, trucks and field guns used by the New Zealand Army. Explore the history of a selection of our military hardware on display or currently in restoration at our unique museum.
- Universal Carrier
- M41 Walker Bulldog Tank
- Valentine Mark V Tank
- Ferret Scout Car
- 28th Maori Battalion Canteen Truck
- Breech Loading 5.5 Inch Medium Gun
- Ordnance, Quick Firing 25 Pound Mk II
Universal Carrier
The first examples used in New Zealand were imported from Britain in April 1939 and later from Australia, but as the war continued locally produced carriers were built by the New Zealand Railway Workshops in and around Wellington. They remained in service with the New Zealand Army until 1958.
M41 Walker Bulldog
M41A1 WALKER BULLDOG LIGHT TANK
Valentine Mark V tank
VALENTINE MARK V
Of the 255 Valentine tanks, 100 were Mark II, 74 were Mark III and 81 were Mark V. There were also 11 Valentine bridge layers in service.
Ferret Scout Car
DAIMLER FERRET MKI SCOUT CAR 4X4
New Zealanders used British MKI Ferrets in both the Malaya Emergency and Confrontation for forward observation tasks. The MKI Ferret was withdrawn from New Zealand service in 1978.
28th Maori Battalion Canteen Truck
Te Rau Aroha
Breech Loading 5.5 Inch Medium Gun
The BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun, known in New Zealand as the 5-5 gun, was first developed during the early part of World War Two, but was only of 4.5 inch calibre. By 1941 the barrel had been ‘enlarged’ and the 5.5 inch gun was introduced into the British Artillery, where it first saw action in North Africa. At that time the New Zealand Divisional Artillery did not have a Medium Battery as part of its organisation, so it did not officially use the 5-5 gun during the Second World War. However during the assault across the Sangro River in Italy some New Zealand Gunners were attached to a British Medium Artillery Regiment firing 5.5in guns in support of the New Zealand infantry.
Ordnance, Quick Firing 25 Pound Mk II
The 25 Pounder – as it is more commonly known – began its life on the drawing boards of the British Royal Artillery in 1936, however it did not go into production until the start of the Second World War. The first New Zealand Artillery unit to receive the 25 Pounder was 5 Field Regiment, RNZA, who gladly exchanged their World War One vintage 18 Pounders in England in August of 1940. With the 25 Pounder being mass-produced in England and Canada it very soon became the standard field gun of all of the British and Commonwealth forces. By the end of the Second World War over 12,000 had been manufactured.
View some of the military equipment restoration projects being undertaken by the Army Museum with the assistance of a dedicated group of volunteers.


