How MTM started
The Netherlands government allows people who have a special interest in military ammunition to collect and study the backgrounds of it. Since 7 march 1977 the Ministry of Justice granted the right to civilians for the collection of ammunition with certain restrictions for the purpose of education and cultural/historical reasons. An ammunition related foundation (NVBMB) was soon established to organise the individual initiatives along and in cooperation with international organisations. In this scene Mr Joop Dijkman developed his own study collection. Started already in 1962 with the first findings in the Atlantic Wall at the coast line where he lived, he improved and expanded his collection in the seventies. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall the collection evolved into a unique professional collection for study and training.
With the help of our MoD and the cooperation of the local authorities, together with a great number of volunteers, Mr Dijkman was able to establish todays collection of Munition Technical Models. The foundation is officially called Munition Technical Museum but in fact the collection of Munition Technical Models is acting as Munition Training Centre at Landhorst, The Netherlands.
This collection of military ammunition reflects the modern history of ammunition. From the 2nd World War munitions, both conventional and chemical origin are represented. The majority of the collection however covers the recent history. A great variety of Warsaw Pact and foreign nations models cover the main part of the collection. The fall of the Iron Curtain has revealed a vast quantity and quality of military ammunition and gave an unique opportunity to create this collection which, in due time, was extended with newer developments.
The quality of the collection excels also by the workmanship of Mr Joop Dijkman’s expertise in creating cutaway models which expose and explain the functioning and detailed construction of the different munitions. The collection is worldwide known by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists and used by many armed forces for study and training. Photographs of these MTM models are extensively used in government and NGO training programs both and published in well-known professional publications.