Let out your frustrations at this park in the United States where visitors can drive tanks and crush cars
Have you ever wanted to pilot an armoured tank or flatten a car with formidable force? If you have, here’s good news: It’s possible to do both at the same time.
An attraction in Georgia, the United States of America (USA), offers a unique set activities that are surprisingly cathartic.
Tank Town USA, situated amidst the Appalachian Mountains in Morganton, allows its visitors to take the wheel of a powerful tank, thunder through the terrain and, if they so choose, crush a car from hood to wheel.
Photo: miker / Shutterstock.com
Mean green machine
Visitors who opt to pilot the tanks will first be given a personal lesson on tank operating and driving. Then, slide down the hatch, take the wheel and feel the power of the 115,000kg mean machine in your hands.
There are two tank-driving activities to choose from. You may simply wheel the tank around for up to 20 minutes, or make your visit worthwhile and charge through the park for about half an hour before smashing a junk car – windshield, hood and all – into the ground.
Interestingly, there are no actual tanks in Tank Town. Instead, visitors drive FV432s, which are armoured personnel carriers formerly used by the British Army. Due to their resemblance to the mobile hulks of the military, they are informally called tanks.
Heavy equipment playground
Besides tank-driving and car-crushing, Tank Town also offers several other interesting activities – of course, involving other kinds of heavy machinery as well. For instance, Visitors can also operate a 18,143kg excavator for 15 minutes, after guidance from a trained operator.
Drivers for all types of equipment must be at least 15 years old with a learner’s permit, and can be accompanied by up to two passengers (at least seven years old). Reservations are required, and the attraction is open every Saturday and Sunday from April to November, although other driving times can be specially reserved all year.
Tank Town is accessible by car from the US Highway 76, also known as the Appalachian Highway. The nearest town is downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia, about 9.6km away.
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