The front of the old Patton Museum in 1965.

Whenever the world's armor museums are discussed, the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is always at the center of the conversation. The museum is one of the best maintained facilities in the world and its quality galleries feature a variety of exhibits of armored vehicles, weapons and other artifacts which show the development of armored warfare and mechanization through the years. Several vehicles and other equipment are on display on concrete pads outside the museum along with monuments to U.S. Army units in the United States Army Armor Center Memorial Park.

The museum's mission is to preserve historical material that relates to armored warfare, vehicles and weapons through the ages and to make this material available to the military, the public and research and development organizations. Military personnel in training with the Armor School are frequent visitors to the museum as part of their curriculm. The museum is under the administration of the U.S. Army Armor Center at Fort Knox and is considered one of the best in the U.S. Army Museum System.

The Patton Museum started from humble beginnings in an old indoor firing range building dedicated on May 30, 1949. The modern complex seen today began in 1972 when the first of several stages was built. Between then and 1992, new sections have been added without a penny of taxpayer money being used, as all funding has come from the Patton Museum Foundation through funds donated by individuals and organizations from around the world.

Among the many galleries inside the museum, the Patton Gallery shows personal items owned, used or collected by General Patton during his lifetime, including the automobile in which he suffered his fatal injury. The museum also contains the Emert L. "Red" Davis Memorial Library which contains reference materials that are available to armor school students and researchers with prior notice.

The museum is open with free admission to the public. It operates year-round on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on holidays and weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The only time it is closed is on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. On rare occassions the museum's schedule has been altered to accommodate needs and concerns on post. Please check with museum staff before visiting to ensure nothing has changed in the museum's schedule.

Current plans are in the works to create a new General George Patton Museum. Visit the Patton Museum Foundation to view the master plan for the new museum.