A museum of wars remembered

“Saving Private Ryan” and “The Thin Red Line” are about as realistic as war movies get, but I saw a couple of battle films that they couldn’t hold a rifle to. In one, British Tommies in World War I clambered over the top of their muddy trench to face withering German fire that cut many down. In another, Russian troops in World War II made their final assault on Berlin, a destroyed city that looked like the backyard of hell.

It’s unlikely you’ll see this black-and-white grainy footage at a theater near you. However, if you happen to be in London you can view these documentaries at the Imperial War Museum (Lambeth, London SE1 6HZ, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 207 416 5320 or 5321, fax 416 5374 or visit http://london.iwm.org.uk), along with a remarkable collection of weapons, tanks, artillery, sabotage devices, vintage fighter planes (British, American and German), submarines, antiaircraft searchlights and even a “buzz bomb,” one of the V-2 rockets the Nazis hoped would bring Britain to its knees. There also are dozens of home-front photos, paintings and posters as well as other memorabilia and mockups.

Want to get an idea of what trench warfare was like? Immerse yourself in the walk-through re-creation of a front-line trench in the Somme in 1916. Sound effects and realistic mannequins in uniform heighten the experience. In one tableau, a medic is tending to a wounded infantryman.

A taste of the London Blitz is offered in an air-raid shelter, circa 1940, at the end of a rubble-strewn street. Enter it and experience the sounds and smells of bombs. Surrounding the area are old posters urging civilians to sign up for auxiliary fire duty and to “Dig Gardens for Victory” and “Join Your Country’s Army.”

The ground floor contains the heavy exhibits: artillery pieces, airplanes, tanks, etc., and a cinema room. A fighter-plane buff can admire World War II crafts such as the Supermarine Spitfire Mark 1A, the American P-51 Mustang and the German Focke-Wulf Fw190 plus the cockpit section of a Japanese Zero. Submarine addicts can examine a German one-man Biber. Among the artillery and tank displays are the first British cannon shot in World War I, a Mark V tank (the Brits invented the tank) and an American M4 Sherman.

On the second floor are WWI and WWII rooms and the “trench” and “Blitz” chambers. There also is an “Inter-War” room dealing with conflicts since 1945, including the Falkland and Gulf wars. I lingered long at the “Secret War” exhibit, a fascinating look at how Britain’s secret services M-5 and M-16 developed their wartime intelligence-gathering techniques. Features include an “enigma encyphering machine,” invisible ink used by German spies in World War I, codebooks and sabotage equipment.

Art galleries and a room for temporary exhibits occupy the top level. The pictures include works by famous British, French and Italian artists. Special exhibits are featured from time to time. One such showing was a collection of Winston Churchill’s letters to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin revealing the agreements and differences of their wartime alliance.

For the hungry and weary, the Imperial offers a well-stocked cafeteria next to the book and gift shop.

The Imperial War Museum is located on Lambeth Road and is within walking distance of the underground stations of Lambeth North, Elephant and Castle, and Waterloo. There are elevators and wheelchair access. It’s open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free except for special exhibitions. I last visited in late 2005.

MIKE STEIN

Irvine, CA