Several thematic spaces, with exceptional collections, have been created at the Musée du Génie to carry out this Odyssey of Mines. It is a question of enlightening the general public and rejoicing the experts about these formidable weapons.
There is the mine as an underground gallery to take the enemy from below; and the mine as an explosive device equipped with a charge, used since the Middle Ages under misleading names such as fougasse or scree stone. Offensive or defensive, the system underwent a major evolution at the beginning of the 20th century.e with anti-tank and anti-personnel mines
explains Lieutenant Colonel Aude, curator of the Engineering Museum. From 1960, a new context directed the training of sappers towards operational mine clearance.
The lead of… pencil
The exhibition ends on a light tone by evoking the pencil lead and its inventor Nicolas-Jacques Conté, in 1794. Which is not so far from the military thing: he is at the origin of the creation of the national ballooning school, the aim of which is, among other things, the training of personnel to monitor the battlefields from the sky.
The School of Military Engineering, established in Angers in 1945, will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2025. An extension of the museum is planned for 2030.
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Engineering Museum, 106, rue Eblé, Angers. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission.
