Victorious War Museum

The general character and influence of the museum reflects the DPRK view of their 'success in fighting against their American arch-enemy and its puppet state of South Korea', and much of the museum presents the victories of the DPRK and its military over its enemies, which are shown to be 'utterly defeated and broken by the might of the DPRK'. Such can be seen from how a display in the museum shows a large cache of captured US infantry-based weapons and combat-helmets stacked up, presenting the idea of the severe casualties sustained by the US military in the Korean War.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Exhibits in the museum include a 360-degree full-scale diorama and cyclorama of the Battle of Taejon during the Korean War, along with displays of North Korean military hardware used in that conflict, such as Soviet T-34/85 tanks, anti-aircraft artillery, naval craft as well as warplanes. Also on display are several captured American (and some British) military equipment, such as ex-US M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks, a former British Army Universal Carrier armoured personnel carrier (APC), along with some artillery guns and downed aircraft of the US-led UN forces fighting against North Korea.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-korea/pyongyang/sights/museums-galleries/victorious-fatherland-liberation-war-museum|title = Must see attractions in Pyongyang, North Korea}} In addition to the many statues, figures, murals and artifacts in the museum, one major exhibit is {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}, a US Navy vessel that was captured by North Korea when it allegedly entered North Korean territorial waters in January 1968. Local and foreign visitors to the museum are allowed to board the ship, now permanently moored on the river beside the museum, and enter and see the ship's secret code-room (which contains classified military intelligence and information on board) and former ship and crew artifacts now put on display, such as a US flag.{{cite web|last1=Donenfeld|first1=Jeffrey|title=Full report: VIsit to North Korea and the Pyongyang marathon|url=http://jeffreydonenfeld.com/blog/2015/04/exploring-north-korea-and-running-the-pyongyang-marathon/|website=jeffreydonenfeld.com|date=19 April 2015|access-date=19 August 2015}}{{unreliable source?|certain=yes|reason=WP:CIR, source cites Wikipedia for these claims|date=April 2017}}

{{Gallery

|title=Images from the museum

|width=200 | height=170 |align=center

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|File:Guide to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum.jpg |

alt1=SGuide to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

|A guide-diagram showing the ways around the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang.

|File:US-Helicopter-at-Pyongyang-Museum.jpg |

alt2=A US Army OH-23 helicopter captured by the North Korean military in 1963.

|A US Army OH-23 Raven helicopter captured by the North Korean military in 1963.

|File:Pueblo-at-Pyongyang-Museum-2014.jpg |

alt3=USS Pueblo, an American research ship captured by the DPRK military in 1968.

|{{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}, which was seized by North Korea in January 1968.

}}

The museum has several exhibits that claim that the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser {{USS|Baltimore|CA-68|6}} was sunk by Motor Torpedo Boats belonging to the Korean People's Navy on 2 July 1950. Exhibits include a poster and the torpedo boat which supposedly sank the American cruiser. However, the cruiser, at the time of its alleged loss, was still in the U.S. Navy's decommissioned reserve, and had been as such since 1946. In 1951, it was recommissioned and assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. In 1955, Baltimore was transferred to the Pacific Fleet two years after the Korean War. Clearly, the ship was nowhere near Korea during the three years of conflict there.{{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Salmon|title=Scorched Earth, Black Snow|publisher=Aurum|year=2012|page=41}}

The actual battle involved light cruiser {{USS|Juneau|CL-119|6}} as well as the Royal Navy's sloop {{HMS|Black Swan|L57|6}} and cruiser {{HMS|Jamaica|44|6}}. Together, they destroyed several (at least 3) North Korean torpedo boats without suffering losses or damage.

File:KoreanWar NK TB1.JPG|The North Korean propaganda poster proclaiming the sinking of USS Baltimore.

File:KoreanWar NK TB2.JPG|The North Korean torpedo boat, No. 21, that supposedly sunk the heavy cruiser Baltimore.

{{Portal|North Korea}}

• List of museums in North Korea
• War Memorial of Korea, Seoul, its South Korean counterpart

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=O|first=Hae Yon|title=Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum|year=2014|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|isbn=9789946011806}}
• {{cite book|title=The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum|year=1979|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=45917403}}

{{commons}}

• [https://dprk360.com/inside-north-korea/victorious-fatherland-liberation-war-museum/1269/ - Photos and 360 virtual tour] Quick tour of the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

{{Museums in North Korea}}

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Category:Military and war museums in North Korea

Category:Museums in Pyongyang

Category:Korean War memorials and cemeteries

Category:Museums established in 1974