In February 2001 the Siem Reap War Museum was built in partnership with the Ministry of National Defense on more than 2 hectares of land. In 2013 the name of the museum changed from Siem Reap War Museum into War Museum Cambodia. The museum covers the last three decades of the 20th century when the Khmer Rouge was active in Cambodia, making use of guides whom are war veterans who fought for the Cambodian army, the Khmer Rouge or the Vietnamese army.
There is a vast array of vehicles, artillery, weaponry and equipment on display, such as a Soviet T-54 main battle tank, a Chinese Shenyang F-6 fighter, a Soviet Mil Mi-8 helicopter and the Soviet D-44 85mm field-artillery gun. The collection on display was gathered since 1999 from provinces in which the most savage fighting of the Cambodian Civil War took place (Siem Reap and Odor Meanchey) and is a mix of Chinese, American and Soviet military hardware.
Competition from scrap dealers was not the only problem the museum faced as it gathered its collection: most of the war machines were very heavy and it was difficult to gain access into dense jungle and forest areas to remove the items. Before being used during the various conflicts that raged across Cambodia, some of the war machines have seen action during World War II. Among the collection there are also many various sorts and types of landmines and photographs from the defined period of time in Cambodia.
In this museum, visitors are allowed to hold small arms, from an M16 or an AK-47 (Kalashnikov), to machine guns like the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) or rocket launchers (all have been deactivated).
