Found German tank - Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite

HSFDChief600 · 12-11-2008, 02:17

I received an email a few months back with info about a tank found in Germany. Here is the email and pictures.

WWII Tank Found after 62 Years.

WWII Russian tank with German markings uncovered after 62 years. WWII
Buffs will find this interesting. Even after 62 years (and a little
tinkering),they were able to fire up the diesel engine!
A Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer pulled the abandoned tank from its tomb
under the boggy bank of a lake near Johvi, Estonia. The Soviet-built T34/76A
tank had been resting at the bottom of the lake for 56 years. According to
its specifications, it's a 27-ton machine with a top speed of 53km/hr.
From February to September 1944, heavy battles were fought in the narrow, 50 km-wide, Narva front in the northeastern part of Estonia. Over 100,000
men were killed and 300,000 men were wounded there. During battles in the
summer of 1944, the tank was captured from the Soviet army and used by
the German army. (This is the reason that there are German markings painted
on the tank's exterior.) On 19th September, 1944, German troops began an
organized retreat along the Narva front. It is suspected that the tank
was then purposefully driven into the lake to conceal it when its captors
left the area. At that time, a local boy walking by the lake, Kurtna Matasjarv,
noticed tank tracks leading into the lake but not coming out anywhere. For two
months he saw air bubbles emerging from the lake. This gave him reason
to believe that there must be an armored vehicle at the lake's bottom. A
few years ago, he told the story to the leader of the local war history
club, 'Otsing'. Together with other club members, Mr Igor Shedunov initiated
diving expeditions to the bottom of the lake about a year ago. At the
depth of 7 meters they discovered the tank resting under a 3 metre layerof
peat. Enthusiasts from the club, under Mr Shedunov's leadership, decided to
pull the tank out. In September of 2000 they turned to Mr Aleksander
Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva open pit company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the company's Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer. (Currently used at the pit, the
Komatsu dozer was manufactured in 1995, and has recorded 19,000
operating hours without major repairs.)
The pulling operation began at 09:00 and was concluded at 15:00, with
several technical breaks. The weight of the tank, combined with the
travel incline, made for a pulling operation that required significant muscle.
The D375A-2 handled the operation with power and style. The weight of the
fully-armed tank was around 30 tons, so the active force required to
retrieve it was similar. A main requirement for the 68-ton dozer was
to have enough weight to prevent slippage while moving up the hill.
After the tank surfaced, it turned out to be a 'trophy tank' that had
been captured by the German army in the course of the battle at Sinimaed
(Blue Hills) about six weeks before it was sunk in the lake. Altogether, 116
shells were found on board. Remarkably, the tank was in good condition, with NO RUST, and alll systems (except the engine) in working condition.
This is a very rare machine, especially considering that it fought both on the
Russian and the German sides. Plans are underway to fully restore the
tank. It will be displayed at a war history museum in the Gorodenko village
on the left bank of the River Narv. Preparing to pull it out.
People from the nearby village came to watch. Incredibly, after a few minor repairs, they were able to start its diesel engine.

Pretty amazing...

OPCOM · 12-11-2008, 02:28

nice.. would be interesting to see how the restorations goes..

alaskajeep · 12-11-2008, 03:39

Fish on!!!!!!

ARMYMAN30YearsPlus · 12-11-2008, 05:10

I saw this before and it is very incredible. I love the Russians for helping beat back the Nazi hordes and they paid a much greater human toll than we did.

Elwenil · 12-11-2008, 05:19

Yes this was posted at least a year or so ago. I haven't seen any updates on it's restoration though. Probably stuck in some bureaucratic red tape.

clinto · 12-11-2008, 08:32

WWII T34 found in a lake!

todds112 · 12-17-2008, 19:32

Restore? Heck, finish hosing it out and change the fluids. That's amazing the condition it's in! Wonder what else could be preserved in that lake?

bulldog_mack13 · 12-17-2008, 19:36

holy cow the markings look new. seems odd

I wanna find a tank

Mackfire68 · 12-17-2008, 21:06

I hope they check the rest of that lake, who knows what else they might find?

L1A1 · 12-17-2008, 21:21

This isn't the first T34 (or tank for that matter) that the Russians have recovered from a swamp/ lake etc. I'm beging to think that inland water ways were a popular spot to park their AFVs. Actually, they were a popular way of disposing of AFVs. There is a UK site, "the Virtual WW II battlefield museum" that has a lot of wreck recoveries like this one on it. Worth a look.
Regards,
Matt