Posted on 02/26/2012 4:27:11 PM PST by DogByte6RER
7 Most Incredible Tank Graveyards on Earth
In certain corners of the globe you'll find the strangest of military cemeteries – places filled not with the bodies of fallen troops but littered with the carcasses of abandoned tanks. These once-formidable weapons of war no longer strike fear into the hearts of opposing forces; their days of rolling inexorably onwards on the teeth of steel tracks are over. Now, the armor of these behemoths is rusting and corroded, their hatches all but sealed from lack of use, and their controls never again to be manned by commanders in battle.
WWII tank graveyard in overgrowth near an abandoned Russian military base
If looking down the barrel of a gun is an unpleasant experience, then staring into the gigantic cylinder of a tank’s cannon must surely magnify the sense of menace tenfold – especially if there is any uncertainty as to whether the weapon is still able to fire its deadly projectile. Braving heat, cacti and other hazards, the urban explorers whose images we have collected have taken some amazing shots of tank graveyards from around the world.
The ‘60s slogan of ‘make love not war’ instantly springs to mind when looking at this cross-section of vehicular cemeteries, located everywhere from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Laos, to Germany, Kuwait and Iraq. Once a war is over, decommissioned and defunct tanks are often simply left to rust and rot. Wrecked or simply forsaken, they stand as sinister reminders of more turbulent times.
(Excerpt) Read more at environmentalgraffiti.com ...
Actually I think most of the armor has been moved to a museum at Fort Benning, and all that is left at Fort Knox is the Patton memorabilia.
http://www.armorcavalrymuseum.org/News-Update.html
http://www.military.com/military-report/new-armor-and-cavalry-museum
Looks like the armor has been moved to Benning, but the new museum is still under construction?
Speaking of Patton, his official museum is at Ft. Knox in Kentucky. It’s a real blast, forgive the pun. Only Royal King Tiger I’ve ever seen BTW
Hell yes. Convert them to safe pads for the homeless.
Good post. Reminds me of when I drove by TACOM, in Warren, MI. every day on my way to work at Chrysler. BTW, the Sherman tank was built by Chrysler, and the modern day tanks are built by General Dynamics, in and around Sterling Heights, MI. They didn’t call Detroit the arsenal of democracy for nothing. I guess it’s a pride thing, as in “you want to mess with us? Bring it on ‘cause we build all of the best bad-ass toys to take you out”.
I hope you repaired it with the help of duct tape! That works for everything. After you buff it out and repaint it looks like new!
How was the workmanship in the vehicle? The Czechs had some pretty unkind words to say about those things and were glad to get some T-72s to replace ‘em.
>> This really does look like a cemetery, with the half-interred remains all too visible.
The pictures are cool.
The verbiage accompanying them is idiotic crap.
e.g. “This really does look like a cemetery, with the half-interred remains all too visible.”
Really? When were YOU last in a cemetary with the half-interred remains visible?
What are the old rusting carcasses of Russian tanks doing in Laos? Well, where there’s a tank, there was a war. Laos got dragged into the Vietnam War (1955- 1975) and paid dearly for it. A significant portion of the war was fought on Laotian territory, and Laos is actually reckoned to be most bombed nation on Earth. A fact that’s hard to fathom, reported by The Guardian, is that “Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bombload every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973.” Truly a statistic that quantifies the utter madness of the conflict.
This is the tagline from one of the photos referencing the tank graveyard in Laos. If my math is correct, this would total 11,340 B-52 sorties. Since, there were only 2,500 B-52 sorties flown in support of the siege at Khe Sahn I am absolutely astounded at this assertion. Any of you Vietnam vets want to vouch or question the statement above?
According to the American War Library only 84,000 B-52 missions were flown between 1965-1971.
What do you think Zot?
Thanks,
TS
The workmanship was ... bad.
Years later, I asked a russian, How could you stand the Soviet Union?
“When your breakfast ration includes 450ml of Vodka, you can stand anything.”
I was attending school in Aberdeen Proving Grounds Md where the avenue leading to the main gate is a divided highway and at the time in the median there was the “Mile of Tanks” of U.S. armored vehicles from several wars and then on main post there was a huge yard of mostly WWII German vehicles and 88mm guns and tanks.
The APG post museum had a small arms collection to die for. Then the curator informed me that what was displayed represented about one fifth of the total on hand. Geez!
The Patton Museum is impressive now but in 1977 I got to handle a bunch of machine guns in the arms room. It’s eerie to look at the sedan in which Patton was mortally injured. Look closely underneath and the frame is still bent.
Seeing Patton’s revolvers (the Colt SAA and the S&W .357) is almost a religious experience.
A ludicrous statistic, even for the Guardian.
For just a wide spot in the road, Bouse has one hell of a firing range open to the public for shooting.
For just a wide spot in the road, Bouse has one hell of a firing range open to the public for shooting.
That statement from the Guardian pegged my bullshit meter.
You have to wonder why the Chinese are buying all of our scrap metal when they have so much so close to them.
Yep. Thanks for doing the arithmetic that shows my bullshit meter is well-calibrated.
The Guardian is a British marxist publication, like its late US counterpart. It is know for its’ anti-Americanism, and when it comes to Vietnam/Laos, you can’t trust anything that they wrote.
This statement is not only ridiculous, it is physically impossible, but the truth and reality never stopped the Guardian from its pro-Hanoi propaganda.
“Laos is actually reckoned to be most bombed nation on Earth”
Laos? I could see Vietnam or Cambodia, but Laos???
You bet! Tracks? Don’t worry we got tracks ‘n’ ammo too! Bring your old T-55 or BMP on down and you can trade it in for a slightly used T-72. No credit? No problem! We have zero % financing too!
A result of the route of the Ho Chi Minh trail, and our efforts to interdict that supply route and support Royal Laotian forces against the PAVN and Pathet Lao.
Suffice to say, the net result of operations "Barrel Roll" and "Steel Tiger" was that upon Laos was bestowed the dubious distinction of being the most heavily bombed nation on the planet.
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