Posted on 11/16/2006 7:37:36 AM PST by pabianice
<{> 14 September 2000, a Komatsu D375A-2 pulled an abandoned tank from its archival tomb under the bottom 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, its a 27-tonne machine with a top speed of 53km/h.
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 tanks exterior.) On 19 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, abandoning 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 lakes 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 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3-metre layer of peat.
Enthusiasts from the club, under Mr Shedunovs leadership, decided to pull the tank out. In September 2000 they turned to Mr Aleksander Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva open pit of the stock company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the companys Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer. Currently used at the pit, the Komatsu dozer was manufactured in 1995, and has 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 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 tractive force required to retrieve it was similar. A main requirement for the 68-tonne dozer was to have enough weight to prevent shoe-slip 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 all 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 under way to fully restore the tank. It will be displayed at a war history museum that will be founded at the Gorodenko village on the left bank of the River Narva.
More Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
How cool is that?? Great pic, too!
I'm going to get me a peat bog for storage purposes. Things really seem to keep well in one.
It seems to be missing its machine guns.
Pretty neat!
In a little known battle of WWII - more men died than (for America) in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and the War on Terrorism combined...
Sounds like it was abandoned. The retreating Germans took the MGs and ran.
Submitted for your approval... a stormy night on
the Eastern Front during a blazing battle in the hell on
earth called World War II. A tank, lost in the haze
and soon to be lost for an eternity...in the Twilight Zone.
That must be one heck of a bulldozer to pull 27 tons of tank out of a peat bog!
If the Germans were operating it, they probably mounted their own stuff, then removed them before ditching. Ammo supplies for the Russian MG's might not have been available.
LOL! I like the embedded advertisements for the Komatsu bulldozer....
What a fascinating "mechanical marvel" story. I too would love to see the bulldozer in action pulling this historic tank from the mud. Talk about horsepower and torque!
~ Blue Jays ~
I thought I'd heard these were the best tanks of WWII. T 34's were to Panzers what Panzers were to Shermans. Can someone more knowledgeable confirm or deny?
Great pic-looks almost brand new.Is that a German iron cross(?)painted in white on the front?
If this is a Soviet tank, then why does it have German markings?
The Russian Front had the bloodiest battles of the war.
No kidding!
Germans used captured Soviet tanks in many battles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.