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
I wish they had left it be for future generations.
Be much cooler in 1,000 years.
I know there was a well preserved B-29 at the bottom of Lake Mead in NV. The fresh lack of marine life at that depth kept the aircraft, even the seat cushions, in great condition. This story, however, doesn't seem to fit the photos. According to the text, the tank was under 21 feet of water and 9 feet of peat. Was the lake drained?
Probably because the Germans took it from teh Soviets. Ammo and spare parts were probably easier to get for Soviet tanks than for German.
The Panthers were the best tank of WWII. T-34's were good (better than Shermans) but could not match 1 on 1 with a Panther (or Tiger) in any way (armor, firepower, etc). However - the Russians produced them in such numbers and deployed them in mass wave attacks that even losing the first couple (or more) to a Panther - they would get close enough and eventually destroy the German tanks...
T-34's were plentiful. When upgunned to the 85mm gun, they were very good but the Panthers had the edge.
I wonder how much of the weapons systems and supplies of the Africa Korps and the Allied Armies are preserved. Remember the lost B-24?
WOW, it's in such good shape except for a little rust.
major treadhead ping....way cool!
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/t-34.htm
That is cool. I googled the bulldozer. It's not near as big as I thought it would be.
Captured by the Germans, re-marked for their own use.
"I'm going to get me a peat bog for storage purposes. Things really seem to keep well in one."
Excellent! LOL
Maybe you and I can go into business renting them as Self- Storage facilities!
Sheesh... we wouldn't want to inconvenience you by actually requiring you to, oh, I don't know.... READ THE FREAKIN' ARTICLE!!!!
In my opinion, the Tiger was the best tank of WWII. The T-34 was a nasty suprise to the Germans when they first encountered it. The early version Panzer tanks had a hard time knocking it out, due to its thick, sloped armor. The T-34 had a great suspension designed by American Walter Christie and a powerful gun. The Tiger came along too late and in too few numbers to turn the tide. Its turret, manufactured by Krupps, was complex and needed a lot of scarce copper. Legend has it, a captured T-34 was taken to Germany for evaluation where it was deemed it would not pass German quality control standards.
The Germans were especially impressed with the 34s sloped armor and used it on the Tiger II.
The Russians eventually improved their tactics, and also began turning out T-34s in large numbers from their factory in the Urals. At Kursk, German tanks and T-34s (a `light' tank) were fighting very close to one another: a Tiger with its 88 cannon could destroy just about any enemy at range (Wittman in France, June-July, `44) while the T-34s had to get closer. IMHO the T34 was probably the best all-around tank of the war.
WOW! I understand the T-34 was designed by an American and could have been our main battle tank.
Neat.
Near here we have windover bog, a rare neutral ph bog, where 7000+ year old human remains have been recovered, with the brains still exisitng in the skull. Some of the oldest human dna recovered. They appear at the lastest analysis to be related to european dna from north central europe. somedbody got hear without crossing the siberian land bridge evidently.
Sounds like an advertisement for Komatsu equipment.
Comrades - We are now A SUPERPOWER!!!
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