Brennon

This is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time! On September 14 2000, a Komatsu dozer pulled an abandoned tank from its archival tomb under the bottom of a lake near Johvi, Estonia. The Soviet-built T34 tank had been resting at the bottom of the lake for 56 years. It was found that oil was still in the tank, and the Estonian war history club members successfully started the engine. Check out the article here complete with pictures and videos!

http://www.mil.hiiumaa.ee/2000_09_14_kurtna_T-34-36/

Anon

Heh, check out the Nazi cross on it, it was a captured tank they found.

Cool man.

TopHatter

Nice article, glad to see you made here to the WAB

sappersgt

My first idea was it fell through the ice during winter operations. The supporting story says otherwise.

Dreadnought

Awesome find

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gunnut

Nice find. Now it needs a good loving home and throngs of visitors.

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sappersgt

Probably was almost out of fuel and was run into the lake to avoid it's recapture. I didn't think they had that much ready ammunition on board. I guess that's the difference between the 76mm vs 85mm gun.

Natte

Wow, imo it´s quite amazing that it still runs

Bluesman

You know, if that old fella had died or just not mentioned that event from the many years before...this treasure would still be buried, and would've remained there for all time.

How many more things like this remain to be found? How many more will NEVER be found?

I read about an American that was backpacking through Europe in the 'Sixties, staying at youth hostels or wherever, just bumming around for a summer. He was going through the area that was the center of the huge Huertgen Forest battles, and was WAAAAAAAY out in the boondocks (even Germany had such areas in the 'Sixties) when he came across an old barn, so long neglected that it had a definite 'lean' to it. But the roof looked good enough to shelter in for a night. No other buildings anywhere close. His choice was here or under a tree.

As he swung open the door...he saw a tank. It was a perfectly-preserved Tiger I Ausf. E, and it had been under cover since the end of the war. Paint was perfect, ammo in place, everything but the rubber pieces absolutely intact and factory-fresh. It was researched, one of it's old crew was found and contacted, and he said that with fuel running out, they found a place to bed it down...and walked away. It was never discovered until twenty years later.

It's in a museum somewhere now. When the hiker's salvage bid failed, the German government took it and placed it on display.

Somebody should see if they can find out the disposition of it. I'd be interested if we can find it on the 'Net.

__________________
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell

Bluesman

Well, I found this site that has a list of surviving Tigers, but the one whose story I read so long ago ('Seventies) isn't there.

Hmmm...I wonder if another tank (aren't all German tanks in WWII 'Tigers'?) was mistaken as a Tiger.

TopHatter

Yup, just like every German field gun was an "88".

Anon

And every fighter an Me262...

leib10

And every machine gun an MG42...

Kinda funny pattern emerging.

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Tronic

If every German tank had been a Tiger... well... lets just say, their armoured divisions would have been invincible...

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YellowFever

Man, say what you will about russian weapons but they do build them rugged.

Acording to Col. David Hackworth, during the vietnam war, more than a few American GIs (he stated way too many) died in "Indian Country" due to the fact that the M-16 was a delicate "piece of sh*t" that jammmed easily while the AK-47 could be buried in mud for up to years and still fire as soon as you brush away the mud with your hands.

Is this plausible?