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Old 24-04-2010, 08:38 AM   #1
numbskull
 
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Recovered 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 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3 metre layer of 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 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 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.
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"I Agree with everything you say really!" - John Cooke to Jon Fuller - 26-01-2013
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Old 24-04-2010, 08:39 AM   #2
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Old 24-04-2010, 11:13 AM   #3
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truely amazing
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Old 24-04-2010, 11:34 AM   #4
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Tanks for that !!!! Very interesting !!!
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Old 24-04-2010, 02:30 PM   #5
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Your next project for Scrapheap Challenge? Nah,it will never float.
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Old 24-04-2010, 03:29 PM   #6
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And they said the cheap and cheerful T34 would never last.
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Old 24-04-2010, 06:58 PM   #7
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cant believe the condition...even the paint and markings are in A1 order
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Old 25-04-2010, 08:44 AM   #8
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no rust

if this tank was in the mud with not much oxygen around then no real problem no oxydisation no rust dave
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Old 25-04-2010, 10:12 PM   #9
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truely amazing

Its nearly as old as you mate
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Old 26-04-2010, 07:37 AM   #10
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Wow!!
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Old 26-04-2010, 08:13 PM   #11
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I understand that when the Yanks left the UK they buried most of their kit, including jeeps & tanks, rather than take them home.
If this is true i don,t know why we never hear of any of their gear being dug up & restored
We went over to Normandy for the 50th aniversery of D Day. The yank veterans were there in force in restored shermans & jeeps in full uniform. It was a fantastic weekend & the french put on a great show but they had to ban the tanks from the villages because they were churning up the tarmac !.
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Old 26-04-2010, 09:37 PM   #12
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Its nearly as old as you mate
Thanks, and was thinking of letting you use the engine. . . .
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Old 27-04-2010, 08:23 AM   #13
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I was told there is a big very deep hole off the South Devon coast near us where a lot of US and British stuff has been dumped.
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Old 27-04-2010, 09:25 AM   #14
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I was told there is a big very deep hole off the South Devon coast near us where a lot of US and British stuff has been dumped.
Is that France?
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Old 27-04-2010, 12:20 PM   #15
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Is that France?
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Old 27-04-2010, 02:01 PM   #16
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First off I thought the title of this thread ( Recovered after 62 years ) was regarding our illustrious leader and some Phantom Illness , but then I realised what a cracking story it is

Their were 5 tanks sunk of Studland Bay Poole and a plane crashed into the sand bar, think I've banged me bottom on them a few times in the past
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Old 29-04-2010, 12:37 PM   #17
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Thanks, and was thinking of letting you use the engine. . . .

Ah, but Scott, you look so much better for your years my very good frined
you know it would make sense, I mean you wouldnt want it stood much longer would you
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Old 30-04-2010, 12:32 PM   #18
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Their were 5 tanks sunk of Studland Bay Poole and a plane crashed into the sand bar, think I've banged me bottom on them a few times in the
Never dived on them myself but here
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