"Near-pristine T-34 pulled from lake (pics)" Topic

Turns out it was captured by the Germans, too.

link

Thanks for the link.

I hope they get the engine running.

wow. i wish the germans retreated through my fishing hole in upstate ny! :)

Well I for one am very glad the Germans did not retreat through upstate NY LOL

Cool. Looks like it still has Russian slogans on the side of the turret.

This really is excellent….a model in 15mm would look good
Martin

Does anyone know what the numbers on the turret denote? They look like they are a cast part of the turret that read '2933' or something like that. They're most clearly shown in picture #7. Batch number? Factory ID? What are those things for?

Thanks for the link! A great article and great pictures, holy cow!

Note that this is not a "T34/76A" as reported in the article, but one of the last models, with the hex turret and cupola.

I think a diorama of this might be interesting for a change. Maybe even a double diorama: 1944 and sixtysomething years later.

I wonder why the Russians never thought of writing German slogans on the turrets. Maybe even jokes (rf: funniest joke in the world), so the enemy gunner would pause for a few seconds to read the joke which would give their opponents time to return fire.

Funniest joke in the world:

Q: What's brown and sticky?
A: A stick.

w.

Great news!

Great story…I wonder if we have any of those in the East River…

Wow! That's an interesting article, and photos. I'd love to be part of something like that… imagine, how exciting that must have been for those people involved in unearthing the tank, and only to find-out it had last seen service as a captured vehicle among the ranks of the retreating Germans… cool!

Trust an article writer to botch the model type. Ugh.
I wish these folks would do more research.

Cool find though and it was used by both sides as well.

I bet it runs like a dream once its been cleaned up a bit.

Tony
occultwars.com

Judging by how deep in the peat it was, I'm guessing it's pristine. What a find! I hope some museum gets their hands on it.

Don.

I remember that in 1985, when the 40-year anniversary of the end of the was commemorated, I saw the parade in Moscow. There was a pristine company of late model T-34s, in parade livery (the white edged fenders, etc.) and a bunch of grinning tank commanders saluting out of the hatch.

I wonder what happened to *them*. I wonder if they still exist, if they still run, and if they are available for film work.

Although if this one runs, it looks like a star might be born!

"Great story…I wonder if we have any of those in the East River…"

Going from memory here. Not the East River, but I read a story a couple of years ago about a tank museum in southern Virginia that has a Sherman dozer tank they found on the grounds of an insane asylum. It had been used during or just after the war as a bull dozer and when it became redundant, they just used it to dig a hole and buried it. Can't remember the name of the museum.

Keep in mind that this was six years ago. I'm pretty sure that I've seen photos of the fully restored, running vehicle floating around the net somewhere. And for those who haven't seen it, here's a great recovery of a KV-I:
opensea.tv/kv

Wow…almost unbelievable. How could the German markings, which were most likely huredley applied with ad hoc paint, not have disintegrated in the water? Amazing.

Terrific article. Many thanks for the link! It looks amazing considering where it's been all these years.

If this hunk of steel can be so well preserved for sixty years in an airless mud, it makes me wonder if it could be preserved for six hundred years, six thousand?

they just used it to dig a hole and buried it.

The insanity!

Don:

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.

So that'll be a little detour to Gorodenko next time in Estonia!

Years ago someone told me that the Russians had sold elements of a Panzer Battalion (and the regular variety of vehicles) which they had in moth balls. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

You know, all the loaded freight of Lend Lease war cargo carried by ships that were sunk on the Murmansk run are still down there at the bottom of the frigid northern ocean. I'm sure most of the ships broke up from torpedo impact and damage, but still… In cold, deep water I imagine the tanks and trucks must have have lasted very well.

Years from now, we can recover what must be hundreds of tanks.

Not too likely. Look how badly the Titanic has rusted. Just because the water's cold (and it's not that cold, the Gulf Stream reaches up there), doesn't mean that there's much left of the vehicles.

"Going from memory here. Not the East River, but I read a story a couple of years ago about a tank museum in southern Virginia that has a Sherman dozer tank they found on the grounds of an insane asylum. It had been used during or just after the war as a bull dozer and when it became redundant, they just used it to dig a hole and buried it. Can't remember the name of the museum."

You are refering to the American Armoured Foundation
Tank Museum in Danville, VA. I was there for the opening back in 2003, not a bad museum, they still had a bit to do, and more plans underway link . Of course, they did used to be in NY. There is also the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles in Aden, VA, which is near Manassas. They have an open house every year that is open to the public free of charge. vmmv.org

Sandy
reccepln10para.net

"Not too likely. Look how badly the Titanic has rusted. Just because the water's cold (and it's not that cold, the Gulf Stream reaches up there), doesn't mean that there's much left of the vehicles."

The Titanic however is not just in cold water, but cold sea water, where the salt content is very corrosive to iron. Yet the bronze ships bell is still very well preserved, as is quite a bit of the wood. Cold fresh water however has a much slower oxidation process, and even slower if (as in the case of the T-34) the vehicle is encased in mud, or peat.

Sandy
reccepln10para.net

The Sherman was found at Pilgrim state Hospital on L.I. by the gentleman who ran the Armor museum here on LI on Love lane in Matituck. He moved all to Virginia a few years ago,( our loss.)The dozer was a surplus Sherman and used to move sand around until it died so they shoved it in a hole and buried it on the grounds in the late 50's I believe

Is it me, or was the commentary more interested in the tractor that pulled the tank out than the actual T34 ?

"There is also the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles in Aden, VA, which is near Manassas. They have an open house every year that is open to the public free of charge. vmmv.org"

Is this museum open to the public at times other than when they are holding their open house? I couldn't find any info on their web site about location, hours, etc.

Watched a documentary not too long back and there was T-34 at an USA museum that had only been serviced since it took part in the war and it still ran perfectly…..

JUST SERVICED…

nothing else…

Wow

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