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Regifted Russian Tank recovered; German when drowned
Topic Started: Dec 30 2006, 11:03 AM (170 Views)
Condor
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Story
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Toothless Dawg
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AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! smiley-10-sign
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meangene
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That is a cool story.
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Almtnman
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Seemed to be in very good condition to be under water for 56 years.
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Toothless Dawg
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Agree with that!!! Story sez all parts, other than the engine, are still functioning. Unbelievable
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bsb006
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That is so cool!!!
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Hick
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Toothless Dawg,Dec 30 2006
12:54 PM
Agree with that!!! Story sez all parts, other than the engine, are still functioning. Unbelievable

A little further down hte page and you will see this:

Quote:
 
As far it has been known, after a small repair and service they were able to start it’s diesel engine.
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greatwhiteelkhunter
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Condor,Dec 30 2006
10:03 AM

I can't read this artical can you post here? Damn web page is restricted.
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countrymouse
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Quote:
 
I can't read this artical can you post here? Damn web page is restricted.


gary, try this:

WW-II Trophy tank

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, it’s 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 tank’s exterior.) On 19 September 1944, German troops began an organised 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 armoured 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 2000 they turned to Mr Aleksander Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva open pit of the stock 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 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.

Looking at the two tracked machines, the modern yellow Komatsu dozer is a reminder of how machine technologies have advanced, and the region’s prospects of peace and prosperity have brightened.

As far it has been known, after a small repair and service they were able to start it’s diesel engine.



Here is the video footage of the event:

part 1


part 2


part 3

Photos: Me elis Mitt, Estonia
Some text: Komatsu Times, 2000

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greatwhiteelkhunter
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countrymouse,Dec 31 2006
06:48 AM
Quote:
 
I can't read this artical can you post here? Damn web page is restricted.


gary, try this:

WW-II Trophy tank

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, it’s 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 tank’s exterior.) On 19 September 1944, German troops began an organised 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 armoured 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 2000 they turned to Mr Aleksander Borovkovthe, manager of the Narva open pit of the stock 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 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.

Looking at the two tracked machines, the modern yellow Komatsu dozer is a reminder of how machine technologies have advanced, and the region’s prospects of peace and prosperity have brightened.

As far it has been known, after a small repair and service they were able to start it’s diesel engine.



Here is the video footage of the event:

part 1


part 2


part 3

Photos: Me elis Mitt, Estonia
Some text: Komatsu Times, 2000

Thank you very much!! Very cool story!!!!!!!!!!!
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meangene
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I was reading further down and they say the reason why it did not rust was due to the peat that was covering it. Peat has a very low oxygen environment which helped to preserve the tank in near perfect condition.
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greatwhiteelkhunter
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I don't know if any of you are interested BUT I got an email today with about 12 pictures of this tank and the recovery of this tank by email. These are not pictures you would see in a news paper these are some a person at the scene took. If you're interested in seeing them let me now and I'll email you the pictures.
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Condor
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I'm interested. Are they different from the ones in the site. I notice that the site has videos now.
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meangene
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Send them to me 2.
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Carolina Sue
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Gary, I would be interested in seeing these pictures too! :bf2:

Awesome story! :bf2:
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greatwhiteelkhunter
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Carolina Sue,Jan 13 2007
11:08 AM
Gary, I would be interested in seeing these pictures too! :bf2:

Awesome story! :bf2:

OK I'll email them to you in a little bit :)
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