German Tank anyone?

[Eric 951]

http://voffka.com/archives/2006/09/18/029962.html

[masraum]

Interesting. I wonder what the story is. I wouldn't think that's a modern sinking, but I didn't see any rust or anything to indicate that it'd been down there long.

[Jims5543]

Translation per Babel Fish

Babel Fish Translation Help

In English:
In the summer of 1944, into Myaatas lake, stepping back namtsy threw out captured Soviet tank T -34. Thus they hid "ends into the water", but Igor sedunov found it and organzoval the lift of this tank. The scuba divers of clubs "search" and "ikhtiandr" almost three weeks eroded the six-meter layer of peat and silt covered T -34. Tank lay on depth 9 it was meter. They reached tank as a result.

[charleskieffner]

holy ned do you know what that is worth???? of course there is little rust, the mud disallowed any corrosion let alone cold water. wow! wish someone could translate. how did it get there. was it left there and then water/snowmelt covered it! incredible find. majority were either destroyed in battle, left on field then destroyed by allies, or after war they were all destroyed to avoid nazi resurgence. why would russians sink a tank? to use it later? to avoid nazi atrocities connected to having it nearby????? what a mystery. too bad it wasnt a konigstiger!!!!

[Par911]

Wow cool stuff!!

[competentone]

Interesting!

Looking at the trees, it is clear it is a very young forest. None of those trees were there in 1945. (All look to be less than 10-15 years old.) I wonder if it was a wooded area during WW2 or if it was open fields?

It sure would be interesting if someone can get that translated. The location would be interesting to know too; one could correlate it with WW2 events in that area.

[cashflyer]

Six years ago this month, on 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 stock company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the company's Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer.

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 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.

Above text originally from the "Komatsu Times"
Found here then cut, edited, and pasted.

http://www.diving.ee/articles/images/T34-1.mpg

The latest news about T-34.
Have successfully started the diesel engine not replacing any spare part.
Have replaced only bearings on skating rolls.
Assembly of the tank will soon come to the end and it will be ready to trial runs.
It is planned in the following season to carry on tourists and to show it as a working exhibit of our museum.

The detailed information about T-34.
Germans have driven this tank in lake when fuel was terminated at deviation in 1944. It laid on depth of 12 meters. Above it there were 6 meters of peat and silt. During two weeks divers of club washed away silt above the tank. Any traces of solar oil or oil on water was not. Has found the tank Igor Sedunov on memoirs of local residents. A technical condition of the tank ideal. Fuel in tanks was not, and oil did not leave the engine.

Above from http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html
Much more there.

[304065]

Of course that is not a German tank per se, but rather a captured Russian T-34.

The translation is accurate. Ya znayou Russki Yazik.

[Superman]

Pretty impressive that this thing was successfully dragged out of the muck and up a steep bank by a dozer. That's some dozer!

[fastpat]

Originally posted by cashflyer
Six years ago this month, on 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 stock company AS Eesti Polevkivi, to rent the company's Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer.

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 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.

Above text originally from the "Komatsu Times"
Found here then cut, edited, and pasted.

http://www.diving.ee/articles/images/T34-1.mpg

The latest news about T-34.
Have successfully started the diesel engine not replacing any spare part.
Have replaced only bearings on skating rolls.
Assembly of the tank will soon come to the end and it will be ready to trial runs.
It is planned in the following season to carry on tourists and to show it as a working exhibit of our museum.

The detailed information about T-34.
Germans have driven this tank in lake when fuel was terminated at deviation in 1944. It laid on depth of 12 meters. Above it there were 6 meters of peat and silt. During two weeks divers of club washed away silt above the tank. Any traces of solar oil or oil on water was not. Has found the tank Igor Sedunov on memoirs of local residents. A technical condition of the tank ideal. Fuel in tanks was not, and oil did not leave the engine.

Above from http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html
Much more there.

Great story, the T-343 was better than anything the German's fielded.

As an aside, 75% of the combat in World War Two, european theater, was waged on the eastern front.

[kaisen]

Originally posted by Superman
Pretty impressive that this thing was successfully dragged out of the muck and up a steep bank by a dozer. That's some dozer!

E

[competentone]

Originally posted by cashflyer
Above from http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html
Much more there.

Great stuff, the video of them pulling it out from the site above:

http://www.diving.ee/video.php?f=T34-1.mpg

[hytem]

Great story and pics. The T34 was probably the best all-around tank of WWII. A captured one with German markings so well preserved is very unusual, to say the least.

[charleskieffner]

click on panzer tanks and there are some way cool sites. battle of kursk was a tank slug fest like no other. this is one neat discovery. kinda like the p-38 found under the ice a few years back. if that tank could talk!

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Originally posted by Superman
Pretty impressive that this thing was successfully dragged out of the muck and up a steep bank by a dozer. That's some dozer!

Don't forget this guy, He was digging it out too.

[snowman]

The comparason of a modern machine to one of the best 70 year old machines is remarkable. Just think how a modern tank, much more powerful than the bulldozer is. Like comparing a GT to a 356.

[Jims5543]

Thanks for the good laugh. Now I have to clean the coffee off my monitor.

Originally posted by Bob's Flat-Six
Don't forget this guy, He was digging it out too.