WW2 Tank found.

[Hunter368]

I hope this has not been posted before, I could not find anything on it. This was passed onto me by a friend. I thought I would pass it onto you all to see if anyone had any more information on it. Some nice shots there.



Here's the full story:
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 north-eastern 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 organized 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 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 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 active 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 Narv.

[the lancaster kicks ass]

she looks in great condition and is even more interesting in the German markings i hope she's restored in her German markings, even more amazing how the tracks into the lake survived all that time.......

[Hunter368]

Originally Posted by the lancaster kicks ass

she looks in great condition and is even more interesting in the German markings i hope she's restored in her German markings, even more amazing how the tracks into the lake survived all that time.......

It has German and Russian markings. Well it is Russian writing on the turret. Very very good condition. I am guessing the Germans were very rushed to get it onto the front line and didn't even bother to paint over Russian writing.

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i think that's how she should be restored........

[Hunter368]

Originally Posted by the lancaster kicks ass

i think that's how she should be restored........

100% agreed

[R-2800]

wow that's awesome!!

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Amazing! Great condition! It seems like everything over there is found in good condition. The Fw-190 they found was emaculate. The cold maybe...

[Gnomey]

Perhaps, in this case I think it was the mud of the swamp it was found in. It is in great condition for sure for 60 years in the mud.

[Hunter368]

Originally Posted by Gnomey

Perhaps, in this case I think it was the mud of the swamp it was found in. It is in great condition for sure for 60 years in the mud.

Cold or mud it is amazing.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Moores have that effect on many things. They even preserve people. They have found bodies of people that were thousands of years old here in Germany and other parts of the world in moores that were perfectly preserved.

[lesofprimus]

Amazing stuff....

[Henk]

I have seen this in a clip where they pulled her from the marsh, it was on a Russian site and can not remmeber where it was. Sorry guys.

Did you guys notice the turret has been modified?

[timshatz]

Looks like it came off the production line last week. Really amazing condition.

[syscom3]

Its been posted a few times.

Myself one of them.

[comiso90]

Originally Posted by syscom3

Its been posted a few times.

Myself one of them.

I'm a new member... I'm glad it was posted again.

very cool. makes me want to take my scuba gear on a european vacation