MLU FORUM - T34 recovered from russian river

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another russian recovery

Not real sure if this has been featured here before
Still an interesting read

Quote:

WWII Russian tank found with German markings after 62 years
WW II Buffs will find this interesting...Even after 62 years (and a little tinkering); they were able to fire up the Diesel Engine!

WWII Tank Found After 62 Years.

A Komatsu D375A-2 pulled an abandoned tank from its archival tomb under the bottom of a lake nearJohvi, 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 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 Borovkov the 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-ton 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.
People from the nearby village come to look how it would be done.
Komatsu D375A-2 is ready to go.
As far it has been known, after a small repair and service they were able to start its diesel engine.

They don't build 'em like they used to!

G'day All, Andrew I'm not sure whether it's been featured in this forum before, but it has been around for approx 2 years that I can recall, anyway it still makes you wonder whats still out there cheers mate Dennis :sheep:

Hi Dinty, its is intersting what maybe still out there... Here is a link to the recovery video.. Pretty impressive stuff. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhK1eXDAfgQ

recovery/ re-enactment

I found a reference also for another T-34-76 found in a small lake, it is: http://englishrussia.com/?p=892 . Also,on the same site, there is a link to a re-enactment of the St. Petersburgh seige/battle http://englishrussia.com/?p=1747 . The picture album of this seems like color photos as they would have appeared at the time, very realistic some of them.

Was anybody home?

I used to visit a website called the PKKA Page, managed by a fellow named Alexei Nikiforov. He used to post for a group of guys who did wreck recovery. One of their T-34's had crew remains inside, and all but one of the rounds. The remains were turnd over to a nearby Russian Army unit for full military honors.

Even if this is old news, it was news to me. Thanks for sharing it.

Bob

some recovery shots

I think it was full :D
of mud at least
It didnt mention occupants

another recovery

T34 recovered from russian river

this has probably done the rounds a million times over, my pal sent me it in an email.....what a truely awesome find !

Quote:

WW II Russian tank with German markings uncovered after 62 years. WW II 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 alll 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.

Preparing to pull it out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...carrot/2-1.jpg

People from the nearby village come to watch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...iecarrot/8.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...carrot/5-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...iecarrot/7.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...carrot/6-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...iecarrot/4.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...carrot/1-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...arrot/13-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...arrot/12-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ecarrot/10.jpg

Incredibly, after a few minor repairs, they were able to start its diesel engine

enjoy.......

Richie

Hi Richard,
This does the round every year or so, I was sent an article out of a Komatsu magazine about it, naturally lots of pics showing the Komatsu Dozers (2 I thought) dragging it out.
Always reads like they poured some fuel into it and drove away, however I beleive they had to cannabalise another engine and do some major work to get it running. Beleive there is UTube footage of it firing for the first time (much "Hi-Fiving" and yahoos), and its first drive (Turret not refitted).
Still one hell of a story
Rich.

Tiger tank recovered

Some talk and a few pictures getting around at the present talk of a Tiger tank being recovered from Latvia or estonia recently. It had possibly been destroyed/ or damaged by it's crew however during the war. The pictures I have seen only show parts.

The bystanders in those pix obviously never saw what happens when a tow rope snaps!

More rare early T34`s found

A Ukrainian friend forwarded me some You Tube videos of other T34/ 76 tanks being found.Unbelieveably,when they pulled this one out, the tracks still rolled and the ammo inside looked almost useable. These bogs are real time capsules,fantastic. I`m hoping they pull out another Tiger I someday.Here is the reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z65_jxq6IvQ&NR=1

Here is a link to a good video of an early T34 going through its paces with a good driver; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d03m2aZSnY This is probably a bog recovered one as when they find them they are usually in excellent condition. The mud in these bogs must be oily to preserve so well.I think there are at least 4 T34`s found so far, and someone is slowly rebuilding one from damaged pieces, a big job.

strangely, I haven`t seen anything on the BT tank recovered from the Neva a few years ago, which was shown in one of the old Convoy magazines.