Another WW2 Russian tank from bog
- Thread starter Steiner
- Start date
Thanks
Yes that's the one I had seen before...and here is how they found the location...as per your link.
QUOTE ''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.'' UNQUOTE
The most curious thing with this Russian T34 was the German markings on it!!!
Those videos are quite frustrating to watch... While it would be very cool to go out to find WWII relics on old battlefields, I would definitely take better care, both of myself and my finds.
For instance, the guys pulling that old landmine out of a bog... that's just asking for trouble. After all - 60 years *might* have corroded it to the point where it will no longer operate. However, just a few months ago, a collector in the US was killed when a Civil War shell he had found and was washing blew up killing him, demolishing his garage, and peppering his neighbor's houses with shrapnel (http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/02/20/Civil_war_buff_killed_by_blast/UPI-34151203495159/)...
Secondly, the way they treat their finds is shocking. Using a shovel to pry stuff out of the dirt, risking massive damage to the pieces along the way is irresponsible. At least they could take the time to free the piece from the dirt, rather than reef on it until it comes loose or breaks.
Finally, those Russians digging up the German grave looking for artifacts? That's not cool. If I were ever to come across a war grave, I would cover it up, and look elsewhere. I wouldn't haul the bones out of the dirt and pick out dogtags and the like. Somehow, I don't think they separated that pile of bones back into their respective gravesss and recovered them!
The bog areas they are searching for were travelways for millions of troops and thousands of tanks. A little metal detecting and one can likely find all sorts of things, not just big old tanks. Old WW2 Soviet battlefields are thick with artifacts, as the Soviets didn't really do much to "take care" of them after the war. They are only now being exhumed archeologically and cleaned up. The same goes for German gravesites, they haven't been treated well as someone just mentioned. Until recently the German government wasn't allowed to try to repatriate lost soldier's bodies and no German monuments were allowed to be erected. REcently, German and Finnish governments have been allowed to work to bring back WW2 dead.
They lost 8.5 million killed in action alone, so a few missing bog tanks were likely dozens. Metal detectors, word of mouth etc. I read one where an old Soviet tank was recovered a few years back from a lake because a farmboy at the time remembers seeing it go through the ice in WW2.
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Regardless of past politics (and I don't say this lightly) what those in the vid are doing is nothing more then grave robbing for profit.
One would hope the German authorities would get on this and try for a recovery for the sake of the descendants.
IMHO no fallen soldiers remains should be treated like this.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
There are many model building and military vehicle enthousiast forums. This is one I visit ( http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=73
) Bog recoveries are a big deal lately, as are Panzer IV pillboxes in Romania.
If you thought gun collecting was a passion, how about Jacques Littlefield in California who has the inventory to trade three and four vehicles for one that he wants. I think the Panther is in Kevin Wheatcroft's collection in UK.
) Bog recoveries are a big deal lately, as are Panzer IV pillboxes in Romania.
If you thought gun collecting was a passion, how about Jacques Littlefield in California who has the inventory to trade three and four vehicles for one that he wants. I think the Panther is in Kevin Wheatcroft's collection in UK.
I saw the same show and tend to agree .... That being said, if the Russians were to make looking for relics a public attraction, they would sure bring in a whole lot of genuine archaologists, history students, as well as amateur archaologists/history nutz in as tourists, and get cheap labor in the process .... Heck a whole lot of people out there would actually pay to get the opportunity to dig up an old battlefield ...
X3, I saw that show the other day also.
After watching those sorts of documentaries I often feel that Archeology was a missed calling of mine.
Also not to hijack the post to much, but out of curiosity I sent an email off to the German Consulate here in Canada with a link to that vid asking if there is any group or agency in Germany looking for remains such as these.
Fricken sweet!
I bet it would still work fine.
Yeah, it probably would. Here is a story about ammo from another T-34 in Latvia:
The amazing thing is that the mixture of motor oil and leaked diesel fuel had perfectly preserved the tanks and their working parts. And the ammunition, after cleaning, was able to be fired - several bursts of machine-gun fire were made using ammunition taken from the same tanks.
http://www.welcometowallyworld.com/...7/6/wwii-tanks-unearthed-and-driven-away.html
And to comment on the crushed shell casings. It would certainly not be from freezing, frost only goes down about 6 feet. These tanks weigh 30 or 40 tonnes and would sink much deeper into the soft bog (7+ meters?). Most likely it was the time (50+ years) of the hydraulic pressure at that depth.
It would not be caused by poor quality metal either, just the opposite, due to good quality of materials and manufacturing, these shells remained airtight and water tight long enough for the pressure to crush them at their weakest points, which seems to be where the brass was worked at the neck. You'll also notice the crushing seems to be uniform all around the casing, as you would expect from hydraulic pressure being appiled uniformly around the casing.
T34/85, turret of what looks like a T44, JS2, Mig 27 - What a playground!
