Picture of the day

That'll teach 'em, leaving a tank laying around on a plinth...:)

I'm impressed - did they just fuel up, throw a battery in her and go?

Lot of T34's on plinths out there. Here's one in Minsk:

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Love the whitewalls. And another one, exhumed from a swamp in Estonia:

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Background story here: http://www.rense.com/general75/germ2.htm

And a period photo of one having a really bad day:

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The last T34s that I saw in use were dug in by the Syrians as static pillboxes along the route from the Golan heights to Damascus. This was in 1979. When I went back for another tour in 1987 they were gone. Old and broken down tanks are a signature mark of any Arab army, except for the Jordanians, and you can normally discount a pretty good percentage of their tank strength for these reasons. In the same timeframe the Israelis were also using Shermans as pillboxes to protect some of their more vulnerable kibbutzs.
 
WulffMaster said:
is that a T34 tank, and if so wow, nice! Where did you take/get the picture, cause it look's like it's still functional .
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No, it's not operational (no engine in it), we got it from CFB Edmonton and it was used as a prop for an exercice here in Wainwright. It's gonna end up as a museum piece in Calgary after it's restored. I'm going to deliver it in January and I get a private museum visit in exchange, can't wait.

The story goes that DND purchased six T-72 from Bosnia in the 90's and when they showed up at the port, this T-34 was included (buy six t-72, get one free T-34! :))
 
bellero said:
No, it's not operational (no engine in it), we got it from CFB Edmonton and it was used as a prop for an exercice here in Wainwright. It's gonna end up as a museum piece in Calgary after it's restored. I'm going to deliver it in January and I get a private museum visit in exchange, can't wait.

The story goes that DND purchased six T-72 from Bosnia in the 90's and when they showed up at the port, this T-34 was included (buy six t-72, get one free T-34! :))
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The Canadian government/CF received gifts of Ex-East German armour in the 1990s. T34,T54/55 and T72 tanks went to Borden, a BTR152 and BRDM2 went to Gagetown. A second batch of five T72M1 tanks came to Canada afterwards for Trials and Evaluations (Not museum vehicles) I had MUCH experiance with those tanks. These fives tanks where again ex E.German but made in the Czech Rep. I was also the very FIRST Canadian to ever fire the Leoard C1 at a T72 tank. A Battle engagement at 300M, three rounds in five seconds, this took place during the Leopard Mid Life Extension trials. Personally I thought the T72 was a good tank, cramped beyond belief and crude compared to the Leo but it was still a weapon system and did everything asked of it.
 
XRCD011 said:
The Canadian government/CF received gifts of Ex-East German armour in the 1990s. T34,T54/55 and T72 tanks went to Borden, a BTR152 and BRDM2 went to Gagetown. A second batch of five T72M1 tanks came to Canada afterwards for Trials and Evaluations (Not museum vehicles) I had MUCH experiance with those tanks. These fives tanks where again ex E.German but made in the Czech Rep. I was also the very FIRST Canadian to ever fire the Leoard C1 at a T72 tank. A Battle engagement at 300M, three rounds in five seconds, this took place during the Leopard Mid Life Extension trials. Personally I thought the T72 was a good tank, cramped beyond belief and crude compared to the Leo but it was still a weapon system and did everything asked of it.
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Thanks for the clarifications, I remember one of those T-72 ended up at 12 RBC in Valcartier, I know one of the guys that fixed and restored it back to full working order. He was Cpl back then, now MWO. Time flies and I don't know what happened to that tank.
 
DREV and DRES each received one tank each and Gagetown had first three then the DREV tank was sent to Gagetown about the time we shot one during the "upgunning" of the Leo C1 so it had the punch of a 120mm but was still a 105mm. The Germans had so much unwanted armour back then and was just giving it away so for the cost of shipping Canada "could" have all the vehicles to put together a super "Ops Force" but being the 1990s the CF was bankrupt and falling apart. The three tanks (we had all three running) where VERY popular as a mini enemy force for stuff like the Squardron Commanders Course or high end Dog and Ponys. The Germans after divesting themselves of whatever they could give away ended up crushing and shattering tank armour with a wreaking ball dropped from height. The museum in Borden did something stupid by painting HUGE T72-T34-T54/55 on the ex E.German tanks and a big red Soviet star on the T34. The German embassy went to see their gift and just about had a kitten at that stupid act, the museum in Gagetown painted there T72 in some groovy black and green cam job. Why museums have to do this stuff is beyond me. All the T72M1s where just basic gun tanks except the one that came from DREV which had been a mine roller tank (less roller). Manuals for the tanks where from the Foreign Material test Group in Aberdeen Proving Grounds and where for the Yugoslav M84AB which is a license built T72. Certainly an interesting job to take on and to do so with a zero budget one became very good at begging fuel to keep things rolling so doing field time with a course allowed me to keep diesel in them. Interestingly they came to Canada with stove oil in them. The T72 also came kitted with a great hand held electric pump. Bare in mind most homes in Europe are heated with stove oil, the doctrine was when the Warsaw Pact crosses the inner German border and makes the dash to the English Channel, tank formations could essentially "live off the land" fuel wise. If I was filthy stinking rich and I owned a HUGE piece of land I would buy a couple Czech T72s (way cheaper then one would think) and have a big rich mans toy or two. I better go buy some 649 tickets if I ever want that to happen.
Here is a T72M on Milweb, heap of fun at a great price http://www.milweb.net/webverts/61877/
 
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Since we're doing Christmas cards...

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Christmas at the Front – 1st Cdn Tank Battalion
Posted on December 3, 2013
This wonderful die-cut 1918 Christmas card was sent by one of the 92 officers that made up the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion in 1918. The officer, whose initials were either “I.H.J.” or “V.H.J.”, extended his best wishes for the season and thanked the recipient for the socks.

The officers, recruited entirely from Canadian Universities, and 716 men arrived in Britain aboard the S.S. Cassandra on June 21, 1918 and eventually made their way to the Imperial Tank Training Camp at Bovington in Dorset. The Battalion was preparing to leave for France when the Armistice was signed and so the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion never did see action on the Western Front. The majority of men, along with those from the 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion that had recently arrived from Canada, would remain in England until May 1919.
 
Can't be letting this get to the second page!

In remembrance of the Battle of Ortona (Dec 20-28 1943), I say we all sit down tomorrow night (Dec 24) and have a toast to the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade's Three Rivers Regiment. Those valiant men in battle 70 years ago, who left 1,375 of their friends behind.

Cheers boys.

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Canadian Sherman in the battle for Ortona

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Infantry from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and Tanks from the Three Rivers Regiment during the Battle for Ortona.

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Canadian rifleman, December 1943. Ortona, Italy.
 
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