**New Barn Find, you will not believe this**

[taskforceranger506]

I know this has nothing to do with this site...But some of you might enjoy some history from WW II. At the bottom of the page you must see the videos of this tank being pulled out and the ehgines fired up after some cleaning out.

WW-II Trophy tank

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 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 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.

Looking at the two tracked machines, the modern yellow Komatsu dozer is a reminder of how machine technologies have advanced, and the region's prospects of peace and prosperity have brightened.










Here are some videos of her coming out of her watery grave and the Videos have been thru our SECURITY FOR VIRUS AND PASS SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING. THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY.



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

http://www.diving.ee/articles/images/T34-2.mpg

http://www.diving.ee/articles/images/T34-3.mpg

[touchdowntodd]

Jesus Christ!

[taskforceranger506]

Where!!???!!!??? Lol.

[hudsoncustom]

Wow, that is the coolest fucking thing I have seen on here in a LONG time!!!

[Thirdyfivepickup]

wow. just, wow.

[SinisterCustom]

Pretty damn cool!
But 19,000 hrs on a Komatsu with no MAJOR repairs??? Hmmm....

[21tat]

Very cool story. Thanks.

[DoubleClutch]

neat story! Very cool! Thanks!

[Spark Plug]

that's freakin' cool!

[SnoDawg]

Way cool but that barn looks to be pretty wet...

Dawg

[Jeff Norwell]

That would make a helluva lawn ornament!!


wow...preserved history!

[Fidget]

Wow, heavy metal find!

[breeder]

thats so very kool!!!!!!! i found a old white wall stickin out of a gravel road an hour ago!!! not as kool

[Django]

I can't believe the shape it is in. With the paint all intact to boot!

[Lucky77]

WOW now that was cool! thanks for sharing

[mackster]

That was cool! wonder what kind o fengine? DUH! LOL...

[Carb-Otto]

Originally Posted by taskforceranger506

, and has 19,000 operating hours without major repairs.

In Estonia? When there are only Estonians and Russians using that bulldozer? Now THAT is truly amazing!
Nice story, though.

Quite unbelieveable is also that someone really found few years ago helicopter wreck from the jungle of Vietnam, and regonized that one of the dead bodys near it, was Larry Thorne. He was regonized, not by a DNA sample, but from his dental records. He had a dental crown on his tooth number 18. Nowadays he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

[pimpin paint]

Hey,

Quick damit! someone slap a H.A.M.B. decal on it.

Swankey Devils C.C.

[KoppaK]

Fuck my old boots that's incredible!!

[The37Kid]

Thanks for posting that! Hope you all clicked on the 3 vedio links. That must have some real cold water that preseved the tank all these years.

[wfopossum]

Cool! A water tank!

[jc]

I looked this story up and they showed additional pictures, one of the inside of the turret, the pedals were still shiny, I don't think a tank would have stayed under water for 56 yrs and still have shiny pedals........makes me wonder......

[Derek Mitchell]

Thats rad, I'm hoping to find my 32 that way.

[Steve Ray]

Amazing that it's wheels and tracks still turn after all these years too. I think it was preserved by the peat. National Geographic has pictures of mummified prehistoric human sacrifice victims dug from Scottish peat bogs that look like they were planted yesterday.

[Flatdog]

COOL BEANS Yea I am shouting on purpos.

[Tman]

Very Cool Piece Of History

[wedgeii1]

All i've got to say...


BULLSHIT!!!

No rust? good paint? what 56yr ;Bull shit

[DocsMachine]

When something rusts, it's not the water that does the rusting, it's the oxygen IN the water that does it.

Peat bogs typically have a very low acidity, and very low absorbed oxygen unless the water's flowing or regularly refreshed. And if it WAS flowing and refreshed, it'd be a pond, not a peat bog.

Peat is decayed/decaying plant matter- that decay tends to absorb most of the local oxygen, leaving little left over to oxidize anything that's more durable than soft plants.

It's probably also fairly temperate and cool there too, further reducing oxidation.

So there's no reason at all the tank couldn't have been in pretty decent shape. Keep in mind, when it says "no rust" I'm sure it doesn't mean "no trace of any rust, even light surface rust". It probably means that there was some rust, but it was relatively light surface rust- buit not enough to, say, freeze up the turret or whatever.

Doc.

[Zettle Bros.]

There was a story about a 50 Ford that dropped through the ice up by Madison WI in the early 60's and the two guys in it had dissappered without a trace. People figured that they went through the ice but weren't sure. They just pulled the car out this summer after a diver came upon it. It looked just like it did when it went in back in the early 60's. They said it was in such good shape because of the low oxygen levels in the water. Also seen a 1916 International tractor get pulled out of a quarry pond in Iowa in the early 90's. Looked pretty mint. The guys who were going to restore it waid the key then was to dry it out and clean it up as soon as possible or the air would ruin it rather quickly.

[LUX BLUE]

Nah- oxegen,peat? I don't think so.

that there is a lake of gibbs...or possibly molasses.

[HOTRODSURFER]

thanx!! way cool!!!

[Hackerbilt]

I read about a tank pulled from salt water by dragging it along the bottom a few years ago. It was rescued to be used as a memorial...might have been off a D-Day beach...can't remember.
Anyway...despite the extensive rust, the tracks broke loose and rolled, allowing for a much easier recovery than expected!!!

Gotta admit though...the Russian tank looks NEW!

Now...if we could only locate a peat bog full of Deuces! LoL

[Kevin Lee]

Originally Posted by wedgeii1

All i've got to say...


BULLSHIT!!!

No rust? good paint? what 56yr ;Bull shit

You're probably right. I'll bet they took a mint one out of someone's collection then drove it into that mess, shoveled it full, (check that last photo) then drug it out again so they could get these pictures. Definitely fake.

[Slate]

Cool! I saw some pics awhile back from a bog, a german tank in russia/ satellite state - diff than this one IIRC. Was in pristine condition. The site also had pics of dug up graves of mainly SS nazis by russians. That was creepy - skeltons with their insigina, etc. remaining!

[Brad S.]

That happened several years ago.

Since then that team has found several different tanks. What you don't see in those pictures are the Nazi markings on that T34. The germans captured that tank and along with many others formed T34 units. When retreating through that area they sunk many. The Russians are knocking themselves out trying to locate and recover these icons.

Here is a similar effort in Czechoslovakia.

LINK



Having had the pleasure of helping rebuild a T34, T55, several Shermans, and a few half tracks on top of other efforts....I don't regret not seeing these up close.

[taskforceranger506]

Originally Posted by DocsMachine

When something rusts, it's not the water that does the rusting, it's the oxygen IN the water that does it.

Peat bogs typically have a very low acidity, and very low absorbed oxygen unless the water's flowing or regularly refreshed. And if it WAS flowing and refreshed, it'd be a pond, not a peat bog.

Peat is decayed/decaying plant matter- that decay tends to absorb most of the local oxygen, leaving little left over to oxidize anything that's more durable than soft plants.

It's probably also fairly temperate and cool there too, further reducing oxidation.

So there's no reason at all the tank couldn't have been in pretty decent shape. Keep in mind, when it says "no rust" I'm sure it doesn't mean "no trace of any rust, even light surface rust". It probably means that there was some rust, but it was relatively light surface rust- buit not enough to, say, freeze up the turret or whatever.

Doc.

Well if some of these guys ever paid attention in basic Chemistry class they would know that the lack of oxygen in the water and the cold temps that are prevalent year round in this part of the world will entomb anything for yrs even perhaps hundreds of yrs. To be fair, though, it was in a peat bog. Peat bogs are anaerobic - they hermetically seal whatever gets trapped inside. The crews that found and pulled this Tank out of the muck also have unearthed a many German Soldiers who have flesh attached to their corpses. The uniforms of some of these guys are remarkably preserved. I did some time in Russia on a few tours and I'll tell you one thing if you want to make a race of people pissy all the time stick them in this part of the world. It's down right Colder than an Igloo full of Naked Eskimos. Estonia Climate in general, the best time to visit is May through September, when daytime temperatures average in the 70s F/20-25 C, with nights ranging 40-60 F/4-15 C. Despite its northern latitude, Estonia's climate is relatively mild because of its proximity to water. The coldest months are January and February, when temperatures are in the 20s F/-7 to -1 C, although they can drop to -20 F/-29 C. Even in summer, you should take along at least a sweater for the cool evenings. The yearly water temp on average there in Estonia averages around 50 degrees. So I believe this could happen and not so that some one would take a Tank of this caliber and sink her in the muck just to film a fake find...To much trouble no matter what you think of Russians and the like of this part of the world. This article came from a Russian we are well acquainted with and have even worked with in Kazakhstan in 2002 during our Battle with the Taliban. So he wouldn't bring me a bogus article. Anyway hope you all enjoy this as much as I have.

[Brad S.]

Here's the link to the rebuild after being pulled from the peat bog.

LINK

Watch the little video and then scroll down.

Just watched the video and I guess you can see the helmut markings.

[**MCQUEEN**]

Here's the link a website, more pics & videos.

Yes, it's peat. They find 1000 year old bodies every once in a while that are well preserved. It's natures perfect preservtive.

They also got it running, see last link @ website.

At any rate, yes that's a beautiful thing watching real deal history coming up out of the ground in perfect condition. I'd love to have been standing there to help and go over it for the first time.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2825290

http://www.diving.ee/video.php?f=t34.AVI
.
/

[taskforceranger506]

Originally Posted by Blacksix

Here's the link to the rebuild after being pulled from the peat bog.

LINK

Watch the little video and then scroll down.

Just watched the video and I guess you can see the helmut markings.

Blacksix,
Great link bro,..I can only imagine from afar what these guys went through during the WW II era of battle. What a era of combat and to see something like this tank extraction and the other artifacts that are being taken from the Battle Fields of that time only enhances my respect for that Generation of Warriors. Gods Speed. WOW.

[taskforceranger506]

Originally Posted by wedgeii1

All i've got to say...


BULLSHIT!!!

No rust? good paint? what 56yr ;Bull shit

Hey cheer up old man....Don't worry be Happy.

[LOST ANGEL]

Thanks to all you guys for the info. This stuff is totally amazing, and it's our history.-MIKE

[draggin ass]

damn, thats crazy stuff. i still wanan go dive the b-24 in the lake in cali! hell if i was rich that be the first thing id buy=)

[Oldsmobucket]

that thing is great, good video too.

[X--GASSER]

awesome thread, thanks for sharing.