WWII Tank Dragged From Bottom Of Lake Still Works
April 24th 2009 13:39
Mr Matasjarv recently 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 remote lake near Johvi, Estonia. At the depth of 7 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3-metre layer of peat.
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 in the summer of 1944, the tank was captured from the Soviet army and repainted with German insignia. It is suspected that during the retreat the tank was purposefully driven into the lake to conceal it.
Enthusiasts from Mr. Shedunov's club decided to attempt to pull the abandoned tank from its tomb under the boggy bank of the lake. The weight of the fully armed tank was around 30 tons, so the active force required to retrieve it was similar. Using a rented Komatsu D375A-2 bulldozer, the pulling operation began at 09:00 and was concluded at 15:00, with several technical breaks.
After the tank surfaced, it proved to be a Soviet-built T34/76-A, captured by the Germans in the course of the battle at Sinimaed(Blue Hills). 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. Incredibly, after a little tinkering, they were able to fire up the diesel engine, too!
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.
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