WWII Russian tank with German markings uncovered after 62 years. WWII 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.)
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 meter they discovered the tank resting under a 3 meter 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 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 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.
A special thanks to Steve Findlay for forwarding this article.
Need new or replacement parts for your WWII Jeep? Visit www.kaiserwillys.com
[…] 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 meter they discovered the tank resting under a 3 meter layer of peat. Enthusiasts from the club, under Mr. Shedunov’s leadership, decided to pull the tank out…..Read more […]
Amazing find! This is really cool – and something I’d definitely plan to visit if I ever make it out to Estonia.
😉
Tank Fan 21 must not be as much of a tank fan, though, to refer to “the standard gasoline tank engine” for this model; as almost every WWII tank aficionado knows, the T-34 series (indeed, MOST Russian WWII tanks) were diesel-powered, an immense advantage in the Russian winter climate.
Very good story. Fantastic to see such a perfectly preserved historic vehicle.
I suspect the line about “Even after 62 years (and a little tinkering), they were able to fire up the Diesel engine!” may be a large understatement.
It is wonderful to hear the engine was made functional but I suspect that just like any other submerged engine the little tinkering would need to include a complete cylinder cleanout, draining and re-lubrication, probably re-gasketing and head bolt re-torquing.
Forr a single startup risking catestrophic damage to their new prize engine they could have cheated by just dropped the armored oil pan and hosing out the cyclinders with pressurized oil through the spark plug holes (glow plug holes if it truely was a diesel and not the standard gasoline tank engine).
In short a great deal of careful work more closely resembling a “major overhaul just short of engine removal” than a little tinkering but really rewarding to hear the roar.
Again very good story.
The mud did a great job preserving the tank!
if you like this check out world of tanks
Hi all,
Entire Eastern Europe is full of WW2 military relics! I am from Poland and as a kid I used to go on my bike to German bunkers near Bialystok to look for anything from the war. I found old artillery shells, read german markings on the base of huge artillery cannons made by Krupp, crawl inside gun turrets, or inspect bullet holes on the entrance to these bunkers. I didn’t even had a metal detector. It’s still all there! The best thing is the bunkers are on a field where nobody watches it and there is free access to it! All you need is flashlight. If anyone needs exact location reply to my post.
RUSSIANS
but can i haz tank now
[…] The M5 wasn’t the only tank to undergo a multi-decade long subterranean slumber. In September of 2000, a Russian tank captured by the Germans in 1944 was pulled from the boggy bank of a lake near Johvi, Estonia. The 27 ton beast had rested there for 62 years. […]
I have a hard time finding used M38 parts above a lake! Would’ve give anything to have been there when they pulled it out. Being able to witness it plus checking out the local war history, would beat any old stinking cruise vacation.
this is amazing and to get it running what else maybe in that lake they should start checking other lakes where the war was fought this story should be on motorweek wow maybe on utube
Woah, that’s amazing. I’m curious about it’s story, like how much it fought, who used it, their stories, etica.
amazing !!!!
these tanks are such great machines, i have had the honor of working on one of these and i have to say they are the easiest and most fun vehicles to work on and drive, kudos to these guys for rescuing another piece of history that may have been simply forgotton or destroyed.
What an incredible find.
The key to the great shape the tank was in i.e. no rust was due to the 3 meter layer of peat on it; it’s an oxygen free environment. The stuff does a good job mummifying bodies as well.
[…] think it is amazing after 62 years they pulled it out of a lake and got it running after a while WWII Russian Tank is found after 62 years in the mud! I doubt you will be able to do that with a modern MBT with all the electronic […]
Wow, cool! Can I has Da tank please?
Greatings, Todo dinбmica y muy positiva! 🙂
[url=http://www.long4free.com/]Garretot[/url]
Very interesting! Finds like that are not too unusual. I grew up at the German-/French border in an area where the frontline at the Siegfried line didn’t move much from Sep ’44 until March ’45. Just imagine what our toys have been ;-). Approx 20 years ago a complete 8.8 AA gun on trailer was recovered in our village from under the mainroad, now restored and on display at the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung of the German Army in Coblenz. If you visit Germany and you are interested in old tanks, please visit
– Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung in Coblenz
– Auto und Technikmuseum Speyer
– Tank Museum of the German Army in Munster (!!!)
And of course don’t forget Belgium and Luxembourg for all those Museums of the Battle of the Bulge
Amazing, nothin like vintage to fire up after 62 years of being buried at the bottom of a lake.
That is awesome! I can’t believe how good of shape that thing is in.
Wow! What an amazing find. The fact that they were able to get it restarted after being submerged is incredible. A true piece of living history!
this is part of histery, and should be shared with everyone . do your best to get your story out to everyone you can. good luck spreading the story of this and try and findw out more about what it was doing in the area.
Amazing that the tank is in that shape. Of course in that part of the world it’s more freezing than warm so that helped preserve it.
Keep me posted on the progress of the rehab of this tank. Thanks.
Vince Lewis did an awesome job on this story!! His site has more stories to about old lost and found tanks etc.
Happy Easter.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jake Bayless. Jake Bayless said: Neato! WWII tank found under 7 meters of water & 3 meters of peat in a lake. Engine started: http://bit.ly/9lX9MC […]
Enjoyed the story and the pictures. Awesom
I would have loved to be there when it first begain to pull out of the mud for the first time in 40 plus
years.
A great find! I wonder how many others are out there!
Stuff like this is part of our history and should be presevered.
man that’s awesome! i love WWII history
I know where another one is i touched as a kid diving touching the main gun and the tower also found a hispanic suiza aircraft gun from the swiss army is this from interest?
I wonder just how many military or other things are out there to be found. this tank is a great find.
I love it. Man that would have been great to see in person.
That’s pretty cool! When I get done with my CJ3A, I’d like to find a GPW to restore. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find one at the bottem of a lake!
That was awesome I wish I could have been there— wow–being a heavy equipment mechanic and tractor restorer it makes me very excited —(big smile):) Larry
[…] OT Vehicle recovery Well it's not a Wrangler, but a story off roaders would appreciate. Soviet WWII tank recovered from the bottom of a lake after being submerged for more than 50 years. Quite a tricky operation. WWII Russian Tank is found after 62 years in the mud! […]