Finnish army Stugs..

Hmm, the ashtray must be full on that one. I'm not going to buy THAT!

 

If an average person were to buy and rebuild one, would you need special permits or maybe have the gun in-operable?

 

In the UK I believe nothing more than a full-tracked vehicle tick on your normal licence is required for road use. There are many theories that vehicles may only venture onto the road with rubber track pads but apparently this isn't true and the only regulation (other than lights??)applies to surface area in contact with the road. Two gallons per mile seems to be the biggest deterrent.

Some vehicles have not had their guns deactivated (seem to be many T34/85's and at least one Centurion currently for sale) and these require a class 1 firearms licence. I believe America is much stricter about deactivating the big guns(?, they certainly are about 'cutting' armoured vehicles on release) so that shouldn't be a problem.

The Ashtrays must also be kept full at all times.

Really don't have a clue what the US regs are but there are certainly a fair few in private hands.
Go for it!

Cheers,
Adam.

 

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee...'Drive-by shooting ? Nawwww...THIS is a drive-by shooting....'

 

The Finnish Army representatives told in the newspapers that they expect to get some 2-3,000€ per tank in the auction....

 

That's it ? I think that's dirt cheap. Maybe it's worth going there! I would have expected at least a zero behind these prices. I suppose that besides Scandinavians and Russians who can put those on a special trailer , most buyers would need ship/planes and huge additionnal transportation costs. I expect some of them to stay in Finland.

 

These wrecks often seem dirt cheap but, as you say, the transportation is not easy, and the restoration is what drives the overall price into 'full on' territory.
I could see the Comets going for the above prices but would still bet the Cromwell-based Charioteers and certainly the Stugs will go for more.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Excellent page on the Finnish use of the StuG, and Finnish armour in general: www.andreaslarka.net
Great photos, at least one set likely of the ones for sale.

Presumably the auction's coming up soon?

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Why - are you thinking of putting in a bid, Adam ?

 

The auction will be held on 25th September....

 

I wish I could afford to buy one. I'll be a twork on the 25th anyway.

 

I bet the shipping will cost a small fortune.

 

True - but Border Customs Posts shouldn't be a problem ; just drive straight through......

 

More and better pics:

http://www.mil.fi/liite/Psv-huutokauppa_luettelo_FIN.pdf

Anyway, at the moment the price evaluations have come up to 10,000 to 50,000 € per vehicle. The biggest interest has come from Britain so far. The Stugs are expected to bring the biggest sum of money...

 

it's quite reasonable, but I wonder what the final price will be with transport and restoration included.

 

Thank you very much for those Kai, great stuff.
Only 2 days until we may find out what they go for.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Mike Stallwood from Ashwood in Britain bought a Sturmgeschutz III Ausf G, a German second world war-era assault gun, for 185,000 euros, the highest price paid at the auction.

All three Sturmgeschutz vehicles fetched more than 100,000 euros.

Mr Stallwood, who bought five tanks in Ruovesi, runs a business that restores tanks and sells them on to museums and private collectors.

Most of the tanks sold on Tuesday were British-made Charioteers and Comets, most of which were bought by Finland in the 1950s.

Olli Toivonen from the Finnish capital region got his hands on a Charioteer for 8,200 euros.

The total revenues from the auction came to just over 650,000 euros.

----------

Also:

Finnish defence auctions disused tanks - Europe

 

Thanks again Kai.

Mr Stallwood's website:
R.R. Motor Services

I'm pretty sure he's supplied vehicles to the Wheatcrofts and Cadmans of this world before. Wonder if he's keeping it or moving it along? Looking forward to finding out, preferably by standing next to the thing as it roars past at a future Beltring!

anzer:anzer:

Cheers,
Adam.

 

Mr Stallwood definitely is in the buziness...When a reporter asked after the auction about how many he had bought the answer was " I bought four or five...I think."