T-34 Tank pulled from bog. After 65 years it runs still!

It's an amazing video if you haven't seen it. How did the Soviets, not known for their craftsmanship, make such a long-lasting tank?

Might and Armor: The Weaponry of World War II

 

Great video. Thanks for posting.

 

And some say the T-34 was unreliable!

 

This reminds me of Tank Overhaul. Anyone seen it? I believe they restored a tank which had been pulled from a lake in one episode, can't remember what tank it was.

Here is a 5 minute preview of an episode

Tank Overhaul (The Panzer V Panther) | Free Educational Videos - Watch Educational Videos Online | Veoh

 

Actually the soviets had some excellent engineers, who not only came up with great technical solutions but did their best to make sure that the weapons were rugged and simple enough that they could be manufactured in large quantites by people straight off the turnip farm for combat use by other turnip farmers in the middle of a swamp or a -40c blizzard. No finesse or frills, and no fine tolerances unless they were absolutely necessary.

If something is built to resist the russian climate, germans trying to destroy it and turnip farmers doing maintenance on it with a sledgehammer, then it can take a bog in its stride

 

Exactly right. And the Soviets didn't engineer the stew out of everything--"Better is the enemy of good enough" was one of their mottoes. They got it designed and built it--in large numbers.

I had the opportunity one time to play with a Soviet anti-aircraft gun mount. The metal-cutting was rough and unfinished; it looked like it had been built by amateurs. But you could move it on any axis with the pressure from one finger.

Pull a T-34 out of a bog, and it still runs? Yeah, I believe it.

DaveBj

 

what an awesome experience that would be!!! I own many russian fire arms and some are beautiful and precise others rattle the bloody pins out of them. some see cheap russian crap, others see something that can be reused over and over. i'd like to see a us or brit weapon have the sand/mud mearly shaken from it and still function. stout and effective.
?anyone know where to look for my own buried tank in canada? ( armored personel carrier will do) lol

 

well these guys have a T-54 . K-W SURPLUS - A Retail Store at bargain prices!
I believe they are next to Kitchnener

 

Another thing to keep in mind here, a bog is by nature an anaerobic environment. No oxygen. With that missing, no ferrous metal oxidizing (rust), no aluminum corrosion either. Rinse the goo off, clean 'em up, lube 'em up, clear the lines and the buggers should run without fail. It is getting the gunk out that is the problem, if there is no rust or corrosion on the aluminum engine. Without the need for electrical spark (diesel), that wouldn't be a problem either. A quick check and removal of goo from the internals of the engine, a new head gasket, and I'll bet new diesel just fired right up!


I bet even the leather seats covers were somewhat intact. Remember the "bog men" from either Denmark or Great Britain? Their skin was complete, even down to the leather garrots and ligiture marks from same. Bogs are weird.

 

Remember this-they made the AK-47, and you could put a satchel charge on that thing, blow it up, and it would still work

 

Jagdtiger1, I believe the episode of Tank Overhaul you referred to was about a Panther discovered fairly recently in Poland. It was found in a river , the turret believed to have been heavily damaged by the crew with explosives to prevent it's use by the Soviets. The tank was in pretty bad shape itself. Believe it was Frank Littlefield's group, may be wrong, that rebuilt it in California. A new turret was fabricated and it was headed toward a full running restoration. A French group was restoring another Panther and they shared data. Very interesting series.....GB

 

Here are two clips from the Tank Overhaul show which aired on; The Military Channel about that Panther found in the Polish river.

Tank Overhaul: The Panther: Part 1 : Video : The Military Channel

and part 2:

Tank Overhaul: The Panther: Part 2 : Video : The Military Channel

The only thing wrong was the "neutral steer" portion, they really mis-represented the Panther's contribution to future tanks there.

 

That was the episode with the Panther that was pulled out of a river in Poland I believe.

 

Good series, its being re-run at the moment.

 

Really? On what channel?

 

How many history channels do you guys get over there?

 

Well, here in MT., USA, I get the History channel, History International, the Military Channel, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and occasionally even the Biography Channel has some historical figure as a focus.

 

Great video!

 

Only a honda cub can do better.

 

haha this vid explains the ruggedness of the T-34