Russian/German tank recovered
from a lake after 62 years
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 north-eastern 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 organized
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 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 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 active 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 Narv.