Where have all the Panzers gone? Long time passing...

[43rdRecceReg]

I've often wondered what happened to battlefield debris in WW1 and WW2, and who dealt with it. Mark Felton addresses the question here, in terms of WW2 panzer wrecks. I'm something of a fan of his of videos, as they often deal with non-mainstream WW2 topics. Here, he gives an insight into the fate of many Panzers, and also some allied tank hulks. Questions still remain concerning certain other 'survivors', such as the King Tiger being restored at the Swiss Armour Museum at Full. Anyway, do sample some of Mark's offerings, if you've not already come across his work.

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and a couple of tanks that survived the battlefield clean-up, as well as the most likely end destination for the majority of armoured vehicles: the scrapyard.

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[Son of a gun-ner]

Last Thursday I met a Polish chap who works at the Honda place I take my car for an MOT.
He has a friend in Poland that hunts for lost WW2 tanks for restoration, it's amazing that they still discover "lost" armour to this day in Poland.
Anyway, this chap sometimes helps when he's in his home country. And he showed me pictures and film of some of the tanks they'd restored after dragging them out of rivers, lakes and forests. The best three they had, which they now have running were a Panther (looked like a G, but I could be wrong as I'm not so good with Panthers ), a Hetzer and a Stug 3.

It was fascinating to see.

[Kaczor]

Not far from my town is place called Panzer Farm where a few guys have "tank graveyard" and restore some of them. Every year with my dad and friend modellers we have trip there.
http://panzer-farm.pl/en/museum/collection/

For example, this Sdkfz 250 was dragged from the river and restored to running condition. Paint was left untouched.

But most interesting is ongoing reconstruction of the Tiger tank. They don't show any pictures on social media, but in few years it will be next operational Tiger I. I hope it will stay in Poland not like Panther founded in river, (now it's in USA).

[jhamm]

But most interesting is ongoing reconstruction of the Tiger tank. They don't show any pictures on social media, but in few years it will be next operational Tiger I. I hope it will stay in Poland not like Panther founded in river, (now it's in USA).

The tiger I which stood for some time in the Munster tank museum, was also sold to a collector in the USA.
Unfortunately that is always a question of money...
Restoring a tank costs a lot of money.
The longer a part lies in the ground, the more difficult it is to get it back to life..

[tankme]

I would say if that Panther had not been sold to Jacques Littlefield I don't think it every would've gotten restored as the turret was a mess. Littlefield sunk millions into that Panther.

[wibblywobbly]

The value of restored, or even unrestored, WW2 tanks is mind blowing. Figures of 0,.5 million are not unusual.

There is a guy in Germany who has an as new Panther in his underground garage, He took it out for a spin a few years back, and the authorities pounced on him and confiscated it. After a battle he got it back.

There is a King Tiger buried under a main road in France. There has been a dispute going on for years about how to temporarily divert the road so that it can be retrieved and rebuilt.

The well known Vimoutiers Tiger 1, I seem to remember, is being given a makeover after being sat on a plinth at the road side for years.

When I was living in France I had an English girlfriend who had been living there for years. She knew the locals etc. There was a multi million pound Chateaux buried in miles of private forest not far from her place. She had been there, and told me that the Chateaux was used as a base by the US during the war. There is a colossal barn there, and she had been inside. It contains a stacks of US WW2 vehicles, tanks, half tracks, jeeps etc, that are all in excellent condition and haven't moved since WW2. The law in France was changed a few years ago, previously anyone could own old military stuff and it was ok. Now, all equipment has to be registered and licensed. The French, being the French, have little regard for inconveniences such as the law, so the owners of the stuff simply hid it. I have a friend in Arromanches who has a US jeep and a British Armoured car. They used to be parked in his courtyard, they are now buried under a pile of stuff in his well hidden garage, yards from the seafront.

[Son of a gun-ner]

There is a guy in Germany who has an as new Panther in his underground garage, He took it out for a spin a few years back, and the authorities pounced on him and confiscated it. After a battle he got it back.

Sorry, not quite right Rob. It had no tracks on it at the time they confiscated it, and the German army were brought in to tow it out of his basement. And he hadn't been given it back by last year.
Watch "The Heikendorf Panther - The German Tank Found in a Basement" on YouTube

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[jhamm]

The Story about the Heikendorf-Panther ist a very sad story...
The panther is still confiscated and it is located in Putlos - a training area for the Bundeswehr.

It is one of the Panther G that were built under British control after the war.
It was discovered in a scrap yard in England in the 1970s and shipped to Germany.
Here it was completely restored to working condition.

That's how he came to germany:

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[wibblywobbly]

There is a guy in Germany who has an as new Panther in his underground garage, He took it out for a spin a few years back, and the authorities pounced on him and confiscated it. After a battle he got it back.

Sorry, not quite right Rob. It had no tracks on it at the time they confiscated it, and the German army were brought in to tow it out of his basement. And he hadn't been given it back by last year.
Watch "The Heikendorf Panther - The German Tank Found in a Basement" on YouTube

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I could have sworn he got t back, he went to court, but it appears that they haven't decided what to do with it. It was driven in 1978, the towns folk all knew about it and apparently the army restoration guys worked on it? Shame they damaged the suspension getting it out of his basement. He has the paperwork to confirm it has been decommisioned, but I am guessing that the reason he has not got it back is because not only did he have the Panther and a Flak 88, he also collected Nazi memorabilia, which is a huge nio-no in Germany.

[Ad Lav]

Restoring military/classic vehicles is not for the feint hearted.

My friend restored his M51 (now backdated to late WW2 M4A1E8 spec) and the cost was eye watering. The replacement T23 turret was recovered from a range in France and cost around £15k. Then he spent money fixing the holes etc! Muzzle brake was £1000!