WWII Tank from the bottom of a lake.............wow!

[Todd Wilson]

Not only was it in the cold fresh water, but under the mud.  And that preserves stuff for thousands of years if undisturbed.

Ryan

It wasnt cold fresh water and mud that preserved it. It was the peat. Peat grows in water that doesnt have oxygen and that equals no rust.


todd

[tan top]

Anyone got any more links to tories like this?
There was also a show on CBS about a group that restored a bomber on an iceberg where they dug it out of the snow and when they were done they were going to fly it. Thye finished restoring it but when they went to take off a lamp fell over and burned up the whole plane.

I saw that one too. It was sad after all the work they did to see it burn up and sink.

yeah i saw that one i think  it was a B-29  from memory  , i think the story went  the pilot landed it there because i was out of fuel , war bird  enthusiasts went back to try to find it  60 years later , shipped 4 rebuilt engines  to the glacier . as they were taxi - ing  to take off  a generator or some thing ignited in the rear of the plain  & it burned to the ground 

[TruckDriver]

Anyone got any more links to tories like this?
There was also a show on CBS about a group that restored a bomber on an iceberg where they dug it out of the snow and when they were done they were going to fly it. Thye finished restoring it but when they went to take off a lamp fell over and burned up the whole plane.

I saw that one too. It was sad after all the work they did to see it burn up and sink.

               yeah i saw that one i think  it was a B-29  from memory  , i think the story went  the pilot landed it there because i was out of fuel , war bird  enthusiasts went back to try to find it  60 years later , shipped 4 rebuilt engines  to the glacier . as they were taxi - ing  to take off  a generator or some thing ignited in the rear of the plain  & it burned to the ground 

Your right. They also had to reskin some of the planes fuselage up there in the cold because it was worn out and wind torn.

[dkn1997]

they are still recovering logs froim the great lakes here in the states and using them.  you cannot get that kind of old growth wood anymore and it's really sought after.  barges used to spill them over the side or sink often and they are almost perfectly preserved.

[Stroker]

I was actually on the place when this tank was pulled out. Big Komatsu buloser did really great job.

This tank is almoust restorated for now and it is going to drive soon. I`ll try to find some pics. soon.
And this lake does not locate in Russia, but in Estonia- small ex-soviet country. One of three Baltic states.

Stroker@local guy

[71charger_fan]

"not rust at all in fresh water"

Rust is the process of oxidation. The tank was buried in peat. There's not much oxygen there. It probably rusted more in the first couple of days after it was pulled out than it did in all the years it was in that lake.

[ChargerSG]

That was a cool story and video

[Magnumcharger]

I watched a show where they pulled the last known "surviving" Canadian built bomber from the bottom of the lake where the crew rested since the second world war. They then rebuilt the bomber and invited all the last surviving pilots to come see it.

As for the rust issue, if you have fresh water and add in VERY cold temperatures then you won't get as much if any rust.

If you're referring to the Halifax bomber recovered from a lake in the Norweigan fjords, it just so happens I visited it last week!
And it looks great!
The volunteers did a fantastic job restoring it too!

[Silver R/T]

nice resto job

[Drache]

Thats the plane! Thanks for the pics!

[gtx6970]

http://www.thelostsquadron.com/     Pretty cool story

[AKcharger]

A Halifax??? I didn't think any existed?

[Drache]

I think they classified the Halifax as one of the best if not the best bomber of WW2. The reason only one survived was a combination of them getting the hardest missions and after the war any surviving ones were chopped for scrap.

[MOPARHOUND!]

Some time ago, Mopar Collector's Guide had an article on a 74 Road Runner pulled from the bottom of a lake in Nebraska.  Two fisherman saw it from their boat.   IIRC, it had it's bulge hood still on it with "360" for the callouts.