• German Pensioner hiding a full, intact Panther Tank, Torpedo and Flak 88 in his basement uncovered
    79 replies, posted
[quote=BBC]The Panther tank was removed from the 78-year-old's house in the town of Heikendorf, along with a variety of other military equipment, including a torpedo and an anti-aircraft gun, Der Tagesspiegel website reports. It wasn't an easy job to get it all out - the army had to be called in with modern-day tanks to haul the Panther from its cellar. It took about 20 soldiers almost nine hours to extract the tank - which was without its tracks - and push it onto a low-loader, the report says. As the surreal scene unfolded, local residents gathered at the end of the driveway to watch. Prosecutors in the nearby city of Kiel are investigating whether the man's military collection violates Germany's War Weapons Control Act. But his lawyer says the weapons are no longer functional, therefore shouldn't be restricted.[/quote] [quote]It seems the tank's presence wasn't much of a secret locally. Several German media reports mention that residents had seen the man driving it around town about 30 years ago. "[B]He was chugging around in it during the snow catastrophe in 1978[/B]," Mayor Alexander Orth was quoted as saying. [/quote] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-33381772[/url] [url]http://www.tagesspiegel.de/weltspiegel/heikendorf-nahe-kiel-bundeswehr-birgt-weltkriegs-panzer-aus-ostsee-villa/12001682.html[/url] [img]http://www.tagesspiegel.de/images/suche-nach-kriegswaffen-in-heikendorf/12006536/1-format530.jpeg[/img]
Here's hoping it gets put in that bigass tank museum
Well, if there's anything that's guaranteed to get those whippersnappers off your lawn, it's a tank.
He was just looking for the reich time to use it.
Driving around in that thing in the snow? What a fucking badass
[QUOTE=cr2142;48113583]Driving around in that thing in the snow? What a fucking badass[/QUOTE] "Goodentaug neighbor, just put to get a pint and a bit of sausage!" *crushes neighbors gulf* "Woops"
Damn thats cool as shit. He can scare away those hooligans with a mini nazi armory in his basement.
[QUOTE=PrusseLusken;48113653]I can just imagine him, outside Lidl, having to light a bonfire beneath it to warm up the engine and diesel.[/QUOTE] Maybe, but I'm sure you could slap a modern oil-warmer on that puppy in a way that isn't massively intrusive v:v:v
[QUOTE=cr2142;48113583]Driving around in that thing in the snow? What a fucking badass[/QUOTE] Reading that part made me [I]really fucking curious[/I] about the story behind the tracks now no-longer being on there.
I'm more impressed he somehow kept a German 88 gun in there, that this doesn't even move under its own power and is taller than the tank
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;48113568]Here's hoping it gets put in that bigass tank museum[/QUOTE] Bovington? Those crazy SOBs will probably toss a set of tracks on it and drive it around. To that, I say: GLORIOUS. Article even says that thing is likely in running condition. The guy was seen chugging around in it during a huge snowstorm in 1978. with how well preserved it is I imagine it would only take a couple hours to coax that huge V12 back into life once more.
[QUOTE=PsiSoldier;48113672]Reading that part made me [I]really fucking curious[/I] about the story behind the tracks now no-longer being on there.[/QUOTE] They probably fell apart to age.
[QUOTE=PrusseLusken;48113653]I can just imagine him, outside Lidl, having to light a bonfire beneath it to warm up the engine and diesel.[/QUOTE] Panther uses gasoline for fuel, not diesel.
That's a weird thing to have
How huge IS the dude's basement?
They better not cut that gear up.
I wonder if it still works in this day and age, considering it wasn't really left out to the elements that much
lets just hope they are preserved for learning about and not destroyed by some overtly pacifistic bureaucraft
[QUOTE=Hamsteronfire;48113720]lets just hope they are preserved for learning about and not destroyed by some overtly pacifistic bureaucraft[/QUOTE] You should know Germany by know.
Surely they won't cut it up? There aren't many left, and this one almost has to be a survivor, not a restoration... e: Um, why did they even raid his house? What right do they have to seize this thing anyway? If it's been deactivated it's fully legal for him to own it, even in Germany. They searched his home earlier for "stolen Nazi art" which I assume they didn't find, but they decided to come back for the Panther???
[QUOTE=Swilly;48113681]They probably fell apart to age.[/QUOTE] Thick steel tracks don't [I]just[/I] fall apart, especially when they've spent most of their life protected from harsh weather. There has to be some sort of story behind it.
I'd like to know just how big this dude's basement is, and if he's got a tank and an AA gun he's probably got lots of other interesting stuff too [editline]3rd July 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=PsiSoldier;48113809]Thick steel tracks don't [I]just[/I] fall apart, especially when they've spent most of their life protected from harsh weather. There has to be some sort of story behind it.[/QUOTE] I bet he took them off so the tank would count as "deactivated"
Deactivating military vehicles in Europe consists of disabling the weapons by drilling holes in the weapon to make it unsafe for live ammo and rendering the armor ineffective by cutting holes and filling them with concrete. The tracks were removed for storage because Panther tracks are steel and fuck up concrete. It takes 10 minutes to put them back on, you just roll the tank onto them and bolt one end to the other. You are allowed to own running tanks and shit as long as the weapons and armor aren't usable. There's a pretty big armor festival that takes place yearly somewhere over there. As far as I can tell they had no more right to take this tank from him than they would his car.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;48113667]Maybe, but I'm sure you could slap a modern oil-warmer on that puppy in a way that isn't massively intrusive v:v:v[/QUOTE] They make AC powered oil-pan and fuel-tank warmers that are literally electric heating elements bolted to magnets.
Anybody posted the hot fuz scene get? I mean that was supposed to be satire but it seems like its more factual than it should be
Holy crap, that's just the kind of news that makes me wet.
[QUOTE=Hauptmann;48113976]Holy crap, that's just the kind of news that makes me wet.[/QUOTE] Not me. Knowing Germany, this tank is on the fast track to the scrapyard. They'll probably try to destroy it before legal proceedings are fully carried out. They already damaged the running gear by dragging it out to make an example of him instead of leaving it until they could decide if it was legal.
The exterior is in immaculate condition, I'm assuming the interior is aswell. The thing must be priceless
[QUOTE=teh pirate;48113831]Deactivating military vehicles in Europe consists of disabling the weapons by drilling holes in the weapon to make it unsafe for live ammo and rendering the armor ineffective by cutting holes and filling them with concrete. The tracks were removed for storage because Panther tracks are steel and fuck up concrete. It takes 10 minutes to put them back on, you just roll the tank onto them and bolt one end to the other. You are allowed to own running tanks and shit as long as the weapons and armor aren't usable. There's a pretty big armor festival that takes place yearly somewhere over there. As far as I can tell they had no more right to take this tank from him than they would his car.[/QUOTE] even still, why go through the effort of fucking up the gun, it's a historical artifact, just preserve it as it is and put it in a museum
[QUOTE=Hamsteronfire;48114013]even still, why go through the effort of fucking up the gun, it's a historical artifact, just preserve it as it is and put it in a museum[/QUOTE] Have to remove this EVIL NAZI MACHINE before it can do any more harm
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