now matter how many times I see this...

[mizzou]

It still makes the hair on teh back of my neck stand straight up in awe of greatness


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7boxp1Sk2w

 

[SlitheryDee]

Holy shit! They actually started it up!

 

[Scouzer]

the T-34 is one of the reasons the germans lost the war

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Holy shit did they really start that thing?

 

[mfenn]

How come the "T34" has an Iron Cross on it? Paging Dennil...

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

How come the "T34" has an Iron Cross on it? Paging Dennil...

you *could* read the video description.

 

[zinfamous]

Holy shit! a tank!

 

[mfenn]

you *could* read the video description.

Maybe, but it is easier for you to just tell me. ^_^

 

[Cheesemoo]

the T-34 is one of the reasons the germans lost the war

For some reason I thought of a pre T-100 terminator

 

[AndroidVageta]

Dude that was awesome! Id love to find something like this...put it in my front lawn

 

[Krazy4Real]

Cool.

 

[waggy]

great story.

 

[OUCaptain]

I wish there was more info covering what it took to get it started. I don't think they just drained it and hit starter. I never could find anything when this vid first hit the web.

Edit: Here's some of the story and pics. The last bit says the oil was still in the engine. I'm not sure they were saying about the fuel. Maybe all it was a jump after all!

http://www.rense.com/general75/germ2.htm

 

[OUCaptain]

More info

http://www.diving.ee/articles/art035.html

The following morning a powerful crane lifted the tank on to a low-loader which then transported it to the recovery group’s base at Gorodenko, where it was temporarily put on a plinth for display. On September 21, Lennart Meri, the President of Estonia, came to admire the historic vehicle. Following the recovery, Igor Sedunov, Mihail Zenov and the other members of Otsing began a thorough cleaning and overhauling of the vehicle. The main gun was removed from the turret, and the turret lifted off the hull. The men found the T-34 in amazingly good condition, with no rust, and all systems except the engine in working condition. The layer of peat and the high acidity of the marshy lake had created a kind of protective cocoon around the tank, sealing it off from corrosion and preserving it through 56 years under water. To the team’s delight, nearly every part and mechanism proved to be in perfect working order after cleaning. The fuel tanks were found to be empty, confirming the assumption that the tank had been abandoned and dumped in the lake due to shortage of fuel. The diesel engine had leaked no oil. Astoundingly, without replacing any spare part, the team managed to start up the Diesel engine. One of the few things that needed replacing were the bearings of the skating rolls. After nearly two years of restoration work, the tank had essentially reached the stage where trial runs could be made.

Wow. That's pretty cool. Cleaned it, replaced only one part, and fired it up.