Source: http://www.express.co.uk/
Hello everyone,
thanks to sevearal people, who sent me this link. Apparently, there is a (classified) “tank graveyard” in Ukraine near Kharkov, that was discovered by Pavel Itkin (18). It’s full of Soviet era tanks (it used to be an old repair/refit plant, closed down after the fall of the Soviet Union) and seeing the situation, maybe they just should have stayed activated…
Those tanks look still pretty scary. Are they all are broken and Ukraine never had the funds to fix them?
It is probably equipment that they inherited when the Soviet Union broke apart. I guess they decide that they just didn’t need it at the time. I can’t really blame them for that though since Ukraine inherited far more hardware then it would ever need when the union fell apart.
It’snot just that they didn’t need them. Maintenance and supplies cost money and a country that recently gained its independance have always serious money issues… apparently Ukraine never solved them… and there are many reasons behind this.
These are old variants of the T-80. A major plant was in the Ukraine and they now still produce the tank under the designation T-84. This is a scrapping yard. Those tanks are gutted. Ready to be cut up with torches and recycled.
Very unfortunately Ukraine is a lame duck…
OFC we all know who made this country so insolvent…
They should sell half of it to some 3rd world country and fix the other half with the money they got.
Good point.
You export military equipment of that kind to 3rd world countries for political and economical gains not directly linked with the sale. Like getting access to the country to esablish a base, access to exploit the raw materials of that country or favored status for trading said materials.
The Ukraine lacks the geopolitical power to exploit such a sale and other powers can sell comparable or better stuff much cheaper to get to those things, I doubt they can out-sell the peoples republic of china in that regard, which is currently dominating that market in Africa, no way for Ukraine to get into that game at this time.
I somewhat question the willingness of any third-world tinpot dictator to shell out for what amounts to oversized paperweights…
Gaddafi I recall bought a ton of Russian tech for it all to rust in the desert because they weren’t able to maintain it.
At least that stuff was in working condition when purchased. Who’s going to buy crap that requires depot repairs to start out with?
Russia boycotts any attempt by Ukraine to sell old soviet equipment. Ukraine sold old surplus Mig-29s and Su-27s to Peru and Russia tried to derail the negotiation by refusing to sell spare parts to Peru unless they bought the aircraft from Russia.
I’m not really up on modern soviet armour, but those look like T-72s.
It looks a lot like the zavod 311 map on battlefield 4.
Was thinking the exact same ;)
I might be late by couple years, but anyway : http://io9.com/these-abandoned-tanks-are-rusting-mementoes-of-the-wars-1100567629
free type 59 for everyone and etc
:D
Now we know where this Battlefield 4 map comes from. Amazing place! :)
Dang…what a waste.
Oh first came to my mind was the Vehicle Graveyard from Cherno.
That place always creeps me out, death from acute radioactive poisoning is the worst and most painful there is….. shit I get cold shivers just by thinking about it.
You think THAT place is creepy? You should check out the powerplant itself; they still give guided tours of the Reactor Four sarcophagus on occasion. Of course you don’t want to go down into the basement though (where there’s still 180 metric tons of melted corium, which is still lethally radioactive and can kill in minutes)
Fuck, don’t even tell me about that, I can’t sleep after that ;__;
Why? Not like that gunk is going to run away from Cherno and jump out of your closet like a bad horror movie serial killer. :/
Those tank graveyards in Eastern Europe would be a gold mine for recycling steel…
There was a an event in a hardware store in Germany when they melted down a Russian infantry carrier and made hammers from it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il4PvFs72g0
Good idea if you ask me, instead of just letting it rust…
I’m pretty sure all the weird composite-armour junk in modern MBTs rather complicates things in that regard.
Comes already with improved camouflage – look at the trees and bushes growing between the tanks.
Their place should be in a museum to rest in peace…not in a “graveyard” to rest in pieces…
50 exactly same tanks in one museum ? Multiplied by number of different models? You serious ?
“Their place should be in museums…” Happy now?
There’s no shame to have in a museum more then 10 tanks of the same type…for example americans and their Sherman tanks.
Looks like this:
50°01’17.4″N 36°11’26.6″E
When using Street View, you can even see cannons over the fence :-)
Funny…
Devs video appeared some hour ago on Czech news sever. And this article appeared few minutes ago on another.
And because I doubt SS uses Czech news servers as sources, it’s the other way round – News servers get inspired by FTR. Wow. Good job, Silent.
…and it’s pretty clear that their editors are WoT fans :)
PS: To Babiš asi netuší, kolik si s jedněma novinama to koupil tankistů :)
Interesting, if they are actually in anyone’s property? :)
And how much hassle is required to acquire one.
am i the only one that noticed some of those tanks appear to have INTACT ERA?, that’s a goldmine of EXPLOSIVES!.
i do wonder if any of thoe tanks are in driveable condition…, they look quite intact like waiting to get inside and turn the key…
look at all those beautiful turbo engines just wasting away…
You know how much money in scrap metal all that’s worth? I’d like to buy one of those tanks just to have it sit on my front lawn…
Well if i were the Ukraine, i’d start fixing up these bad boys. I’d wager they might be sorely needed in a couple of weeks :-)
luckily they arent as dumb as you,so it will be no war ;)
Please someone tell me how you can ‘hide’ a tank graveyard in 2014.
Claiming that photographer to be the discoverer. Like nobody else that wasn’t involved ever drove by that road in a truck and was like “What are all those barrels sticking out above that fence.” Or when someone in the neighborhood Google-earthed their house and was like “What the hell is that???”.
Maybe it’s more of a case of people knowing what questions not to ask if they don’t want to be given a government-funded ‘permanent vacation’.
Military sites tend to be varying degrees of restricted access and classified information already on general principle even in “open societies” where for example conscripts who served in them have no compunctions about discussing details with all and sundry. And the bureaucracies tend to be slow to completely disinterested in lifting such restrictions if there isn’t some specific reason to.
Explosive Reactive Armour that appears intact can be mined for high eplosives givent eh volatile situation in the Ukraine right now.
Looks like I’m going to be sneaking me a tank away from one of dese ….places.
Supply-side economics; if you just throw enough money into making things, the economy will grow. Look where it got the Soviet Union.
Oh, wait…
It actually worked fairly well for a little while (with some modifications, of course). The only problem with it is that it works well, until suddenly it doesn’t, and with nothing to fall back on, the whole system collapses.
That is a lot of tanks just waiting to be taken… :D
Can i have a few of those for collection? :D
1 per crate of vodka, comrade :3
Good god that’s a lot of tanks…dammit Ukraine! You had the equipment, and you got complacent!
Money.
This crap ain’t free to maintain, and I’m willing to bet Ukraine was left with WAY more ex-Soviet hardware than its military could find any use for – nevermind now within the confines of the defense budgets.
It looks like “Zavod 311″ map from Battlefield 4 :) Anyway, i wish i could see this place in real…
looks like a tanker/collector’s nightmare. rusty, (most likely) unusable tanks everywhere. looking at it gives me creeps