"daender" (daender)
07/03/2015 at 13:46 • Filed to: None
6
24|
"daender" (daender)
07/03/2015 at 13:46 • Filed to: None | 6
| 24 |
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , talk about the ultimate man-cave display pieces! A Panther, WWII flak cannon, and a torpedo!
German soldiers grappled for nine hours with an unusual task: trying to remove a Second World War tank found in the cellar of a villa.
Almost 20 soldiers struggled to remove the tank from a villa on Thursday in a wealthy suburb of Kiel in northern Germany, after police searching the property discovered the tank, a torpedo, an anti-aircraft gun and other weapons in the cellar on Wednesday.
Police raided the home in the town of Heikendorf under instructions from prosecutors, who suspected that the villa’s 78-year-old owner held the weaponry illegally under a law controlling the possession of instruments of war.
The army was called in to try to remove the 1943-vintage Panther tank, and struggled for nine hours to tow it out using two modern recovery tanks designed to haul damaged battle tanks off the field.
The soldiers ended up having to build their own wooden ramp in order to free to tank.
Ulrich Burchardi, an army spokesman, described the difficult task of removing the tank without damaging the house as “precision work”.
The other weapons have also now been confiscated by police.
Prosecutors in Kiel were alerted to the existence of the weapons by the authorities in Berlin, who had previously searched the villa for stolen Nazi art around a month earlier, national newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
But Peter Gramsch, lawyer for the villa’s owner, claimed that the tank and the anti-aircraft gun could no longer fire their weapons and were therefore not breaking any law.
He told the newspaper there was even a note from the responsible district office from 2005 stating that the tank had lost its weapons capability.
Mr Gramsch now wants to take legal action against the seizure and also for compensation for his client.
“I assume that the tank was damaged in the process,“ he said.
The villa owner, described as leading a secluded life, is now being investigated for breaching the war weapons control act.
The mayor of Heikendorf, Alexander Orth, who was present at the tank’s remove, said the discovery came as no surprise, telling the newspaper that the owner “was chugging around in that thing during the snow catastrophe in 1978”.
Mr Orth said the man has a “a certain fondness for particular things”, adding: “Some people like steam trains, others like tanks.”
$kaycog
> daender
07/03/2015 at 13:49 |
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That is an amazing story!
whoarder is tellurium
> daender
07/03/2015 at 13:50 |
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Whew, good thing the authorities took those treasured historical items from the man’s possession. I feel safer. He could’ve gone on a murderous rampage.
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daender
> whoarder is tellurium
07/03/2015 at 13:53 |
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Supposedly the guns don’t fire anymore but I wouldn’t feel safe in my own home if there was an antique torpedo in the basement!
spanfucker retire bitch
> daender
07/03/2015 at 13:55 |
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How do you even get a Panzer tank into a basement? That must be a hell of an opening.
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whoarder is tellurium
> daender
07/03/2015 at 13:58 |
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Eh, if the torpedo had been properly defueled and had its warhead removed... no biggie.
Just turns into a museum piece at that point.
scoob
> daender
07/03/2015 at 13:58 |
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Mr Orth said the man has a “a certain fondness for particular things”, adding: “Some people like steam trains, others like tanks.”
Alternatively: “Some people like firecrackers, others like nukes.”
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daender
> spanfucker retire bitch
07/03/2015 at 14:01 |
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Build foundation, drive tank onto dried foundation, build house around tank?
Sounds like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
thebigbossyboss
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:05 |
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“He was chugging around in that thing in the snow storm of 1978”
What a sight that would have been.
ceanderson920
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:09 |
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That would be so awesome to have that tank. The German government was probably just jealous that they didn't have it. I assume their aren't very many Panthers left anymore. Hopefully he gets it back but I don't think he will.
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ceanderson920
> spanfucker retire bitch
07/03/2015 at 14:11 |
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Imagine the pick-up lines that guy could use, "Hey baby I got a Panther in my basement wanna come over and see it?"
Dunnik
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:13 |
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Both the Panther and the 88 are in remarkable condition. I’m sure both have a story to tell.
ly2v8-Brian
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:26 |
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That Panther and FlaK 88 are in magnificent condition. Shame Germany has to confiscate them.
Birddog
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:31 |
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I haven’t thought of that book in ages!
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daender
> ceanderson920
07/03/2015 at 14:33 |
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According to Wikipedia, there are 6 known running Panthers in the entire world and about a dozen or more in decent but not-running condition.
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daender
> Dunnik
07/03/2015 at 14:34 |
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Assuming this Panther’s been off the historical radar for decades, who knows what battles it’s seen!
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ceanderson920
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:42 |
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Wow, I figured they were rare but not that rare!
Zzoyd
> daender
07/03/2015 at 14:56 |
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There’s more on the larger story here:
Kanaric
> scoob
07/03/2015 at 15:09 |
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Tank isn’t really anything without the ammunition. If he’s just driving it around it’s no different than if he had construction equipment.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> daender
07/03/2015 at 15:32 |
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Thats crap, there are plenty of non firing tanks in the USA driving around. If it can’t fire what’s the harm? If everything isn’t firing its then a piece of equipment or a hunk of metal. But Germany is a little touchy about WWII so I am not really surprised.
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415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> daender
07/03/2015 at 15:36 |
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If its in good shape it should have all the serial numbers, some expert could probably tell us. Looks like it has been painted and looked after.
Gonemad
> daender
07/03/2015 at 16:13 |
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British chaps can legally own a tank, but they must have a chunk of rubber padding covering the steel tracks, so it won’t damage the streets, and their main guns must be “disabled”. A bit of legal counseling and he can have his tank back in no time!
TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
> daender
07/03/2015 at 16:15 |
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Holy shit, Panthers are as rare as all hell! It looks like it's in amazing condition.
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Gonemad
> Gonemad
07/03/2015 at 17:52 |
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Yeah, the torpedo is a no-go. If that was a modern Mk 48 that would be almost 3500 pounds of explosives... That’s enough to blow his entire neighborhood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_48_t…
And I would LOVE a dude moving around a tank to save me from a really deep snow.
kanadanmajava1
> daender
07/03/2015 at 17:57 |
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A Panther tank is easily worth several million €. He will fight to get it back.