What is the "Eastern Europe Tank Hunter" that picks up tanks during World War II from the swamp and restores them to a complete state?

A country located between Poland and RussiaBelarusToStalin line"There is a military museum called the. Many of the tanks exhibited on this Stalin line are not replicas, they are genuine, they were picked up from the surrounding marshes which became a fierce battleground during the Second World War and restored. Collect tanks that were sunk in the mire, restore themselves to the state where they can actually shoot and shoot bullets "Tank Hunter"But,BBCIt is introduced in.

BBC - Future - The salvagers who raise World War Two tanks from the dead
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180312-the-salvagers-who-raise-world-war-two-tanks-from-the-dead

Vladimir Yakshev, who has collected and repaired tanks from the swamp from 20 years ago, is serving as Chief Repair Engineer at Stalin Line. My son Alexei and Maxim also work at a Stalin line repair shop. Because it is about 270 km from home to the Stalin line, the Yakushie family seems to live on a rotation that they spend nine days at a repair shop and work, then spend 5 days after returning home. The Yakshev family works as a "tank hunter" to recover and restore tanks


There are tank hunters in Belarus other than the family of Yakshev, but it is the technology that has the technology to restore by looking for lost tanks and the permission of military aircraft search and restoration issued by the president is Yakushief Alexandre Mikarutski, a member of the family and his work associates, and amateur organization "Poisque" who collects and restores tanks.


Mr. Vladimir started working on this Stalin line since 9 years ago, and he used to work in Poisk before that. When he belonged to Poisque he was a hobby, he said that he did not pay much, but now his hobby turns into a job, and Vladimir is also receiving a fixed salary as a civil servant.

Tanks recovered are mainly pulled up from the swamp.BT-7YaKV-1There are vehicles of the Soviet Union like,38 (t) tankYaIII assault gunGerman vehicles are sometimes raised like. Before searching for tanks, carefully gather sighting information from neighboring residents and wander around bogs. When walking in a mire, wear chemical protective clothing and explore the swamp with a custom-made probe that is 8 meters long.


When it seems to take days to search, it seems that they will be lying down by car, but in winter it has reached minus 33 degrees with particularly cold weather. On the other hand, because summer insects boil anyhow, it seems indispensable to wear thick long sleeve jacket and long pants, no matter how hot it is, the environment looks pretty bad.

When a tank is found, officials of the Ministry of the Interior collect ammunition so that unexploded bullets do not explode, and further drain the swamp where the tank is sinking. Because there is a possibility that landmines are buried in the surroundings, we also eliminate all landmines. Mr. Vladimir says he knocks trees nearby each time three times as a mischievous measure to survive the explosion of landmines and unexploded ordnance. Tanks are hooked on an iron net and are towed by the truck to the repair shop.


As an example, the following KV-1 will be released in Belarus in November 2015SennanoIt was raised near the town called. This KV - 1 was released in July 1941Battle of SmolenskIt was one that had been caught in wetlands when retreating, and it was unable to escape the wetland with a weight of 47 tons, and although it was compelled to be blown up, it remained in shape. The name of the crew is painted on the side of the turret.


In addition, it seems that many of these tanks still have their own belongings such as chocolate, hairbrush, binoculars, socks, etc. who were on the tank. Mikarutsuki says that he also ate chocolate that came out of the raised German tank.

It takes much more time to repair the tank than to lift the tank. For example, it was said that KV - 1 was necessary for five months to restore. Because military vehicles often have different parts and designs depending on the year and factory they were made, in particular the Soviet tanks are not experts but some are assembled by children who are recruited, so the precision of the structure and parts are disjointed . Mr. Vladimir, who was trained as a mechanic from a young age, is the only person who knows how to repair the recovered tank, repair parts from various vehicles, make from scratch etc and repair it.


Tanks repaired in this way will be exhibited in the Stalin line. Actually moving, being restored before shooting bullets, part of it is also used for parades and movie shooting, and PC game "World of Tanks"There are things that were recorded by tanks repaired by Vladimir on the sound of the tank used in.

In the Stalin line, events are held about 15 times a year to reproduce the war of World War II. For that reason, it seems that he used to repair the Soviet army 's things mainly, but now he is going to repair German troops as well. Of course at the event the Soviet troops KV-1, the German armyIII tankAnd 38 (t) tanks, but Vladimir and Mikarukitsuki seem to have a complex feeling, "It is our favorite even in tanks of the German army.I am happy to repair German tanks So, when the repaired German tank leaves the factory, tears can spill in spite of it. "