T34/85s

[ajmac]

I'm sure we all remember the news reports in the mid 90's from Bosnia where T34s were seen around and about.

With the huge surplus of cheap Eastern Block T55s and Chinese T54s does any country still operate T34s or are they all up to T55s and even T72s by now?

[John H Dale]

Hi

As far as I,m aware there are few T34s left on our side of the Iron Curtain.It is possible that there are some left in Russia somewhere,good luck trying to buy one there.I bought a 1944 T34 from a batch that came from Bob Flemming back in 2005.At the time I think he was hoping to get more but none seemed to be forthcoming.My own thought is that when scrap increased that unless it was easyto move alot of stuff was scrapped.

As for T54/55s and later there are some available but prices have risen by an astounding amount.

[tartan-ninja]

There is a Good T34/85 at Winney Hill FIBUA Village at Cattrick few years back...it was complete when i saw her....

[ajmac]

There was a T34/85 runner driven around the back of the Red Lion Pub in Bobbington, South Staffs in the mid 90s, I had a good look inside it and sat in the drivers seat etc... After the initial arrival it was buttoned up and a childrens playground developed around it (official, with swings etc..). I popped back in for a pint last summer only to find that the old girl had gone! Does anyone know where it is now?

 

Bobbington village was quite a hot spot back then: T34/85, Sherman, Diamond T, Willys Jeep and a Centaur :-)

Edited January 3, 2010 by ajmac

[Adrian Barrell]

I take it the T34 was nothing to do with Dennis?

[ajmac]

It wasn't originally, but I don't know if he brought it or not, he must be getting on now so I don't know if his son has taken over the reins, I haven't seen his Sherman for ten years. Last time I spoke to him, he said it was up on pallets having the bogies restored. I was going to pop around over and see him at Christmas but never managed it in the end.

[Adrian Barrell]

Mike does take an active part, he was running the Diamond T dump last year.

 

Their Grizzly has been undergoing a full refurb as it basically has never had more than maintenance. Considering what Dennis has done and where he has been with it in the last 25 years or so, that's quite a remarkable performance and a testimony to the vehicle.

[ferretfixer]

There was a T34/85 runner driven around the back of the Red Lion Pub in Bobbington, South Staffs in the mid 90s, I had a good look inside it and sat in the drivers seat etc... After the initial arrival it was buttoned up and a childrens playground developed around it (official, with swings etc..). I popped back in for a pint last summer only to find that the old girl had gone! Does anyone know where it is now?

 

Bobbington village was quite a hot spot back then: T34/85, Sherman, Diamond T, Willys Jeep and a Centaur :-)

 

There is a T34/85 & a Saracen APC in the back garden area of a Pub. Right on the Seafront at Dymchurch in Kent. Rumor is, the landlord MAY be willing to sell. Worth an enquirey as it looks like it's in good condition from observing from the seafront. (Easy to spot) The Saracen looks like it need a good paint, & I would imagine a bit of work to get it running again!

Mike. :coffee:

[Stone]

Might go and have a spy at that, my parents have a house in Camber

 

How much would a T34 be worth these days? I don't imagine the sea air is doing it a lot of good...

 

[edit: it's just visible on Bing maps (Google Maps don't zoom in far enough). Pic attached, you can see the turret shadow!]

 

Stone

Edited January 7, 2010 by Stone

[ajmac]

I had an option of a T34/85 which come from a bankruptcy sale in about 1997, it was mine for £12,000 and the only thing that didn't work was the backup air starter system! I will just have to stop kicking myself over all the damn opertunities I passed up in the 90's :cry:

 

As for the price for a restoration project today.... I don't know... at least £25,000 for a wartime manufacturing date?

[steveo578]

stone

 

It's obvious that is a T34/85 actually shadow looks more like a SU85 but the photo shows turret (even the cupola) and distinctive rear decks.

 

Remember there is a crude magnifier in the coner of the computer screen up to 400%

 

Steve

[Enigma]

stone

 

It's obvious that is a T34/85 actually shadow looks more like a SU85 but the photo shows turret (even the cupola) and distinctive rear decks.

 

Remember there is a crude magnifier in the coner of the computer screen up to 400%

 

Steve

 

T34, the shadow makes it look lower because of the lights angle.

[Stone]

I will just have to stop kicking myself over all the damn opertunities I passed up in the 90's :cry:

I've my fair share of those, but if you keep seeing the same things up for sale you think they'll always be available and have no idea the supply will suddenly dry up and the prices rocket :cry:

 

As for the price for a restoration project today.... I don't know... at least £25,000 for a wartime manufacturing date?

Ouch, that is dear. Nice vehicles though

 

More to the point, what's it doing on the south coast? Bit far west for the Red Army to have managed, and the Solent's in the way Did any get brought over immediately after the war or are they all from individual importation?

 

Stone

[steveo578]

 

 

Did any get brought over immediately after the war or are they all from individual importation?

 

Stone

 

Which War? WW2 GW1 or 2 or Bosina/Kosova.

 

A number of T34/85 were brought in by A.F. Budge in the 1980s, and were common place enough for two T34/85 to be shot up a Warcop from 1987 (see Warcop thread for both tanks), so before the unification of Germany so not from that source.

 

Of the T34 obtained during WW2 as 76mm gun tank was tested from 1943-44 (same time as the bovington K.V.) but disappreared apart for the gun, probably targeted. Other T34/85 and a SU100 were captured during the Suez intervention, T34/85 both at bovington and Shrivenham- the Shrivenham example was without armament and bovington has a SU100.

 

Steve

[steveo578]

Couple of photos of a T34/85 at budge in 1988

 

 

 

 

Steve

[AlienFTM]

I am looking at that aerial photo and see the 85mm turret with a single hatch.

 

Memory is screaming at me that there were T34/85s with twin hatches. Am I wrong as usual?

 

---ooo0ooo---

 

In 1976 in Cyprus we had a standing competition wherein the first crew to spot the (apparently only) T34/85 behind the Turkish Cypriot lines would get a crate. It wasn't claimed during our tour.

 

By the time of the CFE Treaty ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_Conventional_Armed_Forces_in_Europe ) it is my understanding that no Russian tank had ever been willingly scrapped. As old models were replaced in the armoured regiments of armoured divisions, they were cascaded down to the tank battalions of motor rifle divisions, then lower echelons, then sold off to communist regimes around the world.

 

I am therefore sure that less than 25 years after CFE, there are T34/85s to be had somewhere in the world if you are that desperate (I am not). 25 years ; where did the years go? I was just thinking last night that there will now be non-retread Light Dragoons who have done 17 years' service

[steveo578]

AlienFTM

Memory is screaming at me that there were T34/85s with twin hatches. Am I wrong as usual?

 

 

You're correct the T34/85 had 2 hatches, the cupola hatch is visible but the loaders hatch next to it is not defined enough in this view.

 

it is my understanding that no Russian tank had ever been willingly scrapped. As old models were replaced in the armoured regiments of armoured divisions, they were cascaded down to the tank battalions of motor rifle divisions, then lower echelons, then sold off to communist regimes around the world.

 

 

As far as I'm aware both parties were to destroy exactly the same number of tanks many in former Soviet Union and Satelites were broken up in remanufacturing plants. The regulations of CFE were evidently quite rigid and this had severe effects on sales to private dealers and individuals, in effect the transfer of a historic tank from the East even for private ownership was added to number of tanks available to the West, thus requiring a further reduction of Western holdings by 2 tanks. The release by the MOD/DOD of a historic CFE tank to a private owner or museum within a country required another tank to be struck off the military holding.

 

Of course the whole treaty became obsolete with the fall of comunism - which for example left numbers of former East German tanks in the NATO inventory. CFE still continued to its conclusion at least in the West. In Russia itself many tanks that were scrapped were T34s classed as MBTs! Thus allowing as you say a trickle down of more modern types to Russian border guard units and the forces of alegedly independant regions, as apparent in the recent Georgian dispute, where semi military forces were seen using T62s.

 

I am therefore sure that less than 25 years after CFE, there are T34/85s to be had somewhere in the world if you are that desperate

 

There are certainly a number still available at least four are shown in the Polish tanks thread, but the prices are rather high (POA prices are usually suspect) certainly in this instance in excess of £40k! they are asking for a T55!

 

Steve