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U.S. tank salvaged from wreck of Arctic convoy ship torpedoed by German U-Boat off Russian coast in dying days of WWII


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U.S. tank salvaged from wreck of Arctic convoy ship torpedoed by German U-Boat off Russian coast in dying days of WWII

 

A remarkably well-preserved Second World War tank has been salvaged from the wreck of a U.S cargo ship sunk by a German submarine in the Barents Sea in the dying days of the war.

 

The American-built M4 Sherman tank was being carried aboard the USS Thomas Donaldson which was part of Arctic convoy JW-65 when she was torpedoed by U-Boat U968 near the shore of Kildin Island on March 20 1945.

 

In addition to tanks the Thomas Donaldson was carrying 7679 tons of general cargo including 6,000 tons of ammunition, foodstuffs and other vehicles when a torpedo hit the engine room, killing one officer and two crewmen who were on watch below and destroying the engines.

 

With the risk of the ammunition exploding, the captain ordered eight officers, 34 crewmen and 27 armed guards into lifeboats while he stayed on board with a skeleton crew hoping to be towed into port. But just half a mile from Kilden Island she sank stern first.

 

The ship was discovered lying 55 meters deep near Kildin Island. Divers say there are two more tanks aboard which they hope to bring up.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2705705/WWII-tank-salvaged-wreck-U-S-Arctic-convoy-ship-torpedoed-German-U-Boat-dying-days-war.html#ixzz38XZRjSWY

 

 

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I am thinking we will see more of this in coming years.

 

There was an earlier story about German assault guns being recovered from a ship in the Baltic I believe, with more to come.

 

It will be curious to see how far restorations can take these vehicles, or if they will just end up being museum relics.

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Here's another story along similar lines. It's like those documented shipwrecks in Truk lagoon which still have barnacle encrusted Japanese tanks aboard etc. Millions of tons of shipping went to the bottom in WW2. In places, the ocean floor is littered with tanks, trucks, airplanes etc. Interesting maritime archaeology.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539106/All-aboard-SS-Thistlegorm-Divers-explore-rusting-trains-trucks-motorbikes-British-munitions-ship-sunk-German-bomber-coast-Egypt.html

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There was an earlier story about German assault guns being recovered from a ship in the Baltic I believe, with more to come.

 

It will be curious to see how far restorations can take these vehicles, or if they will just end up being museum relics.

 

This StuG was recovered from the wreck of the Santa Fe in the Baltic Sea in the late 1990's. After spending a few years in a Polish museum it was restored to running condition by the current owner.

post-80-0-72443900-1406365098.jpg

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Russian bogs, swamps and lakes are proving to be a happy hunting ground for both WW2 Soviet and Nazi armour. Just do a YouTube search and you'll find videos of a number of them being recovered. Most are in remarkable condition once the mud has been hosed off!

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After going through the manifests of many of these ships that were sunk on the Murmansk Run, I was SHOCKED at the amount of stuff each one carried. Some of the larger ones were what I consider mind blowing... 20 aircraft, 3 locomotives, 900 Jeeps, 20,000 tires, and the list goes on...all on one ship! So many of these ships were torpedoed and sunk within sight of land as they skirted the shoreline (often running aground, multiple times) to avoid submarines that recovery wouldn't be entirely impossible. I was surprised no one was doing it...I guess they are now. Kudos to them!

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That Sherman is an M4A2 76mm, the Diesel powered version of the M4 as supplied to the Russkis who favoured Diesel power-plants in their tanks. I'm surprised that even as late 1945 they were still being shipped to the Soviets because, by then, they were themselves producing more and better tanks than the Allies...the T-34/85 and the IS-2 / 3. Still, I suppose it was a case of "Every little helps" and was a political gesture of solidarity rather than a purely military one?

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Here's the cargo manifest of the SS John Latrobe, for example. I wonder what those aircraft look like...

cargolist.jpg

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Fascinating...and what a loss of materiel and government dollars....plus of course the merchant marine crewmen. Unsung heroes all!

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This cargo is sadly unrecoverable. It disappeared in less than a second in PQ-18, leaving no trace...

luckcargo.jpg

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The starboard side of the SS Oregonian received the direct hits of three torpedoes, causing the entire side of the ship to collapse before it capsized and sunk. Who knows what would have survived from her cargo though...

oregcargo.jpg

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Not to have our British brethren feel left out, here's what was on the SS Kentucky when she went down...

kencargo.jpg

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Not to have our British brethren feel left out, here's what was on the SS Kentucky when she went down...

 

 

Thanks Dave! ;)

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Backtheattack

Interesting documents, thanks for posting. For myself it`s interesting to see how other nations work with their history. Germany destroys it`s wartime artifacts, for instance bunkers and positions of the Siegfried Line. Others like Great Britain lift up german bombers from sea for display. No one here would give money for such things. It`s a shame.

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Wharfmaster

Imagine what it was like to be a sailor aboard a T-2 Tanker with a full load of 100 octane gasoline.

 

 

W

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