A German Panzerkampfwagen V (“Panther”) tank discovered underground in Kazan a month ago has been recovered. Now, a new life awaits this World War II veteran on the enemy side.
press service of KNRTU-KKhTI
The future of the 44-ton “dinosaur” Panzerkampfwagen V is still unclear.
The 44-ton “dinosaur” was retrieved by a company that has long specialized in handling valuable historical “cargo.” They have previously transported the Buran spacecraft and the first Soviet excursion submarine, the Neptune. They handled the task quickly and professionally.
For now, the Panzerkampfwagen V remains on the premises of the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU-KHTI). According to the university’s press service , specialists will be tasked with its conservation, restoration, and museumification. The future of this rarity remains uncertain. It is not certain that it will remain a university exhibit. It may be donated to a museum in Tatarstan.
As a reminder, the tank was discovered by chance on August 21st in the courtyard of the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU-KHTI) during construction. Workers were dismantling an old warehouse, and discovered a buried tank underneath. For Kazan, a city in the rear where not a single shell exploded during the Great Patriotic War, the discovery was sensational.
But university veterans quickly resolved the mystery: it turns out that in the 1950s, the Panther was used as an armored tank, where chemistry students tested various explosives, such as gunpowder and pyrotechnics. The tank served as a kind of mini-bunker, an underground laboratory. Then, a more modern armored tank replaced it, and the Panther was forgotten for 80 long years.
This Panzerkampfwagen V is believed to have participated in the Battle of Kursk and was later captured. It may have originally been delivered to Kazan as a training aid for cadets at the Kazan Tank School. From there, it was transferred to the Kazan Chemical-Technological Institute.