My neighbor just has regular feral cats, but this German guy had a Panther! And then they came to take it from him, just because.
WW2 Panther tank seized from pensioner's cellar
The guy apparently had it since the war, and was even seen driving it around in the late 1970's, but
Grosse Bruder finally found out and sent the troops in to take it away.
He had an anti-aircraft gun, too. Also confiscated.
I feel for the old guy. I'm thinking that if I had a tank and the government came to take it, they'd have to fight that tank.
When they outlaw tanks, only outlaws will have tanks.
The more important question is to heck with the neighbors but why can't you have a basement big enough to hold those, not to mention having them?
ReplyDeleteI like the Pzkw Mk 5 (Panther), but I also really like the PAK 88. At least you have a pack of wolves protecting your domicile from similar incursions.
ReplyDeleteP. S. according to neighbors, he had the Panther out driving around in the winter in heavy snow a decade ago. I don't know why the tracks are off it.
DeleteIf the Germans are so tight about this stuff, what about gifting it to people like ourselves who would appreciate and care for it?
Guess he didn't keep enough 88 rounds in stock... I bet he could have kept ol Big Bro at bay for a while...
ReplyDeleteHmm. Sounds like someone's pet museum(s) going to reap a windfall and the pensioners SOL...
ReplyDeleteThat IS a strange story... :-)
ReplyDeleteLooks like they did some damage to the roadway, among other things, while stealing the old guys stuff. Wonder how much was done to his property?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that would make a heck of a retirement nest-egg for the guy. Got to be worth a lot of money.
It also said that he used the tank to plow snow for his neighbors during that bad winter storm in '79.
Their .gov is claiming it wasn't de-milled properly, but some are saying it is probably that the requirements have changed. Time will tell, I suppose. Neat vehicles, though!
More info from: http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panthers.pdf
This tank was built at the Panther factory under the direction of the British Army REME. It has been recovered from a scrapyard in Cock Lane, Surrey (UK) in 1977 (Trevor Larkum). It was confiscated by the German police in July, 2015 as part of an investigation on the owner
So, not an actual wartime machine.
Some folks have all the cool toys...
ReplyDelete+1 The Donald
ReplyDeleteThat's a flak 88. Very, very rare. The Panther is a rare bird, too. I hope the Germans treat those artifacts with respect and display them in a museum. They are irreplaceable.
ReplyDeleteWow. Poor guy. I want to know who tattled on him.
ReplyDeleteAll of his war trophies were disabled from firing. Why the government had to take them is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteGovernment pretty much sucks universally.
ReplyDeleteWell if you read up on the Panther, and it's notorious breakdowns in battle, it was not so hot. And the 88, in flak version, kind of high in the silhouette department.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I hope they go to a museum. If the Germans don't want them, I bet here in Texas there would be a place for them.
I would cheerfully give that tank a good home...and pay shipping to get it here.
DeleteI'm a believer of the 'Stinger in the basement' school of legal weapon's ownership. Based on The Second Amendment and the Supreme Court decision upholding the NFA (1939 - military weapons appropriate for civilians)
ReplyDeleteI'll replace my tin foil chapeau and skulk away now...<:-)
gfa