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Found this article on a German Forum
www.pirmasenser-zeitun...id=6667866

- Walter

Found this article on a German Forum
www.pirmasenser-zeitun...id=6667866

My German ends at getting food, beer, bathrooms and a place to sleep, so:

AG will hold the Missing steel giant and bring Niedersimten

From PT staff Norman Fritzinger - Horbach. For 65 years, is in near Horbach, a German Panzer III in the soil. Possible before this year, the Working Group (AG), the Missing retrieve the weapons of war.

When it comes to plans by the group leader Uwe Benkel, designed to find steel giant after subsequent restoration in Niedersimten Westwallmuseum his permanent home. Actually, the working group with tanks did not care much about. "In principle we excavations for missing persons on board and aircraft wrecks of World War II the Saarland and the adjacent areas and beyond through," said Benkel the main activity of his group.

First wind of the breastplate of Heltersberg has an exhibition at the AG rock albums, five years ago. At that time, witnesses were stone albums and Horbach approached him and told by a tank wreck, which lies since the Second World War in a swamp not far from Horbach. As it was reported here, was the beginning of 1945, a German armored column, coming probably from the area of Landstuhl since been in retreat before the advancing Americans.

On the route from Linden to Stein albums was in the process due to the winter road conditions for a main battle tank from Horbach crimper immediately slid down the slope. The first attempt to use the tank to rescue the accompanying truck was unsuccessful. There was then a second rescue attempt with other tanks from the opposite side of the valley has started. This is one of the ambulances in the swampy terrain stuck.

Finally, the first tank had to be rescued, while the other sank in the swamp until only stuck out of the tower. Due to the hopelessness of the situation of the leaders of the armored convoys have finally given the order to continue the march and left behind a few soldiers to guard the stalled war machine. Apparently they took their job too seriously and spent the night, probably due to the cold, contrary to the command in the village. The next morning, the soldiers have found ransacked the tank. As the witnesses suspected the culprits were Horbacher guys that are next to a machine gun and ammunition on board, including tank shells, stolen from the interior.

A few months later, after the war, French occupation forces had also taken the unsuccessful attempt to pull the tank out of the mud. As reported, it was finally succeeded scrap dealers to weld the turret of the tank. Whether they could recover the hard part is actually unclear. For there are signs that they made the swamp a nasty spanner in the works. Benkel pricked up its ears, as the forest Fischbacher Küntzler construction company on behalf of the community association about three years ago dredging operations conducted by that body, while metal parts to light promoted the fit exactly to the description of the witnesses.

The data stored in the reference steel elements, which reportedly contained parts of the engine cover and spare wheels of the tank were probably soon be lovers as they disappeared shortly after. Thus Benkel made in June last year, in the presence of Günther Wagner, chairman of the Western Wall Museum in Niedersimten, to work with metal detectors and searched the premises. They measured using the swings an object that corresponded to the dimensions of her exact size of the tub of the suspected tank type. About eight feet away from the proposed detectors in again and pointed to another large piece of steel that could possibly be the turret of the tank to salvage the scrap dealer tried.

Hidden in the hedges, Benkel discovered in the probe passes a steel part with a bullet hole, which is, according to his testimony almost certainly a tower skirt of the tank. Searched the area but was already a few years earlier by the bomb disposal team, who hid bombs without cartridges. This could have been saved by the children based on the descriptions, which were probably only focus on the powder bags into the sleeves. According Benkel his group now plans to salvage the wreck. When he can not yet say exactly. Later this year, however, held a trial excavation to determine the exact location, depth and condition of the tank.

The appointment was made subject to the approval of the municipality and am not yet the moment: "Union Mayor Winfried Kramer has assured us of his support and will soon issue the permit for the excavation search and rescue," said Benkel.

A bit more here tinyurl.com/33cm8ha

Be interesting to see what is unearthed.

Pzkpfw, dead link i think

- Pzkpfw-e

A bit more here tinyurl.com/33cm8ha

Be interesting to see what is unearthed.

well, I'm a bit disapppointed.
I hoped we could see more than a very rusty sheet of metal that looks like nothing particular..

P-O

- armyjunk2

Pzkpfw, dead link i think

Working for P-O & I!
docs.google.com/viewer...5EzCAoiuHQ
That's it in its full glory!

the link is working for me also

If it is an Pz III and it was fitted with side skirt's / turret skirts, that would make it an Ausf M or N

Or are there other type's of Pz III also fitted with skirts

Michel