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Here are a few warm-up shots from the Muzeul Militar National in Buchuresti, Romania. Some interesting stuff there, for sure. I didn't even go into the many buildings they have there (no time) but the outdoor armor and (especially) artillery sections are very impressive. Here are a few I've resized and cropped for review....more is to follow on other vehicles so stay tuned.

First, a very sad Sherman. From the looks of the burned track but more-or-less intact road wheels, I'd guess it's been pieced together from various bits. How and why it came to be so symetrically chopped up in back I have no idea...ballistic testing of cut plate from the rear quarter panels seems unlikely, so maybe it was used to uparmor something else...

I managed to squeeze around back where I wasn't supposed to be, which aroused the interest of one of the active duty soldiers that watch the place. Thankfully, my two collegues had just the right attributes to distract a lonely soldier from his duties long enough for me to get the shots without interruption (sorry, no pictures....but they's some mighty purty ladies in Romania )











And....how about a Mk IV....nicely preserved: (and served well into the '50's)









An SP gun I can't identify. What is this?







Stay tuned for the cut-away T34/76 training tank and some other vehicles....

It's a SU-76 AKA "the Bitch"


Jeff

Nice pictures Doug!

There's been very few pictures available from this museum so this is very, very nice; keep em comin!

As for the SPG, it's a SU-76M to be more precise. It had some pretty unflattering nicknames indeed: "Suka" (bitch) and my personal favorite "Golozhopij Ferdinant" (Naked Ass Ferdinand) in reference to the ill-fated German Ferdinand/Elefant.

Rik

Okay, to bore everyone with more details, tankers initially named them "crippled tanks". The mariage between the light T-70 and the 76.2mm gun soon became a capable anti-tank weapon and gave the Red Army it's first assualt gun. One of my favorite!

Nice pics Doug! Why no pics of the 'purty ladies'?


Jeff

- JeffStringer

Nice pics Doug! Why no pics of the 'purty ladies'?

Jeff

Jeff,
One word: "Discretion"

'Nuther SP gun, "ACAM R-2" I don't know what's up with some of these colors, but that's what it is....





...and seen here with a tank I can't identify and a T34/85. Also, watch for pics later of what I call the "MBARA" (Mobile Big-A$$ Radar Array)



Le' Renault....(they have an FT-17 too, I'll post that later....)

- Rikard_Hufschmied

Nice pictures Doug!

There's been very few pictures available from this museum so this is very, very nice; keep em comin!

As for the SPG, it's a SU-76M to be more precise. It had some pretty unflattering nicknames indeed: "Suka" (bitch) and my personal favorite "Golozhopij Ferdinant" (Naked Ass Ferdinand) in reference to the ill-fated German Ferdinand/Elefant.

Rik

Rik,
After reading a wikipedia reference on this, I'm starting to think maybe you wrote it!
D.

And who doesn't love a cut-away training vehicle? This T-34/76 is in remarkable shape to be outside in the elements like this.

(I'm gonna' wait for some more posts so we get onto page 2 before posting more pics or we'll fairly kill the guys on dial-up.)

- Doug_Kibbey

And who doesn't love a cut-away training vehicle? This T-34/76 is in remarkable shape to be outside in the elements like this.

Hmm thats a T-34/85 Doug

- JimWeb

- Doug_Kibbey

And who doesn't love a cut-away training vehicle? This T-34/76 is in remarkable shape to be outside in the elements like this.

Hmm thats a T-34/85 Doug

You are so right...see what happens when you load up a bunch of pics at once! Important safety tip, Everybody.

(They have two 34/85's and no 76's that I recall seeing)

Oooohhhh!

The smallest (and cutest) of the many wheeled AFV's here:

- Doug_Kibbey

The smallest (and cutest) of the many wheeled AFV's here:

Thats an Abi. Last time I saw that particular one it was on jackstands next to the cut-away T-34/85 and in bad condition. They are obviously engaged in a program of cleaning up the vehicles there.

There are three versions all well illustrated on JED.

- JimWeb

- Doug_Kibbey

The smallest (and cutest) of the many wheeled AFV's here:

Thats an Abi. Last time I saw that particular one it was on jackstands next to the cut-away T-34/85 and in bad condition. They are obviously engaged in a program of cleaning up the vehicles there.

There are three versions all well illustrated on JED.

Nope, this is another one. The one on jackstands with no wheels and gutted interior is still there. I got pics of it, too.

They had a lot of ground torn up relaying pipe or conduit of something...no work seen on vehicles, but on the facility itself, which is still impressive, and as you know, big.

Certainly a lot of cleaning going on - in the 80s you could have hardly seen the tanks at because of the bushes/weed growing up around them.

- JimWeb

Certainly a lot of cleaning going on - in the 80s you could have hardly seen the tanks at because of the bushes/weed growing up around them.

Sad to say, the modern stuff has a hedgerow of bushes (though nicely trimmed) growing to chest high level around both sides, so a clear view of the track and suspension is impossible. I'll be posting some pics of those later. The older items are more clearly displayed. They have so much that space is a problem...the artillery (and there is a LOT) is crowded willy-nilly into the yard. The good thing is that access to most pieces is good.