Quote:
Originally posted by Tony Smith
I always imagined that the thousands of L-L trucks would have spent the rest of their days being worked into the ground on some state owned co-operative farm, but perhaps there still thousands in wharehouses!
|
You bet they were worked into the ground. Don't forget the Soviet Union was in shambles after WW2 and each and every machine was needed to reconstruct the country. Even Sherman tanks were turned into tractors:
Quote:
When the war was over on the Far East, some lend-lease Shermans M4A2 (76)W HVSS were rebuilt to evacuation tractors. Their turrets were removed, the opening was covered by steel plates on which the original Sherman commander's cupola was mounted.
The tractors were equipped with motorised winch. Most of those tractors were distributed to the repairing rail trains of the Northern Caucasus and Ukraine where they did use till the end 60th. Some vehicles could be found in Ukraine even in 80th, while Morozovskaya rail station (Northern Caucasus) possessed one Sherman used until 1996!
According to some sources, in the Russian Federation there is a pair of Sherman tractors still remains in running condition. In 1989, one of them were added to the museum of the Northern Air Forces. It was presented by one of the "Stavropol" rail station of the Northern Caucasus Railway, on which it was used before. By the way, the "Stavropol" had another three Sherman tractors. The last was removed from service in 1995.
Source: M4A2 "General Sherman" in USSR
|
T34 tanks being sold since the fall of the Iron Curtain are all late model, post-war built examples.
Hope this helps,
Hanno
P.S.: day-dreaming on weekends is free, isn't it?
