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The ultimate thread of rare photos with rare/captured stuff.

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My grandfather served with the 69th Division recon, and was among the first troops to meet up with the Russians at the Elbe River. Those guys are at that bridge and are from the 69th. In fact, he was only inches away from getting into the famous photograph, which I'm sure you'll recognize, below.

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He's literally right behind the GI bending over in that photo. His friend asked him something at the last minute, he stopped walking towards the Russians, and missed the photo! :rolleyes:
 
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He's literally right behind the GI bending over in that photo. His friend asked him something at the last minute, he stopped walking towards the Russians, and missed the photo! :rolleyes:

This is very interesting.

3 of my relatives were on war, one was very low expierenced and he died defending Smolensk. Another was Guards Lieutenant and he was first number of mortar in Stalingrad. I also know about one who was... "message writer" ( i dont know how to properly translate ), he was not in fight but he served and survived, he came back to his village after the war with big american can of beef.
 
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There's something strange about that Tiger.
It might just be the quality of the photo but it looks like it doesn't have a turret bustle.
Is that just a thing I didn't know about? :/

Maybe it got shot / broke off, or maybe the Russians took it off for some reason, or like you said, just the quality of the photo. Either way, that thing is really cool lookin.
 
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I've dug up some pictures from SA-kuva-arkisto about Soviet flamethrower tanks based on the T-26 tank. During the Winter War those tanks were called by Soviets with "KhT" (Khimicheskiy Tank = Chemical Tank) abbreviation but it changed to "OT" (Ognemetniy Tank = Flame-throwing Tank) at some point. Maybe when the flamethrower tank based on the T-34; OT-34, was introduced? I'll just call them with the OT abbreviation. All these T-26 based Soviet flamethrower tanks had a crew of 2 men.


OT-26


SA-photo 8467

Captured tank armed with a flamethrower at the "General motti" of Lemetti

OT-26 was the first T-26 based mass produced flamethrower tank of the Soviet Union. It was based on the M1931 of T-26, which had 2 small machingun turrets side by side. For the flamethrower conversion left side turret was removed, flamethrower fuel and pressure tanks were added inside left side of the hull and right side turret was rearmed with a KS-24 flamethrower and a coaxial DT-machinegun.

SA-photo 8466

Captured tank armed with a flamethrower at the "General motti" of Lemetti
Lemetti 1940.02.01

OT-26's KS-24 flamethrower had a range of about 35 meters and it could shoot 70 one second bursts of flame. Flame's range is quite short due the low operating pressure, but because of that and large fuel tanks, the flamethrower operated long time without a re-filling. Soviets manufactured 552 OT-26 tanks betweed 1932 and 1935. Finns captured few of these tanks during WW2, but Finns didn't use these tanks in combat. Their weapons were removed and the tanks were used for driver training.


OT-130

SA-photo 37638

Russian tanks and bodies at Suvilahti after destoying them with an antitank gun.
Suoj
 
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There's something strange about that Tiger.
It might just be the quality of the photo but it looks like it doesn't have a turret bustle.
Is that just a thing I didn't know about? :/

Very early Tigers didn't have one. Given they were essentially tailored custom orders individually, outside major changes or additions they still had lots of variance per Tiger though most of them are not really that visible.

Of course it may very well have been removed for numerous reasons for the photograph, but the moar you know.
 
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very interesting.
There was also soviet tele-tanks based on T-26. Tanks without crews inside, controlled by radio.
I think I've read something about T-26 teletanks armed with flamethrowers used against Mannerheim Line in the Winter War.

I wonder if there is any wartime pictures of Karelo-Finskij 42 SMG in use? It was a Soviet unlicenced copy of Finnish Suomi KP/-31 SMG in 7.62 x 25 caliber. Only a small number of those were manufactured in Leningrad. I've only seen one of those SMGs preserved and that's in Helsinki's Sotamuseo (War Museum).
 
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