German Tank Discovered on Beach
A 16-ton Jagdpanzer 38t Hetzer German tank destroyer, found on the border of Jurata and Hel (Pomerania), will be passed over to the Motorisation Museum in Gdynia by the end of the year.
A 16-ton Jagdpanzer 38t Hetzer German tank destroyer, found on the border of Jurata and Hel (Pomerania), will be passed over to the Motorisation Museum in Gdynia by the end of the year. The German tank was lying in the sea, covered in sand, 15 metres away from the shore.
The discovery was made by members of the Gdansk Latebra Foundation. Dominik Markiewicz from the Latebra Foundation explained that the machine will be transported to the Gdansk train repair station. There, the German tank destroyer will be cleaned from sand and painted in its original military colors. After restoration, the Hetzer will go on display at the Motorisation Museum in Gdynia.
The destroyer lacks the upper plates and rear armor. The interior contained the personal belongings of its crew, including a 10 zloty coin with Jozef Pilsudski on it from 1935, with a hole in it.
According to Markiewicz, at the end of World War II, the machine may have served as a platform for the German civilians evacuating onto barges. There is also a theory, that the Hetzer was simply abandoned during combat by German soldiers and so that it couldn't be used by the Soviet army, a broken rammer was wedged in the barrel. (all photos courtesy of www.odkrywca.pl)
