1. A Panther Tank Found in a Basement Garage
The Panther tank was extremely tough and far superior to most of the tanks that were seen throughout the Second World War. This was thanks to their strength, but also versatility which proved to be the bane of many of the Allie’s tanks. These tanks were a medium tank and were used on the western and eastern Fronts in Europe between the middle of 1943 and the end of the war in 1945. It was somewhat vulnerable to flanking fire but it was able to move extremely effectively in open country and was well primed to handle engagements in a longer setting. There was a somewhat limited amount of high explosive power that would make it more effective against enemy infantry. While they were extremely quick to produce, not too many Panther tanks would have survived the war, let alone last over 70 years in mint condition.
It was in July of 2015 that there was a prosecutor in Kiel who had suspicions that there was a number of war relics in existence located at a villa in a town called Heikendrof. Of course, to discover whether this was true or not, they would have to obtain a search warrant from the police in order to make a raid on the property and they needed probable cause to do so. In Germany, having relics or weaponry from the War is illegal and you will be prosecuted if you are found in possession of any of these related items.
The warrant was signed and when the prosecutor and the police raiders got into the property and discovered a Panther tank that was in mint condition, they couldn’t believe what they had just discovered. This tank was being kept in an underground garage alongside various other weapons that came from the era of the Nazis. The owner of this villa was a 70-year-old individual who was deeply interested in relics from various wars. In the town he lived in, many of the locals saw him as being conservative and quiet as a citizen.
He had been under suspicion for many years by authorities as to having certain Nazi war relics and weaponry in his possession, mainly due to the villa owner having spotted the tank on the property around 1978. However, it took all of the years until 2015 for the authorities to gain enough evidence to raid the property and make this amazing discovery. Currently, this Panther tank is in the custody of the Federal Police in Germany until they decide what is to be done with it.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
First Production Me-262 Wreck Unearthed in The Netherlands?, WarBirds News
Without Wings: The Story of Hitler’s Aircraft Carrier, Stephen Burke, Trafford Publishing
“British WWII fighter found in Egyptian desert”, Alan Silverleib, CNN, 05/11/2012
“WW II code found on long-dead pigeon in England may never be broken”, Reuters, 2012
“Record dive rescues $50m wartime silver from ocean floor”, BBC, 04/15/2015
“Germany: WW2 Panther tank seized from pensioner’s cellar”, BBC, 07/03/2015