“Our Armoured Train” Experience

On 10 January, the Litvinov family from Moscow took part in the “Our Armoured Train” experience at the Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex.

 The guests donned Soviet tank crew overalls, received a briefing and combat assignments, and took part in a training exercise involving live firing from the armoured train.

Using a Maxim machine gun, they hit three groups of life-size targets representing a simulated enemy.

With the armoured train’s 107 mm gun, they ‘knocked out’ two German Panzer III tanks, a Hetzer self-propelled gun and an armoured car, Sd.Kfz. 222.

After the exercise, the guests enjoyed soldiers’ porridge and tea, and took commemorative photographs with 107 mm shells.

After exploring the rest of the complex, the head of the Litvinov family left the following review:

‘A unique place in every respect. Firstly, the enormous amount of work that the museum’s organisers have already accomplished, as well as their plans for the future, is truly impressive. Secondly, the museum team has achieved exactly the right balance between education and entertainment. They have preserved, restored and presented information about the war as realistically as possible for the younger generation, who learn about it only indirectly — at best, through accounts passed down by those who spoke with veterans. The further the war recedes into the past, the more important places such as the Stalin Line become, because they form part of the memory passed down through generations — not something introduced or imposed, but something real. We wish the museum complex every success!’

In addition to the photographs, the guests received a complimentary video of their firing from the armoured train, recorded by a dedicated member of the Stalin Line team.