\n\tPart 2 \u2013 Tank Biathlon<\/h3>\n
\n\tAs the formation began, preparations also got under way for the second part of the event \u2014 the tank biathlon itself. For the first time, the show was intended as entertainment rather than a sporting competition. This year\u2019s leading participants were the T-50 and T-44 tanks and a crew comprising driver-mechanic Dmitry Vovk, loader Anton Zaitsev, gunner Vitaly Shabunya and tank commander Nikolai Mironchik. The first two are employees of the Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex, while their colleagues are members of the \u201cSoldiers of Victory\u201d Military-History Club established at the museum. The four-man crew completed two runs, first in one tracked fighting vehicle and then in the other.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis year, we decided to change the format of our show. We wanted to make it more interesting by holding demonstration runs featuring two historic tanks \u2014 one light and one medium,\u201d<\/em> explained Alexander Metla, Executive Director of the Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex and chief organiser of the event.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDuring military-historical reenactments, operational armoured vehicles are used below their full capabilities, including their maximum speeds, to comply with safety regulations and prevent emergencies. These runs, however, have no such restrictions, allowing us to demonstrate not only the maximum speeds of our historic vehicles but also the operation of all their systems,\u201d Alexander Alexandrovich explained.<\/p>\n \n\tThe T-50 is an exact replica of the Soviet light tank that served with the Red Army at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. This example was built only this year and has already taken part in the event and military-historical reenactment marking \u201cDefender of the Fatherland and Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus Day\u201d.<\/p>\n \n\tUnlike its younger \u201ccolleague\u201d, whose operational career is only just beginning, the \u201cforty-four\u201d is one of the oldest examples of armoured fighting vehicles at the museum complex. It is a genuine tank transferred to the museum staff by the Ministry of Defence in 2009. Before then, it had stood on a plinth at a military base in the Vitebsk Region. After the garrison was disbanded, there were plans to scrap it, but Alexander Metla, Director of the \u201cMemory of Afghanistan\u201d Foundation, managed to bring the historic vehicle to the museum. The T-44 was in a dreadful condition, and it took the restoration team at the Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex nine months to restore it fully.<\/p>\n \n\tA total of 1,823 of these armoured vehicles were produced in the USSR. They did not see combat, but the model became the forerunner of all post-war Soviet medium tanks.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur museum has several historic models of Soviet medium tanks that take part in our military-historical reenactments. The T-44 is currently in the best technical condition, so it was chosen for this year\u2019s demonstration,\u201d noted the Executive Director of the Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex.<\/p>\n \n\tThe crew took first the T-44 and then the T-50 onto the course, where the tanks demonstrated their speed and negotiated various obstacles: smashing through a burning fence, climbing a hill and ascending a steep slope, crushing cars and more. Particularly thrilling moments included troops mounting the tanks, the assault on a house occupied by the \u201cGermans\u201d, and the destruction of an enemy BTR-40 carrying personnel and a motorcycle. All these actions took place with fire support from the tanks\u2019 armament. Participants in the military-historical reenactment played the roles of the troops and their opponents.<\/p>\n\n\tT-50 Tank<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"\/images\/News2022\/tankovyj-biatlon-2022-sorevnovatelnoe-shou-na-ikk-liniya-stalina\/11.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\n\tT-44 Tank<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"\/images\/News2022\/tankovyj-biatlon-2022-sorevnovatelnoe-shou-na-ikk-liniya-stalina\/12.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\n\tThe Runs<\/h3>\n