\n\tIt is heartening that we treat our country\u2019s history with care. Some people come together in historical clubs, while enthusiasts restore rare examples of military equipment. There is also the \u201cMemory of Afghanistan\u201d Charitable Foundation, which brings together all those who care about our history. And there is support from the state.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the German fascist invaders, a modern building for the Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War was constructed in Minsk. A tank-ramming diorama was intended to become a centrepiece of its exhibition. The museum\u2019s management therefore commissioned our foundation to restore two vehicles: the famous T-34 and the German PzKpfw III.
\n\tAlexander Mikalutsky, Vladimir Yakushev and his sons Alexey and Maxim are not only professional restorers, but also people with a keen sense of history. They had already restored several renowned vehicles to running order, including the Soviet BT-7 fast tank and the German StuG III assault gun. This time, rather than hastily assembling a T-34 from whatever was to hand in the commercial spirit of our times, they became inspired by the idea of recreating the exceptionally rare, earliest model of the famous tank \u2013 one that cannot be found anywhere else in the world!
\n\tAlthough the team chose the most difficult path, fortune favoured them. The restorers managed to find nearly all the components of a 1940-model T-34 in various locations. Tank experts know just how greatly the early T-34 differed from the vehicles we are accustomed to seeing in films and as monuments. The result achieved by our craftsmen is therefore nothing short of astonishing! How could it be otherwise? Thanks to them, we now have before us a T-34 with the short L-11 gun and its distinctive mantlet, through which projects the barrel of the coaxial tank machine gun \u2013 rather than two pieces of pipe hastily welded on!
\n\tThe author of these lines has drawn the famous tank many times, and I know how difficult it is to find a good-quality photograph showing how far the coaxial machine gun should project. Now it can be seen in person! Besides the L-11 gun mounted in the welded turret, the tank also features a commander\u2019s panoramic sight rising above the hatch, along with auxiliary fuel tanks and various tools mounted on the sides. Then there is the hull, bearing the mark of a shell strike, and its bolted glacis plate. There is also the early driver\u2019s hatch with its distinctive observation devices, and towing hooks which, as it turns out, were designed to provide convenient footholds for the crew. The tank has not only original road wheels with holes in their rubber tyres, but also idler wheels, drive sprockets and even early tracks, each link bearing a cast production date! This may not be visible in the exhibition, but some links were cast on 23 February and others on 8 March.
\n\t Alexander Mikalutsky\u2019s photographs show the deplorable condition of the T-34 fragments before restoration and the splendid result achieved by the restorers. Most impressively, although our craftsmen knew that the restored tanks would remain static exhibits, they nevertheless ensured that every wheel could rotate freely. Even the museum\u2019s management had not expected the tanks to be completed to such a high standard and with such meticulous historical accuracy.<\/p>\n
\n\t <\/p>\n
\n\t{gallery}SL_projects\/Creation_tankT34\/gallery_T34_creation\/{\/gallery}<\/p>\n
\n\t <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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