Greek and British soldiers on the eve of "Operation Marita"

A propaganda photo, from a WW2 publication in Greek, mentions the following: "British and Greek troops side by side in Greece are waiting  for the battle with the nazi hordes".

Read about "Operation Marita", the German invasion of Greece, in April 1941

Soviet T-34 tank recovered from river in south Russia

A Soviet T-34-76 tank produced at the Stalingrad Tractor Factory has been retrieved from the Don River in south Russia.

The operation to recover the WWII Soviet tank was carried out near the village of Ukrainskaya Builovka in the Voronezh Region by specialists of Patriot Park in the Moscow Region, servicemen of Russia’s Western Military District and divers.

The tank was successfully retrieved by a BREM-1 repair and evacuation vehicle based on a T-72 tank from the 7-meter depth. 

The armored vehicle that had stayed at the river bottom for more than half a century endured the operation well.

All T-34 tanks produced at the Stalingrad Factory had been destroyed in battles during the first years of the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in WWII.

Two versions exist about how the T-34-76 tank got into the river bed. 

The first version has been offered by local residents who say that the Soviet troops sank the tank during their retreat so that it would not get into the enemy’s hands. 

However, as Kalemberg said, the tank’s armament was not removed, which speaks against this version.

According to the second version, the tank was moving along a pontoon bridge when it fell into the river. 

This version appears to hold true as the sunken pontoons, transport vehicles and small-size vessels stayed close to the tank at the river bed. As Kalemberg said, the tank was most likely lost in the summer of 1942.

Patriot Park specialists said earlier the tank weighs about 30 tons.

The unique T-34 tank recovered from the river has remained in a very good condition and can run again, Kalemberg said.

"If it is restored externally, this won’t be difficult and won’t take much time as it has remained in a very good condition. 

If we start restoring it to its running condition, this will take more time," he said, speaking about the time limits of the tank’s restoration.

"I hope we’ll restore it to the running condition," Kalemberg said.

According to preliminary data, there are neither munitions and other dangerous items nor crew remains inside the tank.

Source: Tass.com

Salvaged! An Arado Ar196 (No. 216) lost in 1944 recovered in the Aegean Sea, Greece!

A German Arado Ar 196 seaplane, which was lost on February 28, 1944, at a depth of about 480 meters between Naxos and Ikaria islands in the Aegean Sea, Greece, was the unexpected catch of a fishing boat, the "Fearless II". 

Surprisingly, Thanasis Sorokos the captain of the trawler found that something heavy was entangled in their nets.

When raised, they found that part of the fuselage, the engine and a wing of the seaplane, with the German cross still visible, returned from the abyss of the Aegean, carrying nuggets of the dramatic history of the Second World War as it unfolded in Greece.

The identity of the airplane was confirmed thanks to the strenuous efforts of a distinguished researcher and writer. 

According to Byron Tesapsides, who published his book "The German Luftwaffe in Greece in World War II", an Arado 196 made ​​an emergency water landing due to mechanical damage and later sank close to the island of Ikaria.

"This is the only reference in German seaplane records for loss of that type, so it is highly likely that it is the No. 216 model A3”

Arado Ar 196: 526 built, 3 survive today

Just three Arado Ar 196 are preserved today from the 526 that came off the production line. 

Two are exhibited in the US and one in Bulgaria, an ally of the nazis during the Second World War. 

In Greece Arados were mainly used for reconnaissance and convoy cover in the Aegean. The most notable success was the capture of a British submarine, the HMS Seal, in the North Sea near Denmark in 1940.

The Arado Ar 196 is currently waiting patiently for its restoration at the Hellenic Air Force Museum, Tatoi, Athens

Possibly a 1947 abandoned Opel Olympia Sedan

Possibly a pre WW2 or a postwar Opel Olympia Sedan, with most connoisseurs tending towards a 1947 model.