As a silent witness to what once happened there, a Sherman tank track left behind in the Hürtgen Forest. It's located on the Kall Trail, a narrow route connecting Vossenack and Schmidt.
In 1989 this FW-190 was found into the dense forests outside Leningrad. Qualified experts soon identified the aircraft as a Focke-Wulf 190 A5 from Jagdgeschwader 54’s fourth staffel. What made the find even more remarkable was the state of preservation inside the cockpit. The pilot’s leather flying helmet and headset remained, almost waiting for their owner’s return. The aircraft showed signs of a wheels-up belly landing, but other than that, it was exceptionally preserved.
Sgt. Paul Rätz, the pilot, had abandoned the crash site in 1943, taking only a first aid kit. He was captured and held as a prisoner until 1949. Tragically, he passed away just before his aircraft reemerged from the woods.
Resting in a boggy area, the aircraft was shielded by the region’s low temperatures, regular snowfall, and dense forest cover. These elements combined to protect and conceal the plane for over four decades.
Around 1991, post the Soviet Union’s dissolution, a major operation was undertaken to retrieve the Fw-190. The extraction, mainly carried out by helicopter, marked the beginning of the aircraft’s journey towards preservation.
Today, it stands as the most authentic, airworthy Focke-Wulf 190, housed at the Flying Heritage Collection in Seattle, USA.
A nearly intact Soviet T-34 tank was discovered in a remote riverbed after more than 80 years underwater. The tank remained hidden in the depths for all those decades, covered in mud, algae, and history itself.
According to initial reports, the vehicle may have been swept into the icy waters during the retreat battles between 1944 and 1945, possibly sunk after a battle or for tactical reasons.
Tiger II #213, abandoned at La Gleize during the Battle of the Bulge. Not knocked out — simply out of fuel. A perfect example of how logistics, not armor thickness, decided the fate of many WWII heavy tanks.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
A Japanese Type 96 15 cm howitzer, survivor on Guadalcanal area.
An eerily intact Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero rests silently on the seabed off Papua New Guinea—its shape still unmistakable decades after the war. A haunting time capsule, where history feels frozen just beneath the surface.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
"Mephisto", the WW1 tank in the Canberra museum, is the only surviving example of A7V.
The Chieftain will teach you all you'll ever need to know about Mephisto.
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)