10. MACHINES AROUND THE WORLD
Almost every corner of the globe is littered with at least a handful of old war machines,
including even the most remote places imaginable. Photographer and history enthusiast Dmitry Osadchy
has traveled the world capturing snapshots of rotting military equipment before it inevitably
loses its battle against time and Mother Nature. He’s been to more than 50 countries,
including the desert of the United Arab Emirates, where he snapped photos of decaying planes,
as well as the Russian Arctic, where he photographed boats trapped in the ice.
Simply put, Osadchy has experienced nearly every type of environment imaginable in order
to capture photos of these machines that look like they’re still waiting around,
ready to enter battle on a moment’s notice despite having sat for decades. Many of the boats,
planes, and tanks are kept closely guarded at places that are inaccessible to the public,
even though they’ll probably never be used again.
The 38-year-old photographer has even caught pictures of the iconic Lun-class ekranoplan. Known
as the “Caspian Sea Monster,” the 301-foot-long (92 meters) Soviet Cold War era machine has been
sitting on the beach in Derbent, Russia since 2020. Osadchy also snapped haunting images of an
entire tank graveyard that’s being reclaimed by nature, along with some Soviet locomotives,
in Leningrad oblast, and this photo of an abandoned torpedo launcher in Kronstadt.
9. SS BLOODY MARSH
On July 2, 1943, a German U-boat fired a torpedo and struck an oil tanker called
the SS Bloody Marsh off the South Carolina coast. The ship was on its maiden voyage
from New York to Houston with nearly five million gallons of oil on board.
Three crew members died. Everyone else thankfully managed to escape on life rafts
before a second torpedo hit the ship and broke it in two, causing it to sink rapidly.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials were concerned that the Bloody
Marsh could be leaking oil and added it to the organization’s Potentially
Polluting Wrecks list. A team of scientists tried but failed to find the wreck in 2019,
when they investigated a potential target and instead discovered a submerged rock outcrop.
They searched again last year and had better luck when they
located a sunken ship near some oil slicks that were identified in satellite images. The team
found the wreck using remotely operated vehicles, or ROV’s, which captured footage of the rusting,
debris-covered vessel. Based on the ship’s damage and its build,
which was customary of a 1940s-era design, all signs point toward it being the Bloody Marsh.
The team searched the area pretty thoroughly, but parts of the ship remain missing,
including the bow and some of the cargo tanks. They didn’t see any oil leaking from the heavily
corroded vessel, but it’s likely that there have been leaks and that there will be more.
NOAA scientist Mike Brennan pointed out that the ship’s hull appeared “relatively
intact” and that it’s “not in danger of imminently failing catastrophically.”
Brennan also said that he is confident that the wreck is the Bloody Marsh
and called for future exploration to hopefully find the missing bow.
8. LAGER III
The Nazi party was still rising to power when its armed forces, the Wehrmacht, began building a
series of training facilities and housing quarters throughout Germany’s forests. One of them,
known as “Forst Zinna,” “Lager III,” or “Adolf Hitler Lager,” was built about
an hour south of Berlin in 1934. It contained soldiers’ barracks, administrative buildings,
a prison, and more. In 1940, the base became a site for tank drivers to train.
After World War II, the Soviet military took control of the property and initially used it
as a center for Eastern European refugees and former concentration camp prisoners. Displaced
individuals were kept there against their will while awaiting deportation.
Starting in 1947, the base was converted into a training site for the future leaders of East
Germany. After that, it became a university specializing in political science and law.
The Red Army continued to use and expand the site, which grew to include
farm buildings, a cinema, and a zoo. They cleared out during
the late ‘80s as the Soviet Union faced mounting financial problems.
Germany reunified and became the new owner of the base, but had no use for it.
Urbex photographer Andre Joosse captured photos which show old, crumbling Soviet signs
and artwork, along with chipping paint, broken furniture, and debris-ridden floors. The images
also feature a dilapidated gymnasium, old apartment blocks, decades-old calendars and
office desks, and more. Since then, most of these buildings have been demolished.
7. UNMARKED GRAVE & SUNKEN AIRPLANE
In late September 1944, the Allies launched Operation Market Garden. The mission aimed
to free the Netherlands from Nazi control and encroach upon northern Germany. Thousands of
paratroopers landed on key bridges throughout the country, liberating several regions in the
process. But the mission came at a cost. Somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000 lost their lives.
While searching a field recently in the municipality of Best, a Dutch treasure
hunter’s metal detector led him to ammunition and a dog tag belonging to a German soldier who was
buried in an unmarked grave. His remains were at the bottom of a foxhole, but there were no
other bodies or equipment nearby. The Royal Netherlands Army’s Salvage and Identification
Service is investigating the case and is hoping to identify the soldier through his dog tag.
The discovery came last year, just days after news broke of an amateur diver named
Mark Sarazen discovering a World War II-era plane at the bottom of Lake Simon in Quebec.
Police told the local press that Sarazen had captured photos of an object that, in their words,
“could resemble an airplane.” The Canadian Army is also involved in the investigation.
Sarazen claimed that he hit the plane’s propellers and saw bodies and kerosene
barrels aboard the sunken vehicle. He’s unable to share images and footage of his findings
while authorities work to confirm the discovery. Officials have not yet announced
whether Sarazen’s suspicions about the object being a World War II era plane are correct.
6. SUOMENLINNA FORTRESS
Construction on a Finnish maritime fortress known as Suomenlinna began in 1748 on the
Susiluodot Islands in Helsinki’s harbor. At the time, the base, then called Viapori,
was under Swedish control, and it remained that way until 1808, when the Russians took over.
Finland gained autonomy the following year, but the base stayed in Russian hands until 1917,
when Finland became fully independent.
The Finnish government renamed the site Suomenlinna, which means “Castle of Finland.” Over
the years, the fortress grew to include around 200 buildings and stretches across six islands.
During World War II, the base housed a submarine fleet and
anti-aircraft and artillery units. Only a few military units remained at Suomenlinna
after the war ended. In 1972, the military cleared out of all but one section of the property,
and the rest of it fell into civilian hands. The Naval Academy is the only
remaining military presence there. Many of the buildings were repurposed for residential use.
Suomenlinna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Since then, it’s become an official
district of Helsinki and one of Finland’s most popular tourist attractions, attracting roughly a
million visitors per year. Around 800 people call Suomenlinna home and another 400 work there. There
are still some visible remnants of its military past, including a cannon that sits outside
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5. SS SAINT CHRISTOPHER
Originally named the HMS Justice, the SS Saint Christopher was a 165-foot-long (50 meters) rescue
tug that was built for the U.S. Navy in 1943, during World War II. But the Americans never
used the wooden vessel. Instead, the British Royal Navy borrowed it under the Lend-Lease Act,
which provided U.S. allies with food, oil, and military equipment.
The Saint Christopher was used during the Allied invasion of Normandy,
better known as “D-Day,” on June 6, 1944. It was returned to the U.S. Navy after the war ended,
and was then sold to a private buyer.
During the 1950s, the boat ran aground and encountered engine
and rudder problems. It was grounded at Beagle Channel in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of
Argentina. Nicknamed “the end of the world,” it’s famous as the world’s southernmost city.
Today, the Saint Christopher lies partially submerged in exactly the same spot where it
was abandoned almost 65 years ago. It has since become a tourist attraction
and is lit up at night. But nobody is allowed to board the heavily damaged vessel,
which looks as if it might finish sinking into the ocean at any moment.
4. KUCOVE AERODROME
Built during the early 1950s, the Kuçovë Aerodrome was an airbase in southern Albania.
As the Albanian civil war gripped the country during the 1990s, the area surrounding the base
became a major stronghold of the rebel movement that sought to topple the government. Protesters
captured the base and inflicted heavy damage, and it wasn’t repaired until two years later.
During the early 2000s, the Aerodrome underwent extensive renovations to bring it up to NATO
standards. A new control tower and lighting were installed, and the outside was re-paved.
As part of its modernization effort, the Albanian government announced in 2004 that it would scrap
80 obsolete aircraft, which it stored at the base as part of the process.
And there’s more to the Kuçovë Aerodrome’s colorful past. In 2011, it was featured in
a controversial episode of Top Gear. The show’s hosts came under fire for making
derogatory comments accusing Albanians of being luxury car thieves and organized criminals.
Two years ago, NATO announced plans to commit over $57 million to upgrade the base. The organization
explained in a statement that it was sponsoring the project in an effort to raise Albania’s
profile “as a reliable member state, and to facilitate robust air-related operations.”
The country’s president, Ilir Meta, said that Albania was ready to take
on more responsibilities to benefit the region’s peace and security. Since then,
the once-deserted base’s future has gone from looking dismal to promising.
Earlier this year, the press revealed that the American military is participating in the project
to improve the Kuçovë Aerodrome. U.S. soldiers traveled to the country for an annual program
called DEFENDER-21, which prepares troops for operational readiness and working with
other militaries from over two dozen countries. In addition to bringing jobs to the local community,
the event helped bolster the base’s modern new image as a bustling military hub.
3. FIAT L6/40 TANK
Built by Fiat during World War II, the L6/40 was a light tank used by the Italian and
Sicilian militaries starting in 1940. It was deployed in battles against the Soviet Union,
as well as the Balkans and North African campaigns.
Only three of these armored vehicles are known to still exist today.
One sits outside Gjirokastër Castle in Albania and was likely used in the Balkans Campaign.
The fortress dates at least as far back as the 12th century and possibly even earlier. Today,
it’s a military museum commemorating the Communist struggle against imperial western
powers. In addition to the L6/40 tank, the site houses a captured U.S. Air Force plane,
as well as captured artillery from the resistance against German occupation.
Despite its rich history, Gjirokastër Castle is a lesser-known tourist attraction.
The decommissioned tank stands in solitude outside the fort,
as a lonesome reminder of one of the darkest chapters in world history. The other two
surviving L6/40s are in Legnano, Italy and at the Kubinka Tank Museum outside Moscow.
2. NAZI HOARD
A man named Sebastian Yurtseven was renovating his aunt’s home in Hagen, Germany last year when
he came across a collection of Nazi artifacts hidden in the wall. The trove included documents
about a branch of the Nazi parti known as the National Socialist People’s Welfare
Organization (NSV), which evacuated children to rural areas and distributed food and gas masks
to civilians. The agency also ran a clothing donation program and gave vaccines, exams,
and other medical care to those in need. By 1943, the NSV boasted an estimated 17 million members.
At the time, Yurtseven’s family didn’t own the home,
which served as the organization’s headquarters. Historians believe that someone hid the collection
of paperwork and other artifacts as U.S. troops advanced on Hagen in 1945.
Some of the documents date as far back as 1928. They represent some of the few
surviving sources on the NSV, which makes the discovery especially useful
when it comes to learning about the agency’s inner workings. The NSV was dissolved following
Germany’s defeat in the war under a policy implemented by the Allies called “Law No. 2.”
When the Yurtsevens bought the house during the 1960s, they didn’t know that it had any
past Nazi affiliations. Employees from the Hagen City Archives took the items for further study,
and they plan to eventually display them in a local museum.
1. SECRETLY STASHED TANK
Police in northern German city of Kiel received an unusual call in 2015 when they got a tip about a
resident having a large cache of Nazi weapons in his basement. The 84-year-old man’s illicit hoard
had reportedly been discovered during a previous search of his home for stolen Nazi artwork.
Officers found dozens of rifles and machine guns, a torpedo, an anti-aircraft cannon,
over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and a 40-ton Panther tank inside the suspect’s home.
It took a group of 20 soldiers around 9 hours to remove the armored vehicle from the house.
Germany’s War Weapons Control Act regulates the manufacture,
sale, and transport of weapons of war. Whether or not the elderly collector
violated the law depended largely on how operational the weapons were. The man
claimed that the tank was just scrap metal that he bought in England, and his lawyers argued that
the items were non-functional, describing them as “demilitarized historical-museum objects.”
But the court felt differently, and ruled that the suspect had broken the law.
He received a suspended sentence of 10 months. In the meantime,
the court has given him two years to find a museum that’s willing to take the tank and
the anti-aircraft cannon. He was also ordered to pay a 250,000 euro ($297,000 USD) fine.
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