SoA Forums

https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/viking-sword-found-poland-wisla-river

Nice find

It is remarkable the level of preservation in the Vistula and its tributaries.  A few years ago, a Valentine XI that had plunged through the ice during Soviet operations in the winter of '44-45 was pulled out, and once the local fire brigade had hosed the mud of it, you would have thought it had come straight from the Vickers factory.

Doesn't surprise me, those things are solid metal!

Either that or a reflection on the finish quality of the tanks exported to Russia.

Quote from: Nick Harbud on January 19, 2024, 11:49:29 AMEither that or a reflection on the finish quality of the tanks exported to Russia.

Well, although the Soviet histories officially sneer at Lend-Lease products, the dear old Valentine was kept in production by the UK a year longer than planned at the request of the Soviets who used it as a recce tank; it may only have been capable of about 16mph, but it could do that up hill or down dale, was far better armed and armoured than their light tanks, and its track life alone was far better than the engine life of any T-34...

Anyway, sorry for diverting the thread!