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| 2005-01-21 |
| Via Tim Worstall, who also says there's a persistent rumor that some of the stuff for sale is original Lend/Lease items, never unpacked. Russia is to sell thousands of Second World War tanks, machineguns and cannons in an attempt to raise funds and remind the world of its pivotal role in defeating Hitler. The Kremlin hopes that they will be bought by museums and enthusiasts as interest in vintage weaponry peaks during the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, a landmark that will be celebrated with great fanfare in Russia. The Russian state arms dealer, Rosoboronexport, has sold a few vintage weapons piecemeal since the late 1990s but now it has launched a serious sales campaign. The hardware has been stored in warehouses even though most of it was decommissioned decades ago. The company is tempting collectors with a selection of weapons that includes Maksim machineguns, 76mm ZiS-3 field guns, PPSH sub-machineguns and T-34 tanks, the backbone of the armoured columns that drove the German army out the Soviet Union in 1944. For the more ambitious there are T-54 tanks, built in the immediate post-war period and used to defeat the Hungarian uprising in 1956, and even Soviet-era submarines. Rosoboronexport said it took the decision to market the weapons because of growing interest abroad. "In many battles during the Second World War, home weapons won a victory many times over those of the fascist Wehrmacht, surpassing them in quality and reliability, combat effectiveness and simplicity in use," the company boasts. "After 60 years, demand for them is still growing among foreign museums, military-technical associations, state and private collections." While it has not yet published a price list, it is likely to sell rifles and pistols for a few hundred pounds each. Tanks in good working order are expected to cost upwards of £10,000. Alexander Ouzhanov, a Rosoboronexport spokesman, said: "There are two main aspects to this trade. One has to do with the country's image. The second is commercial." Marat Kenzhetayev, a researcher with the Centre for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, said: "The move is probably more to do with PR than making serious money. Russia's arms exports in 2004 came to $5.6 billion (£2.98 billion). Sales of the vintage arms sales might make, at best, a few million dollars. No collector will buy tanks by the hundreds or thousands. "As regards prices, they will be much cheaper than their modern equivalents. "Unfortunately, it's not like the market in antique furniture." |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #13 IOW, ala LendLease they're selling AMERICAN or AMERICAN-DESIGNED [REJECTED?]WEAPONS, includ the T-34! Stalin and his boys said it, in paraphrase -neither Britain, France, Europe, or Russia, either alone or together, could hope to defeat Nazi Germany and its Wehrmacht. In reality, thanx to his nation-wide collectivization, purges, and other harsh pogroms, and without US intervention or aid the best Stalin could hope for on the Eastern Front was stalemate! PEARL HARBOR was the best thing Stalin could hope for, and knowing its benefits for him and Commie Russia did nothing to stop it. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-01-21 9:03:10 PM |
| #12 think Amazon has SuperSaver free shipping on either? Me neither |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-21 7:24:19 PM |
| #11 A T-35 ? No way. Do you know what the milage is on that thing ? The pits. And parking ? Don't get me started. And they leak. And they don't do hills. Better headroom than a T-34, thats about it. |
| Posted by: buwaya 2005-01-21 7:14:25 PM |
| #10 I can just see a UPS truck with a T35 in back LOL |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-21 7:11:46 PM |
| #9 Somebody should tell these guys about eBay. Not sure about the shipping arrangements available, lol, but... |
| Posted by: .com 2005-01-21 7:09:22 PM |
| #8 Any weenie in Hollywood aught to be picking some up for future films and not have to rely upon some CGI mapping. Just think of all those wonderful pro-Stalin films they can write with full patriotic fervor. Down with the Fascist! Calling Mr. Stone, Calling Mr. Stone. Time to rev up your next message film to damn those Repulicans. |
| Posted by: Don 2005-01-21 7:06:05 PM |
| #7 Ship - it looks like the Monitor on dry land |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-21 6:47:32 PM |
| #6 Shipman I bet that model was the result of a typo at a rooskie ship yard in the order for cruisers |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-01-21 6:33:26 PM |
| #5 My thoughts exactly, Rex. Let's see that Statie keep me out of the HOV lane now... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-01-21 5:45:36 PM |
| #4 Very cool. The T-34 is an excellent commuter tank. "I don't need no stinkin' carpool lane!" |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2005-01-21 5:43:43 PM |
| #3 Harley Davidson motor-cycles still packed in the original cosmoline too, I'll bet. The expiration on your VISA card is? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-01-21 4:23:46 PM |
| #2 76mm ZiS-3 field guns I want one. The best light field gun during WWII. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-01-21 4:19:37 PM |
| #1 I hope like hell they got a couple of these in the warehouses.... I'll make a bid. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-01-21 3:53:27 PM |