Friday, April 25, 2014

The tank graveyard: German depot that has dismantled more than 15,000 armoured vehicles built for the Cold War but now sit waiting to be stripped and melted down



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With conflict in European soil in east Ukraine, Russia allegedly massing her forces at the border, it may seem odd that many of the continent's nations are actually dismantling their armed forces.

These pictures show dozens of Marder light tanks that once belonged to the West German army's mechanised infantry, waiting in the yard of Battle Tank Dismantling GmbH in Edeleben, Germany.

Since the early 1990s the company has dismantled over 15,000 tanks and other armoured vehicles, from German, Austrian, French and other European arsenals. They are complying with Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, an agreement from the final years of the Cold War which placed limits on key types of military equipment.

But critics say that with the end of the Cold War and the shifts in the balance of power in Eastern Europe, the terms of the treaty are out of date. Russia in 2007 refused to meet its treaty obligations out of anger at the westwards expansion of Nato and plans to bases U.S. ballistic missile defences in Poland.

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Marder light tanks that once belonged to the Bundeswehr are seen at the Battle Tank Dismantling GmbH Koch in Edeleben, GermanyMarder light tanks that once belonged to the Bundeswehr are seen at the Battle Tank Dismantling GmbH Koch in Edeleben, Germany
A technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder tank: The vehicles are being dismantled to comply with the limits of the Conventional Forces in Europe TreatyA technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder tank: The vehicles are being dismantled to comply with the limits of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty
Since the early 1990s the company has dismantled over 15,000 tanks and other armoured vehicles, from German, Austrian, French and other European arsenalsSince the early 1990s the company has dismantled over 15,000 tanks and other armoured vehicles, from German, Austrian, French and other European arsenals
Is that all it takes? A worker wields a sledgehammer to dismantle a tank in a workshop at Battle Tank Dismantling GmbHIs that all it takes? A worker wields a sledgehammer to dismantle a tank in a workshop at Battle Tank Dismantling GmbH
A technician uses a tool to cut parts off a Gepard anti-aircraft cannon tank: Battle Tank Dismantling is a fully-owned subsidiary of Scholz Recycling AG & Co KG, a huge recycler of steel and scrap metalA technician uses a tool to cut parts off a Gepard anti-aircraft cannon tank: Battle Tank Dismantling is a fully-owned subsidiary of Scholz Recycling AG & Co KG, a huge recycler of steel and scrap metalThe technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off the Gepard tank: The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty was an agreement made right at the end of the Cold War
The technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off the Gepard tank: The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty was an agreement made right at the end of the Cold War
A technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder light tank: The Treaty limited Nato and the Warsaw Pact to certain numbers in key categories of weaponryA technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder light tank: The Treaty limited Nato and the Warsaw Pact to certain numbers in key categories of weaponry
A technician cuts parts off a Marder light tank: But Russia announced it was suspending from its obligations under the treaty in 2007A technician cuts parts off a Marder light tank: But Russia announced it was suspending from its obligations under the treaty in 2007
Hammer time: The Kremlin has complained that Nato has ignored its limits since absorbing several former Warsaw Pact countriesHammer time: The Kremlin has complained that Nato has ignored its limits since absorbing several former Warsaw Pact countries
Decommissioning: And Russia has complained that planned U.S. ballistic missile bases in Poland also violate the treatyDecommissioning: And Russia has complained that planned U.S. ballistic missile bases in Poland also violate the treaty
A technician uses a tool to cut parts off a Marder light tank that once belonged to the Bundeswehr
A technician clambers within the shell of the tank 
Backlash: On November 25 2011 the UK stopped sharing military data with Russia in retaliation for the Kremlin's suspension of its observance of the treaty
A man walks past several Marder light tanks that once belonged to the Bundeswehr in the yard of Battle Tank Dismantling GmbHA man walks past several Marder light tanks that once belonged to the Bundeswehr in the yard of Battle Tank Dismantling GmbH
Weeds and bushes have grown up around the tanks, which date back to the early 1970sWeeds and bushes have grown up around the tanks, which date back to the early 1970s
The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere from the 1970s through the present dayThe Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere from the 1970s through the present day
A technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder light tank: Primary armament is the 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon mounted in the small two-man turretA technician uses a welder's torch to cut parts off a Marder light tank: Primary armament is the 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon mounted in the small two-man turret
Tough: The hull of the Marder is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments with the front strong enough to resist up to 20mm APDS roundsTough: The hull of the Marder is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments with the front strong enough to resist up to 20mm APDS rounds
Still working: A technician uses a converted Gepard anti-aircraft tank to move a other Gepard across the yardStill working: A technician uses a converted Gepard anti-aircraft tank to move a other Gepard across the yard
Shunt: There are few other vehicles that could be used to move a tank. This photograph shows the manoeuvre from a second angleShunt: There are few other vehicles that could be used to move a tank. This photograph shows the manoeuvre from a second angle
A Gepard tank is seen here in a state of carefree undress: The Gepard once constituted a cornerstone of the air defence of the Bundeswehr and a number of other Nato countriesA Gepard tank is seen here in a state of carefree undress: The Gepard once constituted a cornerstone of the air defence of the Bundeswehr and a number of other Nato countries
A technician uses a welder's torch to cut the cannon of a Leopard main battle tank that once belonged to the BundeswehrA technician uses a welder's torch to cut the cannon of a Leopard main battle tank that once belonged to the Bundeswehr
A technician cuts parts off a Leopard: Introduced in 1965 the Leopard quickly became a standard of European forces, and eventually served as the main battle tank in over a dozen countries worldwideA technician cuts parts off a Leopard: Introduced in 1965 the Leopard quickly became a standard of European forces, and eventually served as the main battle tank in over a dozen countries worldwide
Oily and old: A technician dismantles a GepardOily and old: A technician dismantles a Gepard
Recycling: The components will all be melted down and the metal from them reused elsewhereRecycling: The components will all be melted down and the metal from them reused elsewhere

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2612347/Where-tanks-die-The-German-graveyard-dismantled-15-000-armoured-vehicles-Europe-countries-strip-military.html#ixzz2zurYllYk

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