A few days ago, a freight train left the small town of Arsenjev, not far from the border with North Korea and about a thousand miles from Kyiv.
The freight train was loaded with tanks that for several decades waged a losing war against dust in a giant parking lot south of the city.
The independent Russian media channel Conflict Intelligence Team reports via Telegram that many of the tanks are of the T-54 and T-55 types.
– I think this is correct. It has also been confirmed by other sources, says retired lieutenant general Arne Bård Dalhaug to TV 2.
OPENS FIRE: Libyan forces fire a T-55 tank at IS fighters in Sirte, Libya in August 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
– We know that the T-62 was already taken out of this warehouse in the far east last autumn. It is somewhat more modern, so it makes sense that they were taken out first, adds Dalhaug.
Men:
– In reality, these are rolling coffins, says the lieutenant-general.
It is unknown why the tanks were transported away from Arsenyev, but he agrees with the Conflict Intelligence Team, who writes on Telegram that this “clearly indicates serious problems in supplying the Russian forces with armored vehicles”.
– Bad posture
The first prototype of the T-54 was completed in 1945, i.e. when Josef Stalin was the ruler of the Soviet Union.
– I know these very well from when I was a young officer. That says something about how badly off it is, laughs Dalhaug.
Dalhaug says that these tanks have relatively simple cannons of only 100 millimeters and inferior aiming equipment.
1968: A T-54 tank in Prague during the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Photo: AFP
1976: A T-54 tank in the port city of Tripoli in Lebanon during the 19-month civil war. Photo: AP PHOTO
1994: A Soviet-Serbian T-55 tank during the siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia. Photo: EPA
2000: Children play on a T-55 tank in Kosovo. It was destroyed by NATO weapons during the bombing of Yugoslavia the previous year. Photo: REUTERS/Nikola Solic
2001: A donkey and one of the Taliban’s T-55 tanks north of Kabul in Afghanistan. The donkey in the foreground. Photo: REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
“1968”: Military hobbyists in Soviet uniforms sit on top of a T-54 tank in Prague in 2008. This as part of a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Soviet invasion. Photo: REUTERS/PETR JOSEK
Military enthusiasts dressed in Soviet Army uniforms sit on a Soviet designed T-54 tank during an exhibition at central Prague’s Wenceslas Square August 21, 2008. The exhibition “Prague 1968” commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion into then Czechoslovakia. REUTERS/Petr Josek (CZECH REPUBLIC) Foto: PETR JOSEK
– This means that the hit probability is lower than with modern vehicles, and that it has little penetration on armored vehicles, says Dalhaug.
The T-54 and T-55 were used extensively during The Yom Kippur War of 1973.
– There they proved to be quite bad. They were out of date even then, notes the retired lieutenant general.
«Sitting duck»
As the pictures show, these tanks have loosely hanging belts.
– Modern carts have support wheels that keep the belt tight, but on these carts the belts hang down on the track wheels. The consequence is that you drive off the belt more easily. And then you are a “sitting duck”.
TRACKED CAR: An old Soviet T-54 tank at a family park in St. Petersburg. It has old armored vehicles as its theme. Photo: OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP
“Even an outdated tank can be more useful than its absence,” points out the Conflict Intelligence Team. Dalhaug sees the utility value in these tanks, as it is Russia that will use them.
– They don’t want to get through the front line, but you are forcing the Ukrainians to use anti-tank missiles. This is really just a form of anti-tank missile trap, which will cost the lives of the four people inside. But the Russians think they have enough people, concludes Dalhaug.
