Hey! Has anyone lost a tank regiment?

[CJvR]

Hey it could happen to anyone... Lost legions

[Simon_Jester]

I'm not sure this could happen to anyone except Russia (or maybe China). One of the prerequisites is that you need so many old tanks that it's easy to "lose" some of them during a demobilization or force reduction. The Russians actually built that many tanks; did anyone else?

[Bernkastel]

Heh, I could do with a T-72 or two.

Seriously though, I have to agree with Simon. The Russian just have so many tanks.

[[R_H]]

I'm not sure this could happen to anyone except Russia (or maybe China). One of the prerequisites is that you need so many old tanks that it's easy to "lose" some of them during a demobilization or force reduction. The Russians actually built that many tanks; did anyone else?

The thing is, these aren't old tanks (except for maybe the T-72s), the T-80s are pretty new.

[Ryan Thunder]

A military spokesman claimed the tanks were in fact being guarded by special patrols and were in the process of being dispatched to a military base. But military prosecutors appeared sceptical about his claims and opened an official investigation. Wary of further bad publicity, the army has urgently begun relocating the tanks.

[KlavoHunter]

Special patrols? Heh, yeah right.

And even if there were, they'd just chill in the woods and drink vodka anyways. No wonder people were able to climb inside of them if they wanted.

[Phantasee]

The story in the OP:

200 Russian tanks found abandoned in forest
The Russian army is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal after 200 of its tanks were found abandoned near a forest in central Russia, unguarded and unlocked.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 2:18PM GMT 28 Feb 2010

The tanks have been sitting in the forest for almost four months covered in snow

A news website near the city of Yekaterinburg posted a video of the forgotten tanks showing passers-by clambering inside the vehicles and playing with empty ammunition belts. The only items that seemed to be missing were live rounds and the keys to the tanks' ignitions.

"There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned," an unnamed reporter on the video says. "If you need one, come and get it."

Locals in a nearby village said the tanks had been sitting there for almost four months covered in snow. The armoured vehicles were identified as a mixture of T-80 and T-72 battle tanks, the workhorses of the Russian army.

"We were shocked," Pavel L, a local, told Russian media. "It is like you can sit behind the wheel, start up the engine and drive off and nobody would notice!"

A military spokesman claimed the tanks were in fact being guarded by special patrols and were in the process of being dispatched to a military base. But military prosecutors appeared sceptical about his claims and opened an official investigation. Wary of further bad publicity, the army has urgently begun relocating the tanks.

The scandal comes days after one of Russia's top military commanders suggested the country did not need half of its 20,000 tanks and might scrap many older models. Tanks played an important role in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, with Russia capturing dozens of Georgian tanks in the short conflict.

[aerius]

Damnit! Why didn't anyone put them up for sale on ebay? They were just sitting there for months, I'm shocked that no one tried to claim them and sell them.

[Vympel]

The thing is, these aren't old tanks (except for maybe the T-72s), the T-80s are pretty new.

The T-80s in question - T-80BV tanks from the looks of it, which make the bulk of Russia's T-80 force - are pretty old. 25 years or thereabouts, in fact. The T-80U, which most people think of when they think of the T-80, is only a bit newer (about say 20 years old) but is a minority in the Ground Forces, and has no immediate future - the T-80U (OTM) lost to the T-90 (UVZ) in the question of which would be the single 'standard' modern tank of the Russian Army back in the 1990s, OTM is no longer capable of building new tanks (though the design bureau is still extant) and the T-90A is the only tank currently in production.

T-80BVs are still pretty capable tanks though, but make no mistake Russia has shitloads of them, more than they know what to do with.

In any event I've seen some photos, and there's more than just tanks there. I saw BMP-1s as well. In any event what it looks like to me is that these old vehicles were probably getting moved to some storage base and there was a bureaucratic / lazyness fuck up that saw them come off the train in this place and then simply driven to somewhere out of the way and left there until .... *waves hand* later. Funny as hell, really.

[K. A. Pital]

Not surprising. The neglect of all things discipline, accounting, etc. became totally atrocious in the army You wouldn't believe some of the tales I've heard from military folks.

[Vympel]

Not surprising. The neglect of all things discipline, accounting, etc. became totally atrocious in the army You wouldn't believe some of the tales I've heard from military folks.

Tell, tell, tell!

[Simon_Jester]

I'm not sure this could happen to anyone except Russia (or maybe China). One of the prerequisites is that you need so many old tanks that it's easy to "lose" some of them during a demobilization or force reduction. The Russians actually built that many tanks; did anyone else?

The thing is, these aren't old tanks (except for maybe the T-72s), the T-80s are pretty new.

Yes, but they're not the latest model, either. A regiment might have switched over to T-90s and had something funny happen to their old tanks, for instance.

I doubt the same thing could happen in the US with M-60s, though.

[K. A. Pital]

Well, here's a few of those tales. The Msta-S air conditioning system was totally inoperable when installed; in fact, for a long time the supplier provided simple heaters instead of real conditioners. I'm not sure for how long this persisted (the heaters were still priced as working air conditioning suites), perhaps for quite a while. Another tale includes a looting of Army food supplies so massive that, for a certain year, it allowed one city market to dump prices on meat conserves, effectively beating lots of competitors... with stolen Army "tushonka" straight from the State Reserve.

[[R_H]]

The thing is, these aren't old tanks (except for maybe the T-72s), the T-80s are pretty new.

The T-80s in question - T-80BV tanks from the looks of it, which make the bulk of Russia's T-80 force - are pretty old. 25 years or thereabouts, in fact. The T-80U, which most people think of when they think of the T-80, is only a bit newer (about say 20 years old) but is a minority in the Ground Forces, and has no immediate future - the T-80U (OTM) lost to the T-90 (UVZ) in the question of which would be the single 'standard' modern tank of the Russian Army back in the 1990s, OTM is no longer capable of building new tanks (though the design bureau is still extant) and the T-90A is the only tank currently in production.

T-80BVs are still pretty capable tanks though, but make no mistake Russia has shitloads of them, more than they know what to do with.

In any event I've seen some photos, and there's more than just tanks there. I saw BMP-1s as well. In any event what it looks like to me is that these old vehicles were probably getting moved to some storage base and there was a bureaucratic / lazyness fuck up that saw them come off the train in this place and then simply driven to somewhere out of the way and left there until .... *waves hand* later. Funny as hell, really.

By pretty new I meant "not ancient like some of the other tanks they bother keeping around" . Poor OTM, their factories were in what is now the Ukraine, right?

[Vympel]

No, you're thinking KBTM in Kharkov, Ukraine. OTM is in Omsk (where Stas is from). They simply went bust.

[Vympel]

I doubt the same thing could happen in the US with M-60s, though.

Actually you'd be surprised. After the 2003 Iraqi invasion there was a picture floating around of long train cars in the states loaded with nothing but M1s that had been left out in the open who knows where for god knows how long - they were fucking rusting. I'm sure they knew where they were, but ... you know still, its pretty bad.

[CJvR]

Strange things can happen.

The Navy's forrests are amusing.

[MKSheppard]

Actually you'd be surprised. After the 2003 Iraqi invasion there was a picture floating around of long train cars in the states loaded with nothing but M1s that had been left out in the open who knows where for god knows how long - they were fucking rusting. I'm sure they knew where they were, but ... you know still, its pretty bad.

Actually, those were stripped M1 hulls being towed around for refurbishment.

[K. A. Pital]

OTM is in Omsk (where Stas is from). They simply went bust.

Most of Omsk, regardless if civilian or military, went bust, so there's nothing surprising here. Some people here furbish their outdoor homes (dachas) with military waste (e.g. shell hulls, etc.)

[CJvR]

Some people here furbish their outdoor homes (dachas) with military waste (e.g. shell hulls, etc.)

A block or so from here there is a fellow that have an old naval mine in his garden and a friend of mine have a few shellcasings from his navy days proudly displayed. I would be delighted to have a T80 as garden decoration although it would leave very little garden to decorate...

[atg]

Some people here furbish their outdoor homes (dachas) with military waste (e.g. shell hulls, etc.)

A block or so from here there is a fellow that have an old naval mine in his garden and a friend of mine have a few shellcasings from his navy days proudly displayed. I would be delighted to have a T80 as garden decoration although it would leave very little garden to decorate...

No need for such quaint things as plants when you have a T80!

[Winston Blake]

Some people here furbish their outdoor homes (dachas) with military waste (e.g. shell hulls, etc.)

A block or so from here there is a fellow that have an old naval mine in his garden and a friend of mine have a few shellcasings from his navy days proudly displayed. I would be delighted to have a T80 as garden decoration although it would leave very little garden to decorate...

It does, however, give you a T-80 to decorate with flowering vines.