German Panther tank unearthed in Kazan, Russia

A German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther tank has been brought to the surface in Kazan, Russia, after being discovered on the grounds of Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU).

The 44-tonne vehicle was discovered by workers while dismantling a storage building in the university courtyard, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Beneath the structure was a passage leading to an underground space where the tank was found.

In the 1950s, the Panther was used as an armoured testing facility, a classified site for laboratory research. Over time, construction in the area led to the exact location of the vehicle being lost.

“On the one hand, we knew that the tank existed. Of course, over the years it had already become a university legend. During the years when it was actively used as a laboratory facility, it was kept under strict secrecy. After the site was abandoned and its location was lost due to construction in the area, it became a memory,” KNRTU Museum of History head Denis Sakharnykh noted.

According to a preliminary assessment, the tank has survived in a preserved condition. The vehicle may have taken part in the Battle of Kursk before being brought to Kazan as a war trophy.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov