Hi all, I was wondering if anyone is gathering information about Turrets or full tanks dug in as bunkers? I have several photos of Pz 4 and T 34/85 but till I clear up the copyright problem I am unable to publish them . I hope to be able to clarify this and the location very soon.
Are there any more that we do not know about ? cheers ian

I remember that the Iraqui army used that tactic in the First Gulf war. The ones i came accross had already been abandoned. I believe they were old T 55s.

Also, a while back I came across an article on Panther turrets used that way in the italian Front. Same with several French tank turrets used that way by the Germans, maybe in Normandy?

I am afraid I have no pictures. Good luck.

Various countries have used dug in tanks and tank turreted bunkers for many years. A few examples include the Soviets using dug in IS-IIIM's in the Kurile Islands along with other obsolete tanks on the Chinese border. The Austrians used Centurion and M47 turrets in their border defenses as well.

In WW II, the Germans used all sorts of tank turreted bunkers, including turrets from Panthers, Pz I's, II's, 35(t)'s and so on. They used lots of French turrets too. A good source of information on German tank turreted bunkers is a pair of books from Thomas Jentz and Hillary Doyle. They can be found in the Panzer Tracts line of publications. Here's a link to their website: Panzer Tracts

The Israelis have also used obsolete M50 and I think M51 Shermans as pillboxes in there border defenses.

Chris "toadman" Hughes
Toadman's Tank Pictures