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Armoured train in Sarajevo

Armoured train in Sarajevo

Lurking behind an ugly, box-like and sadly war-damaged museum building in Sarajevo is this armoured railway vehicle, and a big rail-mounted hook for ripping up tracks. They are built for narrow gauge track, presumably 2ft 6in/760 mm gauge as Yugoslavia had an extensive network to that gauge, but I don’t know anything more about them.

There is also a little tank, a big gun and a helicopter, all of which have seen better days, plus an abandoned statue of someone who has presumably fallen from favour and been hidden away behind the museum.

Museum building The distinctive historical museum buidling is fairly easy to find, close to the national museum. Trams stop nearby, and though the museum is adandoned the outdor exhibts are freely accessible round the back of the building.

Photos taken July 2007.

Armoured train Armoured train Armoured train in Sarajevo Armoured train in Sarajevo Armoured train in Sarajevo Armoured train in Sarajevo

Hook

Called a Schienenwolf in German, used for ripping up tracks.

Railway wrecking hook Railway wrecking hook

Tank

Comparing it with various other pictures of tanks online, it might be a WWII “Stuart” tank, a type which some Googling suggests the Yugoslav partisans used in the Second World War. On the other hand, it might not be.

Tank

Helicopter

Derelict helicopterThis helicopter has seen better days. According to airliners.net, it is Bosnia-Herzegovina Air Force Mil Mi-8T number VF-3801.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 20:11 and is filed under Miscellaneous stuff, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Armoured train in Sarajevo”

  1. Andrew Grantham Says:
    November 21st, 2007 at 23:11

    Gordon Mackinlay provides some more details on the Railway gun mailing list.

    The Museum was called (in a English approximation) “The Red Star Partisan Remembrance against the War of Fascist Imperialism”.
    In regard to the M3 Stuart variant, the British 8th Army trained and equipped from its stocks, a Red Partisan Brigade in Italy in 1944. A variety of equipment used on operations and in training, M3, M5, early model M4 Shermans, Crusaders, AEC armoured cars, White Scout Cars, Universal Carriers, plus a variety of artillery (25 pounders, 6 pounder Anti-tank and 40mm Bofors and 20mm Polsten AA guns), plus quite large amounts of wheeled transport and engineer plant plus Bailey Bridging (in very large amounts).

  2. Andrew Grantham Says:
    November 21st, 2007 at 23:22

    This looks rather like the train in question. “There was at least one armored train [in Croatia] which mounted French Somua S35 turrets” says a website on pre-1946 Tanks, with a photo

  3. Natasa M. Says:
    December 17th, 2007 at 22:10

    Interesantno. Pozdrav.

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