Castles, Forts and Military complexes,  Greece

The forgotten tanks of Lesvos

The island of Lesvos is less than 10km from the Turkish main land, and the two countries have a long history full of conflicts.

Several places along the island’s coast, tanks like this one can be found, dug halfway into the ground, and with the remains of a camouflaging steel shed.

Several camo painted sheds can be seen along roads, and I suspect some of them contain hardware like this.

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The tank is still keeping a keen eye over the harbor entrance, making sure no enemy passes unseen.

It is one of 4.731 “Light tanks” built by Cadillac and Massey-Harris in USA between 1944 and 1945.

It’s 18,4 tonnes are propelled by two 110HP 8 cylindred cadillac engines, and has a top speed of 56 km/h, and it’s 110 gallon fuel tank, gives it an effective range of 161km

They are still in active use in Uruguay, where they have been upgraded with new engines, and weapons.

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In the background (in front of the barrel) the remains of the metal shed’s roof and walls can be found.
The building in the background is the remains of a castle, built by the turks during the Ottoman occupation.

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The last time there was a confrontation was in 1996, where a shipwreck on a pair of uninhabited islands made both nations rattle with their sables.

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