Armoured train and railway-wrecker in Sarajevo

An armoured train vehicle and a rail-mounted hook for ripping up railway tracks were lurking behind a former museum building when I visited Sarajevo in July 2007.

Armoured train in Sarajevo

Armoured train in Sarajevo

Armoured train in Sarajevo

The railway vehicles were built for narrow gauge track. This would presumably be 2ft 6in/760 mm gauge, as Yugoslavia once had an extensive network to that gauge. Unfortunately I don’t know anything more about them.

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

Armoured train

Armoured train

Armoured train in Sarajevo

Armoured train in Sarajevo

A website on pre-1946 tanks says “There was at least one armored train [in Croatia] which mounted French Somua S35 turrets”, and has a photograph of the train in service.

Rail-ripping hook

Railway wrecking hook

Called a Schienenwolf (rail wolf) in German, wrecking hooks like this would be pulled by a locomotive to destroy railway tracks behind a retreating army to prevent the line being used by the enemy.

Railway wrecking hook

Tank

Tank

Comparing it with pictures of tanks online, this might be a M3 light tank, a type which Yugoslav partisans used in the Second World War.

Helicopter

Derelict helicopter

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

Location

Museum building The ugly and box-like historical museum building was fairly easy to find, close to the national museum. Trams stop nearby, and though the museum appeared to be abandoned when I visited, the outdoor exhibits were freely accessible round the back.


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5 thoughts on “Armoured train and railway-wrecker in Sarajevo

  1. 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. Pingback: Andrew Grantham
  3. Hi Andrew, your tank is definitely a US M3 light tank, known as the Stuart or Honey by the British.

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