Panzerweekend 2024 - Das Königstiger-Projekt und besondere Panzer auf der Vorführung!

Welcome to a new episode of Panzer-Universum.de The Panzer Weekend 2024 in Vollrheintal, directly at the German-Swiss border, is a great event for anyone who is interested in history, military technology and armored vehicles. The weekend was full of the various demonstrations of the historic vehicles, visitor rides on the combat and protective armor, the operation of an air defense gun or a simulation ride in the tank simulator. The latter is pretty cool, last year I had the opportunity to drive it and I can say it was a lot of fun. In addition, some exhibits were placed in the outdoor area, which are usually housed in the museum halls. This made it possible to better examine the vehicles and the exposure for photos and co. was ideal on both days. The T-34-85 with the CIS S-53 gun was nicely placed for everyone. Or the two Leopard 2 MLU prototypes together with a Panzer 68 on a row of trees. The special thing about the first Leopard 2 MLU is that it was originally one of two Leopard 2 tank prototypes, which was equipped with a 140mm Gladiator cannon. The original gun barrel has also been preserved in the museum. The second prototype, shown here in white digital camouflage, was another further development of the MLU and has a weapon station on the tower roof and cage armor at the rear. MLU means Mid-Life Upgrade. A few meters away, two British Centurion combat tanks could be completely visited. The museum staff gave information about the vehicles and helped to get into the tanks. The approach to the tanks was also to be seen at any time. Of course, it was also worth exploring the two large halls, because there you can find a large part of the vehicles used in the Swiss army, together with exhibits from other countries. The collection of various MOWAK prototypes also wants to be mentioned, as wild constructions can be found here. The big highlight, however, were of course the various demonstrations and visitor trips on the different historical vehicles. For 20 Swiss francs, you could take two rounds in the gun tanks and for 150 Swiss francs, take two rounds in the combat tanks. The choice included the BMP-1 of the former NVA, the prototype MOWAK Trojan, Panzer 68 88, as well as the Leopard 1 A4. The remaining vehicles of the demonstrations were the EKV 91, the Streetswagen 103 C, the decommissioned Panzer 56, the light Panzer 51 and the MOWAK 6x6 Polizei. The Streetswagen 103 C with its unusual construction, with the hydropneumatic chassis, should have caused a lot of interest and enthusiasm. Except for the people who were standing right at the exit, because they were then shouted at properly. But see and hear for yourself. The vehicle comes from Sweden. The vehicle has a total weight of 2.7.5 tons, The vehicle is then the commander and the driver at the same time the gunner. The special thing about this vehicle, which was introduced in different versions in the Swedish army from 1967, is that the main weapon, a 10.5 cm cannon, is aimed at the gunner accordingly. Clear? If you want to see more of the vehicles, then take a look at my Uncut channel. There you will find all recordings in full length. Link in the video description or at the end of the video. At this point it should be said that the vehicles introduced have partly differed from the announced vehicles. Technical problems were caused by the M3A1 Stuart and the M113. This is not unusual, especially if you consider that some vehicles are over 80 years old. Since we are just on the subject, there were no failures during the demonstrations. Only the BMP-1 drowned right in front of me and had to be restarted, which was only possible if the gearbox was in neutral, which is sometimes easier said than done. The mood was pretty good during the whole event, because we were provided with everything we needed. The number of visitors was also pretty good, even though I had the feeling that there were a little less visitors compared to last year. However, I don't have exact number of visitors, so that's just a guess and interpretation of what I saw. Nevertheless, there were many visitors again this year at Panzer Weekend 2024. Since I was already on site in 2023, the exhibition is mostly known to me. For this reason, I chose the restoration efforts around the Königstiger as a focus. The progress compared to last year is remarkable, especially since not only the Königstiger is being worked on. Because now the Panzer was given a new Zemmeritanstrich, one of the core features of German tanks during the second half of the Second World War. In addition to the hull of the tank, the gearbox and the drive shaft can be admired. Parts that you usually don't get to see. The Maybach HL 230 P30 V12 gasoline engine is currently being overhauled and is to be installed in the tank together with the rest of the drive this year. Because only then can the rest of the interior progress until we might see it driving at a Panzer Weekend in the next few years. In the next few days, I will try to get more information about the tank, because I would like to create a more detailed video for you about the Königstiger project in Switzerland. For me, this is the third Königstiger that I was able to examine in more detail, in addition to the empty hull in the Panzermuseum Munster and the drivable Königstiger in Saumur, which, however, is in worse condition. In addition to the Königstiger, other vehicles from Grundauf are also being restored in the house-owned workshop, including the newly introduced British Matilda tank, an M4 Sherman or the Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. J, the last version of the Panzer IV. The workshop was only open for visitors on Saturday, if I could see it correctly. Finally, it remains to be said that I, and probably some of you, will be looking forward to the Panzer Weekend 2025. A clear recommendation from me for the event. But I can also recommend a regular visit to the museum in Switzerland. Link to the museum is also in the video description, if you want to find more information about it. That's it again from Panzer-Universum.de