Battle Relic
: Third Reich weaponry left behind in previously occupied countries in the European Theatre of Operations, World War Two.
Introduction:  After World War Two had ended in Europe on May 8th 1945, its former battlefields were littered with the weaponry that had been too heavy for the German soldiers to carry back into the Fatherland during their retreat.
Often, German tanks, trucks and guns had been salvaged for their scrap metal value.
In many cases however, they remained intact and were used by local governments as landmarks in local communities.
Often well preserved, the weapons of destruction even today still serve as monuments reminding us of the senselessness of war.
This study of several battle relics shows Third Reich weaponry to be found 'in the wild' within the boundaries of the European Theater of Operations ("ETO") today.
It is not a complete list but rather a work in progress.
We advise our viewers to keep monitoring this page for more featured battle relics.
Of course, any input or suggestions of Third Reich weaponry left behind publicly in the European Theatre of Operations is welcome.

  
Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-A (15-1)
Location:
Wilhelmina Park Breda, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 51°34'51.7"N 4°47'04.8"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich PzKpfw. V ("PanzerKampfwagen"; Armored Fighting Vehicle), "Panther", Ausf. ("Ausführung"; Variety) D taken out of action by the Polish 1st Armored Division on the 29th of October 1944 when this unit liberated the Dutch city of Breda. The tank was donated to the people of Breda and therefore it is even today known locally as "The Polish Tank".
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01AUG2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-B (15-2)
Location:
Zandoerle, Municipality of Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
GPS Location: 51°24'51.4"N 5°21'31.6"E.
Item
Description: German anti tank canon, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40, 75 millimeter caliber. The third photograph was taken during a local folklore event when the canon was used as a very suitable climbing object for the younger townspeople.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 03AUG2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-C (15-3)
Location:
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 51°50'51.5"N 5°52'21.4"E.
Item
Description: German 5 cm PAK (Panzer Abwehr Kanone; Anti Tank Canon) 38. This Battle Relic sits on the Waal river bank, a bit neglected, overlooking the Nijmegen road bridge, captured by the Allies in September 1944 at a high casualty rate. One of the tires of this canon is still intact and comes from the German Continental Tire factory.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 01OCT2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-D (15-4)
Location:
Place de Roi Albert, Houffalize, Belgium

GPS Location: 50°07'44.3"N 5°47'26.9"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich PzKpfw. V ("PanzerKampfwagen"; Armored Fighting Vehicle), "Panther", Ausf. G. This tank belonged to the German 116th Armored 'Windhund' (Whippet) Division. This tank could do with a new paintjob. We discovered that  the front end machine gun could still be moved.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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UPDATE 25DEC2023:
The Panther Ausführung G of Houffalize had been away from the town for restoration during five years.
In 2023 it was returned and we took these photos of it on 16DEC2023:
Note that it is forbidden to climb on the vehicle now, as it sits in a covered rocky nature scene, but we managed to slap one BattleDetective.com magnet on the left side of it.

                               

Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-E (15-5)
Location:
Rue d'Eglize, La Gleize, Belgium

GPS Location: 50°24'36.5"N 5°50'46.3"E.
Item
Description: Tiger II or "Königstiger" (King Tiger). This tank is "parked" in front of the Historical Museum December 1944 in La Gleize. What strikes anyone examining this piece of equipment up close, is the sheer size of it.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-F (15-6)
Location:
Geneindsestraat, Valkenburg, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 50°52'04.7"N 5°49'56.0"E.
Item
Description:  German anti tank canon, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40, 75 millimeter caliber. This German canon is placed in a beautiful park surrounding the Municipal Hall of Valkenburg in the Dutch Province of Limburg.
A sign tells the story that this canon was destroyed by elements of the US Army's 30th "Old Hickory" Division on September 17th 1944 when the liberated Valkenburg. The barrel and armor plate still show battle scars.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 25SEP2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-G (15-7)
Location:
Deventer, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 52°14'58.5"N 6°09'30.2"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich 3,7 centimeter anti tank canon, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 36. This canon is located in a small park under the Northern ramp of the traffic bridge across the IJssel river leading into the town of Deventer. It was this bridge where in 1976 the movie A Bridge Too Far was filmed. Various other locations in Deventer were used for scenes which took place in Arnhem, Eindhoven and Leopoldsburg.
This canon is painted with the patches of various units of the British Second Army and the names of the locations where they fought in Europe.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01OCT2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-H (15-8)
Location:
Route d'Achêne, 5561 Houyet, (Celes), Belgium
GPS Location: 50°13'55.2"N 5°00'15.8"E.
Item
Description: German Panther Type "G" tank, also known to the Germans as Panzer V or by its ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 171. This tank was armed with a 75 millimeter main gun and two MG34 7.92 millimeter machineguns. This particular tank belonged to the 2. (second) Panzer Division of the German regular army (Heer) and spearheaded the advance of Kampfgruppe (battle group) Cochenhausen during the Ardennes Offensive; or "Von Rundstedt Offensive" to the Belgians. It ran on a mine in the early morning of December 24th, 1945 disabling it. Since the war it has been a tourist attraction for the nearby café named "Le Tank".
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 30OCT2011

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-I (15-9) (CANCELLED)
Location:
Groesbeek, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 51°47'06.8"N 5°56'14.1"E.
Item
Description: German anti tank canon, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40, 75 millimeter caliber. This particular canon can be seen on the grounds of the Liberation Museum in Groesbeek, The Netherlands. However, it is accessible to the public from the main Wylerbaan road and one does not have to pay an entrance fee to visit this artillery piece or the British M4 Sherman tank named "Robin Hood" on the same lawn.
The canon has these texts painted on the armor plate (translated from the Dutch language):
"This artillery wreaked havoc in Nijmegen from September 1944 to February 1945. Silenced on the 8th of February 1945 by SGT. Mick Savage, CPL L.S. Maso, CPL A. Britton, RCA (Royal Canadian Artillery)"
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 14NOV2012

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This Relic CANCELLED due to current display in the new Freedom Museum (was: Liberation Museum) which can only be accessed after paying the entrance fee.:

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Photo taken on 4SEP2019

Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-J (15-10)
Location:
Raadhuisplein, Susteren, The Netherlands
GPS Location: 51°03'56.9"N 5°51'15.1"E.
Item
Description: 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone (PAK) antitank canon, type 43/41.
This canon, which is placed on a brick pedestal on Raadhuisplein (Town Hall Square) of Susteren is part of a monument reminding of the town being in the front line between September 1944 and January 1945. The villagers of Susteren had all been evacuated to the nearby town of Posterholt. On January 17th 1945 the town was liberated by the British. In 2000 this canon was restored with the help of the local Kiwanis Club and the construction company of Hans Wagter. Note rubber tires from the German city of Fulda and a bicycle lock that someone fixed to the armored shield of the canon.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 28MRT2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-K (15-11)
Location:
CR 337, Troisvierges, Luxembourg
GPS Location: 50°07'05.2"N 6°00'17.2"E.
Item
Description: 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone (Anti Tank Gun) PAK 43. This canon is located along Highway CR337 and stands next to a monument dedicated to the liberation of Troisvierges by the US 6th Armored Division on January 23, 1945.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-L (15-12)
Location:
Boulaide, Luxemburg
GPS Location: 49°52'18.4"N 5°48'29.1"E.
Item
Description: 155 millimeter Schwere Haubitze (Heavy Howitzer). This canon, and the 88 millimeter canon, featured in our sub file 15-M, are located on a wooded hilltop, locally known as "Hochfels", outside the village of Boulaide. Relatively new rustic wooden signs explain the characteristics of the gun but the "exhibit" itself is in a deplorable state. The solid rubber tires are missing and the wet forest takes its toll in the shape of corrosion. 
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-M (15-13)
Location:
Boulaide, Luxemburg
GPS Location: 49°52'18.4"N 5°48'29.1"E.
Item
Description: 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone, placed close to the Heavy Field Howitzer featured in sub file 15-L. When we visited this gun in May 2011, some clothes from the users of the nearby log cabin in the woods, lay strewn on the guns pedestal. 
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-N (15-14)
Location:
Cherain, Belgium
GPS Location: 50°10'50.3"N 5°51'53.2"E.
Item
Description: FH 18 Schwere Haubitze (Heavy Howitzer), This 15 centimeter canon sits in a small park in between three streets leading through the small village of Cherain. In front of the canon is a small stone marker reminding of the 100th anniversary of Belgium's independence in 1930. This gun has extensive battle dame caused by shrapnel.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub Files No.: 15-O and 15-O Bis (15-15.1 and 15-15.2)
Location:
Burdinne, Belgium
GPS Location: 50°35'01.2"N 5°04'21.0"E.
Item
Description: Two German 75 millimeter anti tank canons, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40,  flank the World War One memorial monument in Burdinne's town square.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-P (15-16)
Location:
Clerveaux, Luxemburg
GPS Location: 50°03'15.8"N 6°01'50.5"E.
Item
Description: An impressive PAK 43 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone (88 millimeter Anti Tank Gun) welcomes visitors entering the Clerveaux Museum of the Ardennes Battle together with an M4A3 Sherman tank of the 9th Armored Division, next to it. The museum is located in an old castle on a hilltop. This canon could also do with some maintenance.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-Q (15-17)
Location:
Grandmenil, Belgium
GPS Location: 50°17'26.4"N 5°39'36.9"E.
Item
Description: Tank, Panther Type "G". This tank belonged to the 12 SS "Hitler Jugend" (Hitler Youth) Panzer Division was left behind after the battle and sits on a cross roads in Grandmenil today. Perhaps the broken right track has caused its abandonment.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-R (15-18)
Location:
Heinerscheid, Luxembourg
GPS Location: 50°05'37.6"N 6°05'12.5"E.
Item
Description: 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone (88 millimeter Anti Tank Gun). This canon is placed in a small memorial park, next to a US M2A1 Howitzer. The park is dedicated to the US 6th Armored Division who liberated Heinerscheid on January 28th, 1945.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-S (15-19)
Location:
Rue des Armées Américaines, Manhay, Belgium
GPS Location: 50°17'28.2"N 5°40'30.6"E.
Item
Description: Barrel of an 88 millimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone (88 millimeter Anti Tank Gun). This barrel was discovered during construction work in the Manhay area in 1996.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-T (15-20)
Location:
Corner of Martinusstraße and Zum Alten Buche, Meyerode, Luxemburg
GPS Location: 50°19'41.9"N 6°11'18.9"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich 7,5 centimeter Panzer Abwehr Kanone PAK 40 in front of the local school.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-U (15-21)
Location:
Route d'Arlon, Useldange, Luxembourg
GPS Location: 49°45'49.3"N 5°58'32.7"E.
Item
Description: sK18, Schwere Kanone (Heavy Canon), 10,5 centimeter canon.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-V (15-22)
Location:
Route de Noertrange, Wiltz, Luxembourg
GPS Location: 49°58'14.2"N 5°54'56.9"E.
Item
Description:  Two German artillery pieces flank a memorial dedicated to the musicians of the US 28th Division Band who helped defending the Luxembourg town of Wiltz on December 18th, 1944. Below is an 8,8 centimeter PAK 43 anti tank gun.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-W (15-23)
Location:
Route de Noertrange, Wiltz, Luxembourg
GPS Location: 49°58'13.2"N 5°54'57.4"E.
Item
Description:  The other gun is an LeFH18/40 "Leichte Feldhaubitze" (light field howitzer). Its caliber is 10,5 centimeter.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01MAY2012

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-X (15-24)
Location:
Dinant, Belgium (Not open to the public outside opening hours).
GPS Location: 50°15'41.9"N 4°54'43.2"E.
Item
Description:  Inside an obscure passage in the citadel of Dinant (birth place of Adolphe Sax; inventor of the saxophone) this German 20 millimeter(.79 inch) FLAK 38 (Flugabwehrkanone; anti-aircraft gun) piece overlooks the West bank of the Meuse river. It typically had a crew of 7 and used 20 round magazines.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 27APR2013

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-Y (15-25)
Location:
Camp Elsenborn, Belgium (Not open to the public without previous appointment).
GPS Location: 50°27'51.6"N 6°11'04.9"E.
Item
Description:  German anti tank gun, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40, 7,5 centimeter caliber. This particular artillery piece can be seen on the grounds of the Camp Elsenborn military facility of the Belgian Army. It sits in front of a very impressing museum about the history of the museum, dating back to the 19th century when this part of Belgium was German territory; annexed due to the Treaty of Versailles after World War 1. Situated inside a military facility, this Battle Relic is not actually open to the general public, but due to the welcome reception we received during our visit, we wish to add it to this publication.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 08MAY2013

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-Z (15-26)
Location:
Maastrichterlaan 45, Beek (Limburg), The Netherlands (Not open to the public outside opening
hours).
GPS Location: 50°56'16.5"N 5°47'23.5"E.
Item
Description: This 7,5 centimeter tank gun, type Panzer Abwehr Kanone, 40 is located in the parking area of the brand new EyeWitness Museum, in Beek in the Dutch province of Limburg. This excellent museum opened May 3rd 2013 and features over 140 life sized mannequins explaining the major events of World War Two in very realistic dioramas. In compliance with Dutch firearms legislation, this canon's barrel was pierced and cut open above the breech so it can't be used for firing anymore. We found the elevation and windage adjustment wheels still in working order. Again, an artillery piece on property with limited public access, but one in almost mint condition.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 18MAY2013

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-AA (15-27)
Location:
Rue de Général de Gaulle, Billy-Berclau, departement Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, arrondissement of Bhétune (France)
GPS location: 50°31'11.2"N 2°52'07.8"E.

Item Description: In the small French town of Billy-Berclau we found this German 7,5 centimeter PAK 40 anti-tank gun. It is placed within the gates of the local cemetery in front of seven British Commonwealth War Graves. Five of these soldiers gave their lives as members of the Allied expeditionary force which tried to stop the German invasion of May 1940, and three died during the liberation of the region in September 1944. One soldier, who was Killed in Action on the 25th of May 1940, was never identified and rests in the cemetery as "A Soldier of the 1939-1945 War". The artillery piece itself was captured on September 2nd 1944 by four members of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) named Charles Drelon, Philippe Sai, Armand Drelon and René Frémaux.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 22NOV2013

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-BB (15-28)
Location:
Braine-l'Alleu, near Waterloo, Province of Waals-Brabant, Belgium,
GPS location: 50°41'11.05"N, 4°22'16.58"E.

Item Description: During a trip to the 1815 combat scenes of the Battle of Waterloo, we came across this Third Reich LeFH18 (Leichte Felt Haubitze 18, or light field howitzer). This canon is placed in the middle of a car park in Braine-l'Alleu and is part of a World War I and II memorial honoring the sons of this down who died in these wars.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 08JAN2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-CC (15-29)
Location:
Le Dézert, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 49°20'40.98"N, 1°16'56.92"E.

Item Description:  This PanzerAbwehrKanone (PAK) 40 is located right in front of the town hall of Le Dézert. When we photographed this artillery piece in late May, the city just had it painted to be spick and span for the 70th commemoration of D-Day in 2014.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 29MAY2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-DD (15-30)
Location:
La Madeleine (Utah Beach), Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 49°41'451.96"N, 1°17'51.41"E.

Item Description: In the dunes of La Madeleine behind Utah Beach this 5 centimeter KampfwagenKanone 39 (KwK 39), or ‘fighting vehicle canon’ is still aimed at the sea from its concrete emplacement on top of the former German Widerstandsnest (Wn) No. 5.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 30MAY2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-EE (15-31)
Location:
Benouville, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 49°24'20.99"N, 0°27'37.98"E.

Item Description: 5cm KwK 39 canon in concrete gun pit next to "Pegasus Bridge" in Bénouville. The Bridge was one of the D-Day objectives of the British 6th Airborne Division and was captured in the early morning hours of June 6th 1944 by glider troops of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Regiment. The gun has never been removed after the war. Here is a photograph of British tourists playing with the gun in 1947.
EXHIBITS:
Photos taken on 01JUN2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-FF (15-32)
Location:
Habloville, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 48°78'50.12"N, 0°.16'94.59"E.
Item Description: In the small village of Habloville a 10.5 centimeter Leichte FeldHaubitze (LeFH) or ‘light field howitzer’ is placed next to the community’s war memorial which is adorned by a rooster; the French national symbol.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 01JUN2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-GG (15-33)
Location:
Vimoutiers, Departement Orne, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 48°92'36.52"N, 0°21'49.08"E.

Item Description: This Tiger I of the "E" type belonged to the 503rd SS Panzer Abteilung. Its crew managed to drive this Panzer out of the ‘Falaise Pocket’ only to get stranded with an empty fuel tank near Vimoutiers. The tank bears the scars of an attempt to scrap it, but at a very late moment, the city bought the tank and it is now on display in a park-like rest area along the D-979 highway.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 01JUN2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-HH (15-34)
Location:
Courseulles-sur-Mer, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 49°33'57.08"N, 0°45'82.69"E.

Item Description:  This 5cm KwK 39 canon is all that is left of the German Widerstandsnest (Resistance Nest, or infantry strongpoint) Wn 29 at Courseulles-sur-Mer behind Juno Beach in the Canadian sector of the Normandy landings of June 1944. This canon is heavily damaged by artillery fire.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 08JUN2014

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-II (15-35)
Location:
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Basse-Normandie, France
GPS location: 49°33'23.04"N, 0°39'40.93"E.

Item Description:  Part of Widerstandsnest 27 in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, this 5 centimeter KwK 39 gun is still placed in its "Haube" concrete casemate. The gun still shows the damage from the Canadian AVRE tank that took it out of action. This artillery piece has so many post-war coats of paint on it, that we had to add extra magnets to the famous magnetic Battle Detective sticker to attach it on the gun. Click here for a photo of the gun shortly after its capture in June 1944.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27FEB2017

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-JJ (15-36)
Location:
Grounds of the Arnhem War Museum 40-45 on No. 780 Kemperbergerweg, Arnhem, Province of Gelderland, The Netherlands (Artillery piece accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 52°01'37.05"N, 5°52'19.05"E.

Item Description:  We have been debating intensely whether or not to include this PanzerAbwehrKanone (PAK) 40 in our list of Third Reich artillery in the European Theater of Operations with public access. This anti tank guns sits within the grounds of the Arnhem War Museum 40-45 on No. 780 Kemperbergerweg outside of Arnhem. When we visited the museum on 30NOV2013, the canon was placed behind a fence and the owners warned us of a vicious dog guarding its perimeter. Because of the facts that we were able to carefully attach a magnetic Battledetective.com sticker on one of its wheels and that the gun can be seen from the nearby road (and on Google StreetView) we did add the gun here.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 30NOV2013

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-KK (15-37)
Location:
Grounds of the Deelen Air Base Museum on No. 10 Hoenderloseweg, Arnhem, Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands (Artillery piece accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 52°3'40.756''N, 5°53' 52.342''E.
Item
Description:  Third Reich 75mm anti aircraft canon; captured in 1940 from the French (originally a Schneider 75mm gun) which defended the Arnhem road bridge during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. After the battle a German demolition team (‘Sprengkommando’) blew the gun’s breech. In 1996 it was dug up and put on display on the lawn in front of the Deelen Air Base Museum near Arnhem. This gun was the #5 piece in a Nazi labor unit (RAD, or ‘Reichs Arbeits Dienst’) battery which designated it "Emil" after the 5th letter in their spelling alphabet.
Although it is a captured foreign weapon (‘Beutewaffe’) and placed in a museum lawn - albeit close to the roadway; without a fence - we decided to feature this artillery piece here, because of it significance in the Battle of Arnhem and the elaborate explanation museum staff gave us when we visited Deelen on August 26th 2014.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 25AUG2014

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UPDATE 17FEB2024:
Schneider Beutewaffe "Emile" has been restored since we photographed it in 2018. When we visited Deelen on 17FEB2024 we found it no longer in the familiar Wehrmacht "Gelb-Grün-Rot" (Yellow Green Red) camouflage scheme but repainted in"Feldgrau Dunkel"  (Dark Field Gray).

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-LL (15-38)
Location:
Grounds of the Musée Mémorial d'Omaha Beach on 23 Avenue de la Libération in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France (Artillery piece accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 49°22'00.77"N, 0°52'56.82"W.

Item Description: Third Reich 5cm KwK 39 canon; originally designed to serve in tanks but often found in Normandy for coastal defense purposes.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 06JUN2015

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-MM (15-39)
Location:
Grounds of the Musée Mémorial d'Omaha Beach on 23 Avenue de la Libération in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France (Artillery piece accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 49°22'00.77''N, 0°52'56.82''W.
Item
Description:  Third Reich Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK: Anti-tank gun) 43, 88 millimeter caliber.
No less than 2098 of these guns were manufactured. It fired with a semi-automatic horizontal sliding block breech. The mobility of this gun made it a formidable weapon. It could fire off six to ten rounds per minute and had an effective range of almost ten miles.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 06JUN2015

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-NN (15-40)
Location:
Grounds of the Oorlogsmuseum (War Museum) Ossendrecht
(Artillery piece accessible to the public outside opening hours).
Driveway of Putseweg No. 60, 4641SL Ossendrecht (N-Br.) The Netherlands
GPS location: 51°23'08.69''N, 4°22'03.02''E.
Item
Description:  Third Reich Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK: Anti-tank gun) 40.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 25JUL2015.
Although this artillery piece is placed behind a chain fence with an "off limits" sign on it, we added it anyway because we were allowed to attach our magnetic stickers on it by the museum's curator Jan M. De Jonge after a very pleasant personal tour of the museum on 25JUL2015.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-OO (15-41)
Location: 
Grounds of a former textile plant on No. 6 Laan van Hilbelink, 7101WG Winterswijk (Gld.), The Netherlands.
The site is now in use for small businesses and the depot of the local museum whose staff was of great help in getting us access to this artillery piece. After the war, it sat for decades as a telltale sign in the front yard of the local Westerdiep Garage in Winterswijk.
(Gun barrel accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 51°58'08.64''N, 6°43'24.41''E.
Item
Description:  Barrel of a Soviet 152 millimeter Model M1937 ML-20 Howitzer; according to the sign attached to the barrel, it was captured by the Nazis in Stalingrad and subsequently used during the Battle of Arnhem and used for fire missions on the German city of Bocholt on March 30th 1945.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken om 30MRT2016.
We have encountered complete M1937 ML-20 Howitzers on a former Soviet monument in Berlin in 2014 and recognized this barrel from these. Although this artillery piece is only open to the public during opening hours of the businesses on the site (Roy’s Gym and the Hertgers Trucking Co. to be precisely) and it is also a Third Reich “Beutewaffe” (looted armament) we still publish it here because of its historical relevance and the effort we took in driving to remote Winterswijk twice on 27 & 30MAR2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-PP (15-42)
Location: 
Lot in front of old dwelling and watermill housing the Regional Maaskant '44 War Museum on Watermolenstraat 12, 6127AP Grevenbicht (LB), The Netherlands.
(Vehicle accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 51°0’30.06”N, 5°46’07.44”E.
Item
Description:  Lorraine 37 L Schlepper (f) tractor. Originally of French origin, this tractor was used by the Nazis as a "Beutewaffe" (looted armament) after the capitulation of France in June of 1940, when over 300 Lorraine 37 tractors were captured. At first the Nazis used these vehicles in their original role as ammunition and personnel tractors but where later transformed into weapon carriers by installing turrets and artillery pieces such as the 10,5 cm L.F.H. (Leichte FeldHaubitze) or the 15 cm SIG33, (Schweres InfanterieGeschutz) as its main gun. Best known were the versions with a 7,62cm PAK (r) (a "Beutewaffe" captured from the Soviets; hence the letter 'r' for Russian) or 7,5cm PAK 40 (featured in this article in Battle Relics 15-T, 15-AA, 15-JJ and 15-NN), named "Marder I", one of the first successful Third Reich tank destroyers. Due to this particular vehicle’s number (517) it is the owner's theory that his tractor was built in the unoccupied Vichy French area. The Germans allowed Lorraine's 37/44 to be built as tractors for agricultural purposes and ordered them together with armored superstructures which were delivered unassembled. Because these relatively thin-armored fighting vehicles were no match against late war Soviet tanks, most Lorraine 37 based vehicles were redeployed ion the Western front and the owner does not rule out that vehicle 517 saw action in the area of its current location in the Netherlands in September 1944.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAR2016.
When we visited the museum on Easter Sunday 2016 we found it closed. The Lorraine 37 L Schlepper (f) numbered 517 however was parked at the roadside. Although partially covered under a plastic tarp to keep the elements out of the vehicle we could get some good pictures of this battle relic. Questions asked the museum staff about actual opening hours remain unanswered to this time of publication, but perhaps we will be given the opportunity to photograph Lorraine 517 fully uncovered in the near future.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-QQ (15-43)
Location: 
Lot in front of building the Bulge Relics Museum on Route d'Ottré 41+, Joubieval, B-Vielsalm (Province of Luxembourg), Belgium.
(Gun barrel accessible to the public outside opening hours).
GPS location: 50°15’34.50”N, 5°50’54.09”E.
Item
Description: Barrel of a Third Reich Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK: Anti-tank gun) 40. A museum staff member explained to us that a local farmer had used the gun barrel to hold up a barn roof. When the barn was refurbished recently, the barrel had been donated to the museum. On the museum's website we read that the muzzle break had been cut in order for the barrel to be used as a support beam. After the barrel was donated the missing piece was welded back on the muzzle break. The barrel shows some damage consistent with artillery shell fragments impacts. It also bears the stamped letters "BRM" on the top of the barrel. Unfortunately we couldn't trace this back to a "Waffenamt" manufacturer's code or other designation.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 07AUG2016.
We visited the Bulge Relics Museum on Sunday 07AUG2016 and took these photos of the barrel:

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-RR (15-44)
Location: 
Along national Highway 3537 next to the exit of Expressway 21/ E371 to Svidník near Kapišová, Prešov region, Svidník district, Slovakia.
GPS location: 49°19’37.27”N, 21°35’34.22”E.
Item
Description: Panzerkampfwagen IV tank as part of a monument commemorating the Dukla-Carpathian Offensive in the Fall of 1944. It shows a Soviet T34/85 tank crushing a Third Reich tank in a scene that reminds of ancient paintings depicting wild animals fighting. We visited this monument on 8SEP2016 and found the PzKpfw IV painted in the yellow-green-red camouflage scheme of the Wehrmacht, but we have seen earlier images of the German tank painted in the early war-time dark gray ("Dunkelgrau No. 46" in German).
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 09SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-SS (15-45)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Institute of Military History on Bardejovská No. 14 in Svidník, Prešov region, Svidník district, Slovakia.
GPS location: 49°18’31.20”N, 21°34’01.57”E.
Item
Description: 15 cm Schwere Feldhaubitze 18 or sFH 18, nicknamed Immergrün ("Evergreen").
This gun was the World War 2 basic Third Reich heavy howitzer, serving alongside the smaller 10,5 cm leFH 18. It was based on the World War 1 design of the 15 cm sFH 13, and  was outdated compared to the weapons it faced. It was the first artillery weapon equipped with rocket-assisted ammunition to increase range.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 09SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-TT (15-46)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Institute of Military History on Bardejovská No. 14 in Svidník, Prešov region, Svidník district, Slovakia.
GPS location: 49°18’31.20”N, 21°34’01.57”E.
Item
Description:  Sonderkraftfahrzeug Sd.Kfz. 251 Hanomag.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 09SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-UU (15-47)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising on Kapitulská No. 23 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
GPS location: 48°44’07.99”N, 19°08’57.81”E.
Item
Description: Leichte Feldhaubitze LeFH-18/40, 10,5 centimeter canon.
EXHIBITS:

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-VV (15-48)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising on Kapitulská No. 23 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
GPS location: 48°44’07.99”N, 19°08’57.81”E.
Item
Description: Sturmgeschütz StuG-40, Ausführung G.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 11SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-WW (15-49)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising on Kapitulská No. 23 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
GPS location: 48°44’07.99”N, 19°08’57.81”E.
Item
Description: Panzerkampfwagen IV.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 11SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-XX (15-50)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising on Kapitulská No. 23 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
GPS location: 48°44’07.99”N, 19°08’57.81”E.
Item
Description: Sonderkraftfahrzeug Sd.Kfz 250.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 11SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-YY (15-51)
Location: 
Permanent open-air display in the public park of the Museum of Slovak National Uprising on Kapitulská No. 23 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
GPS location: 48°44’07.99”N, 19°08’57.81”E.
Item
Description: Sonderkraftfahrzeug Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausführung D.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 11SEP2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-ZZ (15-52)
Location: 
Yard of the club house of the "Ecuador" diving team (unlimited public access) on No. 43 Willem Barentszkade in 8881 BD West Terschelling, island of Terschelling, Province of Friesland, the Netherlands.
GPS location: 53°21’43.30”N, 5°13’04.17”E.
Item
Description: 10.5 cm/45 (4.1") SK C/32 deck gun from the Krupp Steel Co. originally mounted on the 1940 Type Kriegsmarine minesweeper ("Minensuchboot" in German) M469.
This minesweeper was built by the Van der Giessen & Zonen shipyard in Krimpen a/d IJssel in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation. It was launched on 9JUL1942, commissioned on 6JAN 1943 and served in the 469th "Minensuchflottille". On 4JUL1944 minesweeper M469 was sunk after being attacked by British Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boat MTB458 commanded by Lt. Cdr. Derek Wright at 0250 hours, North West of the Dutch island of Vlieland at position 53° 21" N 04° 57"E. On 8AUG1988 the "Ecuador" diving team from the island of Terschelling salvaged the deck gun from the broken stern of the M469. Today the gun is on display on the lot of the diving team in the harbor of Terschelling. Also two German deck guns of the First World War are on display there.
The 10.5 cm/45 SK C/32 deck gun was designed in 1932, weighs 3,494 lbs. (1,585 kg) and has a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 02DEC2020.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-AAA (15-53)
Location: 
Lauweplaats public square in Lauwe, a borough of the municipality of Menen, Province of West-Flanders, Belgium.
GPS location: 50°47’42.20”N, 3°11’05.70”E.
Item
Description: This canon became the pride of the Belgian village of Lauwe when it was captured during the battle for a bridge across the river Leie and participated in the liberation of Lauwe on 6SEP1944.The Allies presented the canon to the citizens of Lauwe in gratitude for their resistance in securing the bridge during the German retreat.
The canon of Lauwe is a mixture of a French World War One (made in 1915) Model 1897 75 millimeter canon, built by the Schneider arms factory and the German 7.5 centimeter Panzerabwehrkanone 38 with the Third Reich "Beutewaffe" nomenclature Pak97/38.
From lack of sufficient canons of their own manufacture for deployment at the Russian front, the Third Reich transformed captured canons during World War Two.
The canon is therefore a mixture of French and German parts: the gun itself is French but the rest such as the mount, shield, wheels, muzzle flash hider, etcetera, are German.
After World War Two the gun has been moved between the communities of Lauwe and Rekkem to finally find its current place on Lauweplaats in 2010.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 06NOV2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-BBB (15-54)
Location: 
Lot in front of the Bastogne Ardennes '44 Museum on No. 637 Bras (Highway N84 leading from Bastogne into the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) in 6600 Bastogne, Province of Luxembourg, Belgium.
GPS location: 49°56’47.41”N, 5°52’50.56”E.
Item
Description: German "Hetzer" self-propelled gun. The museum owner explained to this agency that this is a war-time piece. The gun would be a PAK 40 gun; with the muzzle break missing.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on18DEC2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-CCC (15-55)
Location: 
Lawn in between the "Schumanns Eck" off-ramp of national highway 15 ('Bastnichnerstroos') leading North-East to local highway 218 ('Rue Grande-Duchesse Charlotte') near the Luxembourg National Liberation Monument, town of Nothum, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
GPS location: 49°56’42.20”N, 3°11’05.70”E.
Item
Description:  PAK 40 anti tank gun. No muzzle break. Barrel shows signs of damage where  the muzzle break had apparently been removed by force.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 18DEC2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-DDD (15-56)
Location: 
Patio of the Military Historical Museum on No. 6 Carrer General Gil Dolz, 46010 Valencia, Spain
GPS location: 39°28’18.63”N, 0°21’43.40”W.
Item
Description:  Third Reich 88-56 dual purpose (anti aircraft/anti tank) canon purchased from the Germans by General Franco's Nationalist Army. This artillery piece can be visited daily in the patio of the museum. The entrance to the museum is free of charge.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 30DEC2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-EEE (15-57)
Location: 
Hall 1 (Heavy material) of the Military Historical Museum on No. 6 Carrer General Gil Dolz, 46010 Valencia, Spain
GPS location: 39°28’18,66”N, 0°21’43,93”E.
Item
Description:  PAK 40 anti tank gun. During World War Two a German ship carrying equipment destined for the Afrika Korps harbored in Valencia to escape destruction by an Allied ship. The story has it that this PAK gun was brought ashore and kept by the Spanish.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 30DEC2016.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-FFF (15-58)
Location: 
Place du 6 Juin 1944, Arromanches-les-Bains, Normandy, France
GPS location: 49°20’24,45”N, 0°37’18,77”E.
Item
Description:   88 millimeter dual purpose anti tank/aircraft gun. This canon is located in the parking lot of the Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches-les-Bains which overlooks the Mulberry artificial harbor out on the sea. This canon shows damage from a direct hit at the gun's breech in closed position (from a sharp object on high velocity incoming from the left) caused it to be bend out of shape to its right.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 26FEB2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-GGG (15-59)
Location: 
6 Avenue du 6 Juin, 14150 Ouistreham, Normandy, France
GPS location: 49°17’14.40”N, 0°15’08.14”E.
Item
Description:  88 millimeter dual purpose anti tank/aircraft gun. This gun is located in the yard of the Grand Bunker Museum in Ouistreham which is accessible to the public 24/7.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAY2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-HHH (15-60)
Location: 
Route de Grandcamp, 14710 Vierville sur Mer, Normandy, France
GPS location: 49°22’30.27”N, 0°54’29.62”E.
Item
Description:  88 millimeter dual purpose anti tank/aircraft gun. This gun is located in the yard of the

D-Day Omaha Museum in Vierville which is accessible to the public 24/7.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAY2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-III (15-61)
Location: 
Route de Grandcamp, 14710 Vierville sur Mer, Normandy, France
GPS location: 49°20’30.36”N, 0°54’30.36”E.
Item
Description:  5cm KwK 39 canon on display in the yard of the D-Day Omaha Museum in Vierville, Normandy. 
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAY2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-JJJ (15-62)
Location: 
Route de Grandcamp, 14710 Vierville sur Mer, Normandy, France
GPS location: 49°22’30.56”N, 0°54’29.32”E.
Item
Description: Canon and armor plate of a Third Reich "Panther" tank; officially known as Panzerkampfwagen V or Zd.Kfz. 171. The gun is a 7,5 cm kwK 42 and on display in the yard of the D-Day Omaha Museum in Vierville, Normandy. 
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAY2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-KKK (15-63)
Location: 
Molenstraat at the corner of Zr. Marie Adolphinestraat in Ossendrecht, Municipality of Woensdrecht, The Netherlands
GPS location: 51°23'36.4"N 4°19'47.6"E.
Item
Description: French 155 millimeter C MLE Schneider canon of 1917, used as a "Beutewaffe" by the Nazis and put out of action by Canadian troops on 6OCT1944 during the liberation of Ossendrecht. A sign near the canon not only states that this artillery piece has been restored in 1992 by staff of the Queen Wilhelmina Barracks but also that a German conscripted soldier was KIA when the gun was silenced. This canon weighs 3350 kilograms (7826 lbs), fires 45 kilogram (100 lbs) shells at a range of 11000 meters (12030 yards) and was typically drawn by 8 horses.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 27MAY2017.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-LLL (15-64)
Location: 
On the grounds of the "Zeeland Liberation Park", part of the Liberation Museum Zeeland on Coudorp 41, in 4455AH Oudorp, Province of Zeeland, the Netherlands
GPS location:  51°28'2.87"N 3°44'27.60"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich Pak 36 (Panzerabwehrkanone) 3.7 cm caliber anti-tank gun. The Nazi invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940 revealed this gun's inadequate penetrating power against French and British heavy tanks but was, however, powerful enough to defeat most of the Allied armor in the campaign. From late 1940 onward the PAK 36 was replaced by the 5 cm PAK 38 anti-tank gun and from November 1941 by the 7.5 cm PAK 40.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 05FEB2018.
This gun is located in a park adjacent to the museum which was made up as a stretch of local coastline with Atlantik Wall defenses, a Bailey Bridge and a Sherman tank. We found the gun accessible to the public 24/7; but a closed fence may be installed after the planned construction of a new exhibit building is completed in 2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-MMM (15-65)
Location: 
On the grounds of the 501st Régiment de Chars de Combat (Battle Tank Regiment) in the Camp Mourmelon, near Mourmelon-le-Grand, Arrondissement Châlons-en-Champange, France.
GPS location:  49°7'37.37"N 4°22'54.29"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich Panther tank of the Ausführing A type. On September 12th and 13th 1944 elements of the French 2nd Armored Division, while advancing through the region of Dompaire-Damas in the Vosges mountains, came across a defended German facility. 65 Panther tanks and Panzerkampfwagen IV of the German 112th Panzer Brigade were stored here. A fierce battle broke out leading to the destruction or capture of 59 of these tanks. Considered one of the best tanks in World War 2, this Panther survived that battle.
From 1951 to 1952 the 4th squadron of the French 503rd Battle Tank Regiment was equipped with these tanks as "Beutewaffe pur sang".
After that period this particular vehicle was restored into its original colors and given a self-made Zimmerit coating at the Tank Museum in Saumur, France.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 03MAR2018.

This tank is located on a fenced-off and guarded military facility of the French Army. We were given access to document this tank and were escorted from the gate to the tank and back. We were told, however, that the 501st Regiment has "open-gate" days regularly where the general public can enter the regimental area freely. We therefore show this tank here. 

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-NNN (15-66)
Location: 
On the grounds of the Mémorial du Mont Faron museum on Route du Faron in Toulon, département de Var, France.
GPS location:  43°8'59.73"N 5°55'44.24"E.
Item
Description: Third Reich PaK 40 75 millimeter anti-tank canon.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 16MAY2018.
This canon is located on the grounds of the Mémorial du Mont Faron museum and overlooks the French naval city of Toulon. In the past, this museum was named Mémorial du débarquement de Provence (museum of the invasion of the Provence region in France) but has been renewed and opened on April 3rd, 2017. On a high hilltop, accessed by winding mountain roads, in the Toulon lighthouse ('faron' in French) is an excellent museum about Operation "Dragoon" which started on August 15th, 1944 when Allied troops liberated the Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Toulon area. The cannon can only be accessed by paying visitors during museum opening hours; although outside the museum, located in the Mont Faron park a Sherman tank and several Allied artillery pieces are on display day and night. We were given full and exclusive access to the gun during the museum's lunch break.
Again, an artillery piece on property with limited public access, but worth visiting and adding to this list.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-OOO (15-67)
Location: 
Portal of house No 15 on Via Romana (Strada Provinciale 137) in 53024 Torrenieri, Siena province, Italy.
GPS location:  43°05'06.1"N 11°33'01.9"E.
Item
Description: Part - barrel with attached breech block only - of a Third Reich SFh18 ("Schwere Feldhaubitze" or Heavy Field Howitzer 18) 15 centimeter canon.  From measuring its dimensions with a length of 444 centimeters and a barrel diameter of 15 centimeters, it was established that this was part of a SFh18.
Inside the portal and above the gun barrel is a stone sign which does not refer to the artillery piece but describes  how two brothers from this house went to war and didn't return.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 22JUL2018.
This gun barrel is placed in the front portal of a building which houses various families; we where told by one of the residents. The door to the portal is usually open, but can be closed in winter time when it freezes. This item is therefore not entirely open to the public but passers-by are free to visit the gun.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-PPP (15-68)
Location: 
Parking lot on Via Trento in 52043 Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo Province, Italy.
GPS location:  43°20'34.2"N 11°55'25.3"E
Item
Description: Third Reich StuG III "Ausführung G"" self-propelled gun (SP).
This vehicle was left behind by he Germans in July 1944 and was found again in 1991. The restoration has been done by the local "Italian Tank Crewmen Association" and was finished in 1993.
Is has not been rebuilt exactly and many parts where newly created for the project. We did find original rubber tires on the bogey wheels, but all from different German factories. When the Germans retreated from the area, the bridge which this SP was crossing collapsed under its weight and the StuG fell into a river. It remained under the ruins of the old bridge until 1991, when construction work brought it back to the surface.
It should be noted that the only part of this StuG that is original is the lower chassis and running gear. Everything above that (engine decking, fenders, crew compartment, gun barrel) has all been fabricated by the restoration crew.
Internally all that remains are the torsion bars and some of the sprocket drive train. From 1993 to June 2015 the StuG was placed on the Piazzale Giuseppe Garibaldi square. It was then moved to its current location on Via Trento.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 25JUL2018.
This canon is located on a parking lot just outside the historic center and the medieval city walls of Castiglion Fiorentino in Tuscany. 

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-QQQ (15-69)
Location: 
Grounds of the "Biber"-bunker complex on Zandweg 83, 3233ES Oostvoorne, Province of South-Holland, the Netherlands
GPS location:  51°54'48.8"N 4°04'27.6"E
Item
Description: Third Reich 'Flugabwehrkanone FLAK 37mm kaliber' anti-aircraft gun. On European Bunker Day, Saturday 25MAY2019, this canon was presented to the public for the first time on the grounds of the German Luftwaffe radar analysis post ("Funkmeßgerätauswertungsstelle") codenamed "Biber" in the dunes behind the coast of the Dutch town of Oostvoorne. On Bunker Day, many of the concrete pillboxes, strong points, sleeping quarters, fire control stations, gun emplacements etcetera of the former Nazi Atlantikwall coastal defense system which have been preserved since 1945, are open to the public. This anti-aircraft gun was found under the sand in the Rockanje dunes, probably left behind in MAY 1945 due to its massive weight; 6 tons. The artillery is installed on its own specifically engineered FLAK bedding. The crew for the FLAK consisted of 5 to 7 men. The gun could fire 120 shots per minute and its horizontal range was 6600 meters and vertically 4500 meters.
EXHIBITS: Photos taken on 25MAY2019.
This canon is located on the grounds of the "Biber" bunker complex. Although it is a fenced off area open only to the public on Bunker Day and during regular guided tours during spring and summer time, we found it worth visiting and adding to this list.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-RRR (15-70)
Location: 
Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer, 39 Rue de la Mer, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, département Calvados, Normandy region, France.
GPS location: 49°20'36.8"N 0°41'39.7"W
Item
Description: Third Reich 150mm TK C/36 battle ship gun. Located near the Normandy town of Longues-sur-Mer is a German coastal artillery battery (in German: Marineküstenbatterie (MKB) Longues-sur-Mer code-named Widerstandsnest (Wn) 48) consisting of an observation bunker, four gun emplacements in covered concrete casemates together with various other structures such as "Tobruk" mortar and machine gun emplacements and storage and crew accommodation buildings.
The battery is situated in a park-like area which is open to the public all day and all year.
This agency has given the battery’s gun casemates of regelbau (standardized construction) type M272, the numbers 1 to 4 counting up from East to West; looking at their business ends from the sea.
In them are still three relatively intact 150mm TK C/36 battle ship guns and the remains of one destroyed gun consisting of parts of its carriage but without the barrel and breech.
These remnants are blocked from public access by barbed wire / a steel grating attached to the gun opening of casemate number 1 and will therefore not be featured here.
The tops of the gun barrels have "Heereswaffenamtfertigungskennzeichen" (Third Reich Army Weapons Agency manufacturer’s number) "bxb" stamped in them, which stands for the German-controlled "Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Skodawerke, Pilzen" in today’s Czech Republic.
The guns have a range of approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) and a rate of fire of six to eight shots per minute. The casemates had walls and ceilings over 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick. The guns were positioned on a central pivot mount (Mittelpivotlafette - MPL) TL C/36.
EXHIBITS: The TKC C/36 in casemate number 2.
Photos taken on 05AUG2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-SSS (15-71)
Location: 
Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer, 39 Rue de la Mer, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, département Calvados, Normandy region, France.
GPS location: 49°20'36.5"N 0°41'43.4"W
Item
Description: Third Reich 150mm TK C/36 battle ship gun. See also description of item 15-RRR (15-70)
EXHIBITS: The TKC C/36 gun in casemate number 3.
Photos taken on 05AUG2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-TTT (15-72)
Location:
Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer, 39 Rue de la Mer, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, département Calvados, Normandy region, France.
GPS location: 49°20'35.3"N 0°41'46.8"W
Item
Description: Third Reich 150mm TK C/36 battle ship gun. See also description of item 15-RRR (15-70)
EXHIBITS: The TKC C/36 gun in casemate number 4.
Photos taken on 05AUG2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-UUU (15-73)
Location: 
Car park of Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer, Rue du 7 juin 1944, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, département Calvados, Normandy region, France
GPS location: 49°20'34.8"N 0°41'29.5"W
Item
Description: Soviet Putilov canon, calibre 76,2 Model 1917, made in Saint Petersburg, restored by "les Amis de la Batterie" (Friends of the Battery) in 2009.
This Soviet gun was used by the German army to defend the Atlantic Wall. On 7JUN1944 this gun, then situated in the site of the Longues-sur-Mer Battery, near the edge of the cliff, was neutralized by British forces. It is assumed that it saw action in the days after D-Day because empty shell casing were found nearby.
This gun is located on a berm in between the car park and the tourism office at the Longues-sur-Mer Battery.
EXHIBITS: The Putilov canon on the car park at the Battery of Longues-sur-Mer.
Photos taken on 05AUG2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-VVV (15-74)
Location: 
Car park of the Overlord Museum, Lotissement Omaha Center, 14710 Colleville-sur-Mer, département Calvados, Normandy region, France
GPS location: 49°20'53.3"N 0°51'28.2"W
Item
Description: Third Reich 88 millimeter (8,8 centimeter) “Flugzeugabwehrkanone” 36 of Flak 36.
Dual purpose gun deployed in both anti-tank and anti-aircraft roles in WWII. A staggering 21.310 of these guns were produced after being secretly developed in the 1920’s by Krupp, with Bofors of Sweden, against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The gun was deployed in action during the Spanish Civil War by the German Condor Legion, fighting for General Franco and his nationalist army.
This Flak 36 was built in 1939, has a shortened barrel and is located on the car park of the Overlord Museum in Colleville-sur-Mer.
EXHIBITS: The 88 millimeter Flak 36 gun in the car park of the Overlord Museum.
Photos taken on 05AUG2019.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-WWW (15-75)
Location: 
Car park of the Westwall Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe Museum, In der Litzelbach 2, 66955 Pirmasens (town of Niedersimten) Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
GPS location: 49°10'29.9"N 7°35'44.2"E
Item
Description: Item Description: Turret of a German PzKpfw V ("Panzerkampfwagen V"; armored fighting vehicle number V) "Panther" tank. It was planned to install a total of 96 of these turrets in the Westwall defensive line in so-called "Panthertürme" or Panther-towers. In the end only 20 of these turrets were mounted in similar static defensive positions. To our knowledge this is the only Panther turret on a "Turm"-position on display today. The gun's breech is still inside the turret.
This weapon is located on the grounds of a museum which is only open to the public on weekend days from April to November. It is surrounded with barbed wire but (with some risk of wear and tear) accessible from the dead end road leading to the museum. We found it on an early Thursday morning without any signs prohibiting contacting this item.
EXHIBITS: The Pantherturm in the car park of the Westwall Museum Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe. Photos taken on 20AUG2020.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-XXX (15-76)
Location: 
Car park of the Westwall Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe Museum, In der Litzelbach 2, 66955 Pirmasens (town of Niedersimten) Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
GPS location: 49°10'30.6"N 7°35'43.6"E
Item
Description: A very rusty Third Reich Flak 37 88 mm anti-tank/ant-aircraft gun with its barrel split open at the muzzle. Like the "Pantherturm" featured in sub-file 15-WWW (15-75) this weapon is located on the grounds of a museum with limited opening hours. We found it also surrounded with barbed wire but accessible from the public roadway and without any signs prohibiting approaching this battle relic.
EXHIBITS:  The 88 millimeter canon in the car park of the Westwall Museum Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe. Photos taken on 20AUG2020.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-YYY (15-77)
Location: 
Waterfront promenade on the Hook of Holland to Harwich ferry line waterway on Noorderhoofd (pier) in 3151 HG Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands in front of the Atlantikwall Museum.
GPS location: 51°58'53.1"N 4°06'36.6"E
Item
Description: A Third Reich Flak 37 88 mm anti-tank/anti-aircraft gun with many layers of Wehrmacht blue paint on it, making it difficult to attach this agency's magnets. The weapon was manufactured in 1940 and is located in front of a museum which we found closed due to COVID19. It is however easily accessible to the public and many pedestrians strolled by when we photographed it.
EXHIBITS:  The 88 millimeter canon on the waterfront promenade.
Photos taken on 29NOV2020.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-ZZZ (15-78)
Location: 
Place de l'Eglise, 4450 Slins, Municipality of Juprelle, Province of Liége, Belgium
GPS location: 50°43'40.1"N 5°33'47.8"E
Item
Description: A Third Reich PAK 40 75 mm anti-tank gun is placed within a fenced area next to a monument commemorating the soldiers from Slins killed in action during both World Wars on the town square across the church. A sign next to the guns explains that American troops captured this gun after the Battle of Arnhem and took it as war booty but left in in the Slins town square. It has been restored in 2003.
EXHIBITS:  The 75 millimeter canon on Place de l'Eglise (church square) in Slins, Belgium.
Photos taken on 08MAY2021.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-AAAA (15-79)
Location: 
Car park on Biesboschweg in 4926 SJ Lage Zwaluwe, The Netherlands
GPS location: 51°43'05.7"N 4°41'38.4"E
Item
Description: This is a mysterious German World War Two era 10,5 cm howitzer with 2 cylinders (presumably a recuperator and a recoil buffer) in juxtaposition positioned on top of the barrel in a housing covering both cylinders.
It is a mystery in the sense that several details of this artillery piece are known but to date we are unable to determine a nomenclature such as "Leichte Feldhaubitze" (light field howitzer) as this object does not match any known German guns in literature.
We measured the barrel's diameter in the past and it matches a 10,5 caliber.
On the rear end of the breech block it is marked R495 in the upper left corner and GX dxk in the lower right corner. The R-code most likely stands for "Rohr" (barrel) and its serial number and GX for a post-1942 code for the year of manufacture which is not known to this agency.
The code dxk stands for the "Fertigungskennzeichen" or factory code of the German company Menck & Hambrock G.m.b.H., Hamburg-Altona 1, Gr. Brunnenstr. 78.
The gun is coated in several layers of paint causing our agency's magnets to hold only faintly. It is very likely that these paint layers obscure the "small print" with the gun's details usually found on the upper right corner of the breech block.
The gun was found in the water near the Moerdijk bridges in 1989. At that time it was still loaded with a live shell and had to be deactivated by Explosive Ordnance Disposal. On 5SEP2008, it has been placed as a war monument in the swamp area at the Schuddebeurs water pumping station near Schuddebeursweg in Lage Zwaluwe until it was moved to its current location in 2021. Remarkably, a sign was placed near the gun describing it as an 80 millimeter gun first and later as a 105 millimeter caliber. Viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts and knowledge to identify the exact model and type of this gun.
EXHIBITS:  The gun on the car park near the harbor area in Lage Zwaluwe.
Photos taken on 16MAY2021.

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-BBBB (15-80)
Location: 
Corner of rural roads Damweg and Uudsdale, Damme, Province of West-Flanders, Belgium
GPS location: 51°15'08.1"N 3°20'56.3"E
Item
Description:  German 88-millimeter gun barrel section on the intersection of Damweg and Uudsdale outside of Damme in West-Flanders, Belgium. It is placed as a monument for the Battle of 't Molentje close to the location where the Germans abandoned it in September 1944.
This section of barrel comes from one of the two 88mm guns that were set up on mid-September, 1944 near the Vergauwe farm on Damweg in Moerkerke which caused severe damage in the villages of Moerkerke, Vivenkapelle and Sijsele. The 88mm German flak gun was designed in the early 1930s primarily as an anti-aircraft gun and best known for its lethal anti-tank capabilities. In 1936 Krupp began production of the Flak 36, a more economical weapon with a barrel in three sections rather than one. If a section was worn down from firing, it was possible to replace only that section rather than the entire barrel. This is one of those three barrel-sections. This Battle Relic is a bit too small for attachment of our full-sized Battle Detective Agency's magnetic stickers.
EXHIBITS:  The 88mm Flak gun barrel section on a pedestal on the corner of Damweg and Uudsdale in Damme, Belgium.
Photos taken on 02SEP2023

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Battle Relic Sub File No.: 15-CCCC (15-81)
Location: 
Outside wall of the Remember Museum 39-45 at Les Béolles 4, 4890 Thimister-Clermont, Belgium
GPS location: 50°40'07"N 5°53'01"E
Item
Description:  Top or "roof" part of a German Jagdpanzer IV L/70. Also known as Sd.Kfz. 162 ("Sonderkraftfahrzeug", Special Motor Vehicle 162) the Jagdpanzer was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. Officially, only the L/48-armed vehicle was named Jagdpanzer IV. The L/70-armed vehicle (were this roof part described here as Battle Relic 15-81, came from) was named Panzer IV/70. The vehicle was abandoned on 11SEP1944 at the town of Montzen, about 12 kilometers northeast of where it is today. The owners of the Remember Museum 39-45 put a model Jagdpanzer IV L/70 on the wall indicating where this part was when the vehicle was still intact. We found the hinge of one of the top hatches still functioning. The museum, founded in 1994, is well worth visiting. Make sure to have at least three hours available to see the gigantic collection and to make a reservation as the museum can be visited "with guided tours only and always by reservation".
EXHIBITS:  The roof part of a German Panzer IV L/70 on the wall of the Remember Museum 39-45.

Photos taken on 05OCT2024

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