Photographed by a kriegsberichter (war correspondent) attached to the 257. Infanterie-Division, a T-35 (chassis 744-62) belonging to the Soviet 67th. Tank Regiment sits abandoned in the village of Gorodok along the T1425 road. On June 26, 1941, the tank was reported as broken down due to its clutch friction discs having burnt out. It was intended that the tank be towed away for repairs and tow ropes were deployed (not visible in this photograph) but the tank was abandoned instead, apparently in haste as only one of the two ropes was attached to the hull front’s two rings. Still, the crew stripped the tank of its machineguns before departing the area between June 27-30, 1941. This hasty departure was perhaps due to the continued advance of Army Group South (which contained the 257th.) through the region.
This T-35 is notable as being one of the last six T-35 tanks built in 1939 before production ceased. It features the final modifications to the design, the most obvious being the conical shaped turrets which afforded better protection due to its sloped armor.
After sitting in the road for months, by February 1942, the derelict tank had been pushed off the road where it continued to attract the photographer’s eye. Photographs of the T-35 in the summer of 1942 show the tank missing all of its tracks (possibly taken by tank and assault gun troops to affix to their vehicles for added armor). The ultimate fate of this tank is unknown but presumably it was scrapped.
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