Nazi Time Machine Found in Ukraine 2023 

A time-travelling WWII Nazi relic was recently spotted in the Canadian Parliament, too!

This is quite common to find all manner of war material on the former Eastern Front. As a kid growing up in Russia, my friends and I went into the woods all of the time during the summer (outside of Smolensk). In these woods particularly we found several helmets and a GAZ truck. However when I was around 14 a younger kid stepped on an old landmine and ended up dying. I was not allowed in the forest after that.

Thanks to some people on the internet, we know the actual history of this vehicle. It was a movie prop. Specifically, it was constructed in the 1970's for a "Great Patriotic War" (IE WW2) movie that was being produced by the Soviets at the time. The tank was one of several which were cobbled together out of parts of several surplus tanks from Czechoslovakia, as well as modern parts, and some recreated parts. The lower hull of the vehicle is from the rebuilt Panzer IV, while the turret, gun, and mantlet, are new construction made for the movie production. The vehicle was not motorized, but instead was used in a scene where a Russian T-34 tank 'destroyed' it. In that scene, the Panzer IV was pulled along by way of a cable in the front of the vehicle, riding on the BMP tracks. The final drive was disconnected from the shaft to allow it to free wheel. The interior of the tank was completely empty of all nonessential parts, and special movie demolition charges were put in place. At the climatic moment in the film, this tank is 'struck' by a russian tank's round, and explodes. Hence the damage visible on the upper part of the lower body of the tank. Since it was not a complete vehicle though, and lacked fuel, it didn't burn like a real vehicle would have, but did serve as a good movie prop. After the climatic scene, the vehicle was moved around and used for other shots, depicting further fighting and various scenes, and was given a number of other modifications, including having it repainted from Gray, into the color scheme we see it in now. It is not easily visible in the various photographs around the internet, but a large portion of this 'tank' is constructed out of thin sheet steel, to further facilitate moving it around easily, as well as allowing panels to be replaced as repairs are needed on the prop.

Ahh finally Germany sends the needed support to Ukraine! I hear that the Maus Tank was send to the frontlines too.

Dr Felton giving us historic entertainment is one of my favourite past time. Many thanks and love! ❤

Bro spawned 78 years late on wrong server

Back when I was in the Canadian army, near the end of the Cold War, we were shown footage of Soviet troops on exercise, including an impressive hit on a moving tank. The intelligence sergeant present pointed out that it was illegal for Soviets to fire on another Soviet piece of equipment, that what we saw was an old German tank refurbished enough to run just well enough to be a target for an exercise such as we saw. It wouldn’t surprise me if that Panzer IV was just such an example.

The ever new leases of life some German WW2 gear gets are too strange for words. Sturngewehre showing up in various conflicts decades after '45 are another example. As a German engineer, I take some pride in the apparent longevity of our products, but it is strange.

Congratulations on 2 million subscribers! Back in 2018 I subscribed and mainly your channel's content inspired me to go back to college to get my bachelor's degree in History so I can teach. To make a long story short, I'm almost finished(had to go at it part time). Thanks and again congratulations!

Interesting that these wars keep turning over ancient military stuff isn't it? Thanks for sharing, Mark.

Thank you very much Dr Felton for making episodes like this. I'm 13 years old and I love watching all your videos and episodes. It fascinates me a lot. I love history a lot and a lot of the inspiration comes from you. You're videos contain lots of cool interesting information I never knew about. You are a true hidden gem in history. Hope you keep making videos.

His channel covers the best topics involving WWII info., just great.

It's amazing that so much of the German WWII equipment survived at all. After the war, most of it was rounded up and quickly scrapped. Especially the worn out or battle damaged equipment. Some of the still serviceable equipment was used in France and other countries until spare parts dried up.

It is history that should be restored if possible, or as parts to make other Panzer IV's complete. I hate seeing history disappear.

Thank you for returning the original intro, Mark! Love your content!

Hopefully someone will recover this Panzer IV and restore it. The boys at the Australian Armor and Artillery Museum have reatored to running condition german armor in far worse condition then this example.

I remember during the conflict in Afghanistan how many remarkable old vehicles and weapons were found. As a bayonet collector it was amazing to see the variety, origins and age of the weapons that were uncovered and quite a few found their way into the market.

I remember seeing the Panver IV at the Old Patton Armour Museum at Ft. Knox, Kentucky back before they combined the combat arms basic combat training to one base and not spread out all over the country. I think they did that in order to fill the ranks where there is need. I have seen fellow troopers go 11D or 11E to driving 5 ton trucks. I myself spent the first 3 montths at my assigned unit as a 11B on a M113. Best summer of my life! Germany in the summer of 1976 was a time where Bavaria had a relatively dry summer that year and, I spent it riding around Bavaria in the back of a M113 mechanized infantry. It spoiled because the next 2 summers were wet and gloomy. That's were learned to stay dry.

What an extraordinary find and intriguing mystery. I'm sure Dr. Felton will get to the bottom of this. The game is afoot!

Hearing you pronounce the "Ausführung" better than most germans themselves was a weird but cool moment. Nice video!

As a 9 year old kid my auntie & uncle took me on a holiday to Dorset. On this holiday we visited the Bovington Tank Museum & not looking where I was going I somehow managed to bang my head on part of the Panzer IV tank shown at 4:36. It was painful & the metal was totally unyielding. I can still feel the hardness & shock of it as I write this now some 40 years later. The skin wasn't broken but a big bump came up like a golf ball. My Auntie Sheila went to the Tank Museum Shop, bought an ice lolly & told me to hold it on the bump as we continued around the exhibits.

Absolutely amazing Dr. Felton! An actual panzer IV found in the Ukraine, and in somewhat decent condition! Hopefully somebody will make the right choice and It will be recovered, refurbished and become a museum piece.

The chassis, turret, commander's cupola, and road wheels are definitely authentic. No question at all. It is missing a lot of parts as noted. There are collectors who would no doubt like to get this towed into their garage! What a project that would be.

Or it could have been used as a movie prop at some point. If the gun barrel is simply a non-functioning piece of metal pipe, then it may have been just a cosmetic mock-up for the camera, then blown up for a shot, as Mark said there signs of explosives use. Movie crews are also notorious for getting their shots and leaving a mess behind for somebody else to clean up. But then what do I know… Interesting stuff as always from Dr. Felton

So close to 2 million subs! Well done Mark

I hope this one gets recovered and restored. Right now I'm following the restoration of a Stug 3 at an Australian museum. The thing was blow to pieces by the crew. It's amazing watching something so far gone be brought back from the dead.

Russian here. Our reenactors would do anything for a find like that, and if they (hopefully) can get their hands on it, I'm certain they will restore it and use in reenactments like they do some other German and Soviet tanks (seen a Pz. IID and a Marder 3 myself).

Given that there were so many made (and they are still apparently to be found on the Golan Heights) and these are not as 'exotic' as the Big Cat German tanks, I am surprised that such a badly damaged one is worth as much as is stated in the video. Would be a fascinating project for someone with a suitable workshop.

Thanks for all the information packed episodes. My wife and i love watching them! Top notch!

Quite shocked by the price as a collectable.I didnt relise it was that big of a thing outside of museums.

i think your judgement is correct. Somebody had this relic in his barn and was slowly restoring it. It was placed as a decoy somewhere behind the front line. I am not quite sure why anyone who possessed such a thing would not understand its value, perhaps they did but enjoyed owning such a unique object enough to keep hold of it. The Panther in the German basement is a similar example.

I hope it's recovered and put in a museum!

Not at all surprising to see WWII material in Ukraine. I recently saw footage of the weapons cache inside the Soledar salt mine. There were stacks of crates of lend-lease M1 Thompson sub-machine guns still swathed in cosmoline and original brown paper wrapping. The number of Pulemyot Maksima PM1910 machine guns still in use is estimated to be in the hundreds. There's also video evidence of STG 44's being used in Ukraine. The weapon storage vaults in the east were both deep and well populated. And, just recently, the ruzzians are now using 90 year old GAZ-AA полуторка trucks for both tactical assault transport and logistics.

The “found on a range” theory fits with Occam’s Razor the most nicely. If rusted versions can be ignored for decades on the Golan heights, there’s no reason that one couldn’t make it through the Soviet era on a training range, and then be bounced around Ukraine for a few decades too.

I may be wrong, but I would imagine if this was a former range target, it would be in far worse shape than it is presently. Virtually every range target tank I've seen ends up looking like a rusty, bent and twisted colander.

Looking at the damage on the plates it was defiantly used as a target practice at some point. I suspect it was dragged as a decoy. The Ukrainians had a lot of success in using all kinds of decoys. A couple of months back there was an embracing incident for Russia as they hit a HIMARS with Kinzal balistic missile. They braced all over the web about it and it turned out to be a wooden replica.

Old guy opens the hatch and asks, "Is the war over yet?"

Mark never fails to create the best videos, thanks Mark for another great episode! 🏆

Thank you for the videos Dr. Felton. I may not be quite as interested in the contents of some closet but I always look forward to finding a new video.

Even stranger is the fact that current battles take place at almost the same locations as historic battles. The three battles for Kiev, are a good example.

the old damage on the front and the new tracks support the idea that they just slapped those tracks on it to be able to tow it to a specific position as a decoy... but it belongs in a museum!

That's actually really cool to see the history of war standing among modern war like a tombstone, for them walking past that it probably looks more like a scar.

Thanks Mark, always a great joy to watch!

Listening to Mark Felton gives me at least the illusion of reassurance that all is well in the world and I am not living next door to an active war zone (writing from Warsaw).

Couple of months back after looking into it I came to conclusion that it is fact the Czech hybrid. My first impression was that it's like the IV, but not quite, something's off and I had to find out why. All the little details clicked into place when I brought up the Czech model for comparison. I also watched a video of a restored example being driven, which was similar to the roadside attraction, though not the same tank. How and when it came to be in Ukraine remains a mystery. The countless hit marks on the hull gives an impression of the hull having been a test target (to what end, who knows), although the turret is unlikely to have been present at the time with the hull when it was undergoing the mauling. Could be that the turret was removed or from an another specimen. It's very unlikely the hits came from a battle.

Hopefully it will be restored and displayed. Thanks for another great program.

Congratulations on almost reaching 2,000,000 subscribers Dr Felton!!! I've been subscribed to your for YEARS and your videos are always the highlight of my week!!! Thank you!

Awesome commentary. Well-done mate

Somebody launch a rescue mission and make a movie of it called - Saving Panzer Mark (IV)!

A very interesting find & perhaps appropriate that the Russian Army had to expend time & resources to capture it twice. Joking aside, in the late 1990's I was studying Russian (Language and history) at university, we had several native Russian speakers in our classes (an easy way to pick up points for your degree for very little effort), and I became very friendly with several of them. One of them came not far from Prokhorovka (her parents had been part of a farm collective) and she told me that the area was littered with the remains of tanks, half-tracks etc, and that they had been used for target practice in the years immediately following the end of the second world war. When they were no longer considered worthwhile for target practice they were just left in the fields, and crops were simply grown around them, the same at harvest time (no one had the equipment to relocate a Tiger tank). She sent me some photos of them after she returned to a very chaotic Russia. She also sent me some Waffen SS belt buckles, a couple of Iron Crosses, and the like which apparently were laying all over the place if you knew what to look for. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her after she got married and moved to Omsk with her husband and young family.

I don't remember exactly, but in Bulgaria or Romania, in the mountains, there was a whole warehouse of German tanks from World War II used for training purposes. I think this tank comes from that one

*HERE IN BULGARIA* they keep finding buried Soviet and German WW2 tanks - I think they have found about 100 so far. They were buried after they became obsolete and used as stationery guns along the borders. Then they were forgotten and became overgrown.

The pipe used to replace the barrel strongly suggests that it was used as a decoy. The camo paint was applied at the same time the pipe was installed, because it's all the same on the tank hull, the turret and on the "barrel." It was positioned sideways to draw fire that would give away enemy positions, plus it would hide all of the missing hatches.

Your stories are always very interesting

I love how this is better than most tank replicas in movies

Dr. Felton, thank you for finding another long, lost forgotten relic from WW2.

I grew up in South Georgia (the state not the country) and the U.S army used to dump old gear in a swamp near the trailer park I lived in. Me and my freinds used to dive into the Bayou and find old helmets and Armour from around the vietnam era I think. We used to play soldiers with the gear we found and would sell it to other kids on the block. Fortunately, we never found anything dangerous like an unexploded grenade or anything, but we did find a box of old bayonets and a decomposed rifle. This wasn't too long ago either, this was in the late 2000s to early 2010s.

Kurt Knispel never died near the end of the war. He’s searching for a tank to ride into battle again.

It's really fascinating that a PZKW 4 showed up in the current Ukrainian war. How relics tend to pop up out of nowhere seemingly. I must also say that if there was a really a tear in the fabric of time that would be creepy. Since I am also a science fiction fan.

Another brilliant video Mark, you always get me intrigued

The Cross is new on the side of the Turret. I would say within the last 5 years or so, as you can tell the paint quality is different. So your theory of it being someone's project makes sense and the Ukrainians used it as a Decoy. Would love to see it recovered and although it may be to far gone for restoration it would be good for parts, like the road wheels, turret etc... Another great job Sir!!!

Brilliant video,very informative as always!

Hi Mr Felton, I love your stories especially learning all the details. I live in the Netherlands and just learned about the “IJssel Line” form the Cold War. Something you maybe could be interested in!

I love your content. Keep up the great work Mr Felton

Man i love these old finds Also thanks for another great video

Given the BMP tracks and faux cannon to me the decoy theory seems to be the most probable answer as Ukraine is using them in large scale. My personal guess on the origins of this machine: operation Barbarossa left behind thousands of hulks of german equipment, either destroyed or disabled in combat or simply abandoned by retreating forces. Maybe this one was kept thru the years as a target for military training and was brought "back to life" to serve anew, this time as a decoy.

The US military has also used surplus tanks in exercises. Back in the 1980s during a NATO exercise at Spangdahlem AB, West Germany, USAFE had about 30 French AMX-13 tanks on the base for a large NATO exercise called SALTY DEMO. I think they all ran, as some of the Security Police (Military Police of the USAF) drove one around on the 4th 0f July on base. It leaked oil - a lot of oil.

Breaks my heart to see these relics being used and destroyed in the modern day. Same with seeing STG44s being used to fight. It’s a tragedy

As always, Dr Felton, thank you for a completely original post!

I think Dr Felton mentioned in another video how the Panzer IV could have changed the war for the Germans had they continued to build it in numbers instead of the larger Tigers which requires 3-4 times more materials. Such an interesting tank in history.

Thank you Mark. I just love watching your documentary videos.❤

My second favorite German Panzer, the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf H; such beautiful lines and smooth turret rotation, and that 75mm. This one needs a lot of love, maybe someone will adopt and restore it?

That Panzer IV looks like it took a modern Drone hit too.

I love all your videos but technical stuff I don’t understand. Perhaps, next time, you would indicate the parts of the panzer you’re discussing? Thanks loads.

You are the man! What a great video.

You got to give it to the Germans for building such a battle worthy tank!

Tank history is fascinating. Oh the stories this old tank could tell !

Wow, very interesting. Thanks for sharing this!

I imagine the Tank Museum could find a few parts to use off of it.

I always learn something from your videos!

I was really most in love with your time-space fabric theory for the tank's presence on the Ukrainian battlefield. I think you'd have the makings of a very watchable Netflix series there.

The explosion was probably not caused by being used for target practice. I have seen videos and photos of tanks that were actually used for target practice and apart from the tracks being heavily damaged, the body still retained most of its lines, only the shaped charges of modern anti tank ammunition had pockmarked the entire surface into a mini moonscape. I would have thought such tanks would be torn apart being used as targets so I was surprised about all the tiny holes but no internal explosions.

This is very interesting. Great video as usual

The decoy theory makes total sense. You want to get your opponent to waste ammunition destroying your fake tanks, guns etc or cause ground troops to direct around them, thinking they are avoiding a real tank.

I look at videos of yours, and others, showing gun camera views of B17s, FW190s, Panzers and T34s being obliterated and can't help but think, "There goes another million dollar relic." Funny how a few years and what seemed so expendable takes on a whole new value.

Thanks for the update on this unusual story.

I don't think it can be mistaken as any other tank type. I would look for serial numbers if I wasn't aware that any records will have probably been lost or destroyed long ago. I would be interested if anyone is able to come up with any information about the tank

I was driving from the bussines trip and suddenly there was a Tiger tank in the field. I was shocked and I thought I must be dreaming. Well someone made a good lucking replica as I read in the article online. You do not usually see many Tigers sitting in the fields in the villages around here :D

Another well done video. Thank you Sir!

I'm pretty sure that the tank is a real Panzer 4 brought out of storage and turned into a decoy tank. I watched a video about a shop in Ukraine that is making decoys and I'm pretty sure I saw some German tanks in the workshop in the video.

For similar reasons, When I die, I want to be buried in the woods, dressed like a medieval knight

When they are done useing it as a decoy or roadblock it will still be valueable as spareparts. The paint looks rather new and it has to come from a museum or collector.

My exact first thoughts were a decoy tank, either placed their specifically or the hull/hulk was found and modified to look like it was in service on site. Optics and observations can be sketchy on the battlefield in combat. A vague tank outline with gun barrel and tracks, in the heat and chaos of combat would definitely draw fire and might influence on the ground level decisions to the advantage of whoever placed it there.

Now now, Dr. Felton. You mustn’t dismiss your own *TIME MACHINE* theory so quickly! After all, you’ve often presented far stranger war stories to us.

Holy moly I was not expecting that 2-3 million dollar drop. 😮

Knowing Ukraine it probably belonged to a farmer....stored it in his barn in 1945 after towing it back with a team of 12 horses!

Are you thinking of setting up a Go- Fundme, Mark, to bring it back to Blighty? Lol

Great Video as usual ❤

Mark Felton: "It is very valuable. Between 2 to 3 million dollars." Zelensky: "Bring it back! BRING IT BACK NOW!"

Yes, it's a weird time indeed. A German WWII tank appears in Ukraine, an almost 100 y/o Waffen-SS soldier appears in the Canadian Parliament and receives a standing ovation, American firearms appear in hands of paragliding terrorists - along with a video thanking Ukraine for providing them! Let me tell you man, these rather new conflicts are definitely blowing every single magician in the World outta the water. No pun intended. Cheers.