Railway disaster: Soviet T-64 tank against a German train
It is generally accepted that accidents associated with military equipment in peacetime usually occur in military units or at training grounds, and the lists of victims mainly include the military personnel themselves. However, sometimes these incidents involve civilian casualties. An example of such a tragedy is the collision of a passenger train with a tank T-64A, which occurred on January 19, 1988 in East Germany.
Tank range near the railway
After the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the USSR deployed the world's largest foreign military contingent in East Germany, best known as the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG). Its maximum number reached almost three million people, although it varied from year to year.
To accommodate such a huge compound, both newly built bases and those inherited from the Nazi regime were used. The latter included Forst Zinna. Located near the town of Jüterbog in Brandenburg, this military unit from 1934 to 1945 served as a base for the SS, a tank school and a place for accommodation for Wehrmacht soldiers.
With the advent of the USSR, Forst Zinna, having changed its appointment several times, eventually became the location of one of the Soviet tank training units. It is worth noting that the former German base was ideally suited for this role: there was a fairly large tank training ground on its territory, and the Berlin-Halle double-track railway, which expanded logistical capabilities, passed literally within walking distance.
However, the railway workers themselves were wary of this section and among themselves called it the “shooting stage”. And indeed, the tanks scurrying almost close to the tracks did not inspire confidence - you never know, suddenly, in front of the train, they will jump out onto the road or hit by a training projectile on the train. As it turned out later, the fears were not in vain.
Before the disaster
On January 19, 1988, in the afternoon at the Leipzig railway station, a fast train of the East German railway administration "Deutsche Reichsbahn" was preparing to depart, following the route "Leipzig - Berlin - Stralsund". At the head of the train of 12 passenger cars and one restaurant car was the DR Class E11 electric locomotive, which was considered quite fast and capable of accelerating to 120 km / h. This subsequently became one of the factors that led to severe destruction and loss of life.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting one interesting fact. The fact is that this direction was quite popular with the Germans, so the train often packed under a thousand people. However, on that ill-fated day, there were 450 passengers on the train. A happy accident that saved many lives, because the cars packed to capacity could significantly increase the list of victims.
Closer to 18:00 local time, the train was already approaching a section of the road near the Forst Zinna training ground.
At this time, regular training races were held at the tank training ground. There is no single point of view about what preceded the further development of events. But it is most logical to assume the following.
It's winter outside. Daylight is short, so by five o'clock in the evening it is already dark. An inexperienced driver was sitting behind the levers of the T-64A tank, which was maneuvering around the field. At the same time, the movement, most likely, was carried out using a night vision device, so the instructor, who was sitting in the commander’s seat, and the driver could lose their orientation in space. This is, in fact, what happened.
At some point, the driver completely strayed from the route and moved towards the railway. The instructor did not notice this immediately, so he gave the order to brake untimely. But for some reason the command did not reach the driver, and he continued to move, stopping right on the tracks. The engine apparently died, so both crew members, seeing the approaching train, left the car.
Collision and aftermath
The train was moving at a speed of about 110 km/h. The drivers did not immediately notice the obstacle on the tracks, so when the tank appeared literally in front of their noses, emergency braking was already useless. At 17:50 local time, the collision occurred.
The blow turned out to be so powerful that the 38-ton “sixty-four” was dragged behind the train for about 130 meters. But a tank is not a passenger car that a train can simply demolish. At the time of the accident, the locomotive and part of the cars were twisted so that later, in order to get the victims and remove from the rails what had recently looked like a passenger train, gas cutters and special equipment had to be used.
As for the tank, its damage turned out to be serious. The undercarriage and external equipment, including fenders, were badly broken. But inside, as indicated in the sources, only batteries were mainly affected. In general, if desired, the car was subject to restoration.
The first to the crash site, having heard a strong roar, were the Soviet military from Forst Zinna. By promptly embarking on rescue activities, they saved many lives. But not everyone was able to help. Almost instantly, both drivers in the electric locomotive, as well as four passengers, died. Another 33 people were injured of varying severity.
A little later, the special services arrived in time: rescuers, doctors and, of course, representatives of law enforcement agencies. A long trial followed.
Who can be called guilty of this terrible incident? It is quite difficult to give a definite answer to this question. The educational purpose of the military unit Forst Zinna already indicates that it could not be located close to infrastructure facilities, since inexperienced crews drove around the training ground, who were just starting to master their specialty and could make gross mistakes. And inside that ill-fated T-64A, not everything was smooth.
According to Russian-language sources, the driver of the "sixty-four" was a native of one of the southern republics of the USSR and did not speak Russian well, which is why he did not fully understand all the instructor's commands. Although later a version appeared that the culprit was not the language barrier, but a disabled or broken tank intercom. However, the fate of these tankers is also not entirely clear. Western authors say that it came to execution, but domestic ones - to disciplinary sanctions.
One way or another, January 19, 1988 became a mournful date in stories the German people, and in terms of the number of victims and victims, this disaster is still considered one of the largest in Germany to this day.
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