With the announcement, the police released a video that was, more or less, an exaggerated take on what they expected to have people turning in. More specifically, it showed someone driving a tank into the police HQ parking lot, handing it over to two very amazed cops, and then walking away. The idea was that anyone could turn in any weapon they had that did not comply with EU and national regulation, as long as it wasn’t explosives. Even a tank.
The other day, the police announced that, to their surprise, someone did turn a tank in. Actually, two tanks were surrendered: a self-propelled gun SD-100 (SU-100 tank destroyer) and a medium T34/85 tank, which, for whatever reason, is now rocking a faded Pepto-Bismol pink layer of paint. The stories this machine could tell, we can only imagine.
Always on social media, the police say that “both machines were handed over in the Hradec Králové region, they have devalued weapon systems, however, this devaluation does not meet current requirements and period documents are missing.” Both belong to the same owner, who is now hoping “to apply for a ‘downgrading’ permit under the current legislation.”
Both the SU-100 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 100) and the T-34 were used extensively in WWII, and then went on in service in the armies of Soviet allies. The SU-100 is a 4-crew machine with a maximum operational range of 250 km (155 miles), and a top speed of 48 kph (30 mph). The T-34/85 tank, introduced in 1940, is a 5-crew machine with heavily sloped armor, a maximum operational range of 300 km (186 miles), and a max speed of 53 kph (33 mph). Now also in pink.
Dnes za íná platit novela zákona o zbraních, která dává držitelom nelegálních zbraní možnost je beztrestn odevzdat na jakémkoli útvaru policie anebo jejich držení zlegalizovat. Bližší info na https://t.co/eeHHl2WTod#policiepp#platiiprojelena pic.twitter.com/jm0L34cd2x
— Policie R (@PolicieCZ) January 30, 2021
Když jsme to ili video ke zbraHové amnestii, ve kterém jsme použili nadsázku v podob odevzdaného tanku, tak jsme netušili, že tím inspirujeme veYejnost. Další z odevzdaných "perli ek" - samohybné dlo SD-100 a Tank T 34/85. #policiepp pic.twitter.com/5qjbFRD4FH
— Policie R (@PolicieCZ) April 7, 2021