HN Reader

> The photo was taken about coordinates 50.29092467073664, 4.893099128823844 near modern Wallonia, Belgium on the Meuse River.

Great writeup, but I did have a little chuckle reading "it was taken about near here", followed by coordinates precise enough to identify a single atom. https://xkcd.com/2170/

When I toured Jacques Littlefield's Tank Ranch they had, what I believe to be, this exact tank. They told the story of how it had been lost in the river and sat there and they went to see if it was still there and arranged to get it removed and returned to California where they restored it.

If someone was so motivated, they could probably go back to the internet archives of the auction that happened after Jacques died to find a picture of both the restored tank and its providence.

Don't know the origin of the image but I wonder if it formed the inspiration for this iconic hostile emergence from the River Thames:

https://shorturl.at/yGKOg

> It's a Panzer IVD of the 31st Panzer Regiment assigned to the 5th Panzer Div. commanded by Lt. Heinz Zobel lost on May 13th, 1940. The "lake" is the Meuse River. The man is a German pioneer.

Interesting uniform

Germans pioneers wore white uniforms? That sounds like the worst possible colour for digging ditches, recovering tanks or camouflage (if it isn't snowing). Why would they do that? Did Hugo Boss do the design?

Modern remix: https://www.google.com/search?q=tank+in+river+ukraine

Can tanks work underwater?

This feels like a ghost of the internet of the 1990s.

This writeup deserves its own website, something with minimal CSS, where you'll discover a bunch of family snapshots and party photos if you click around.

Since Know Your Meme doesn't give the reference for why it's a lake, maybe not everybody is familiar with british lore:

The mythical Lady of the Lake:

Probably best known via Monthy Python:

Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

In short: She teaches Lancelot arts and writing, infusing him with wisdom and courage, and overseeing his training to become an unsurpassed warrior.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_of_the_Lake

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EnigmaticEmpower...

Why on earth doesn't the top answer have more upvotes. Impressive research, with full background, alternative pictures and an original picture of the panzer falling into the river.

The fact that this extraordinarily obscure question had such a thoroughly researched and intricately detailed answer almost restores my faith in Internet forums.

I haven't seen the lake tank image being used as a meme anywhere, except now or maybe I have to explore the world of memes some more.

Hats off to all who helped each other find this once lost story from history.

I love the train of comments confidently but incorrectly identifying the tank (there are at least three highly-specific, different identifications given which use words like "definitely" and make claims to expertise).

This entire deep dive is great. I feel compelled to call out this heroism:

> 1st Lieutenant de Wispelaere had prepared the bridge for demolition ... De Wispelaere immediately pushed the electrical ignition, but there was no explosion... Wispelaere now left his shelter and worked the manual ignition device. Trying to get back to his bunker, he was hit by a burst from a German machine gun and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. At the same time, the explosive charge went off.

Nerd sniping is my favorite kind of content on the internet

https://xkcd.com/356/

"Panzer of the Lake, what is your origin?"

"Krupp factory in Essen, apparently."

That's a meme? I've never seen that photo before in my life and I'm pretty aware of most memes.