Across the A180 road through the Reschen Pass, opposite the 19th-century Austrian mountain fortification Festung Nauders, is a small “Tank garden”, or in German “Panzergarten”, with some tanks and guns on display. The tanks are on loan from the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Eng: Army History Museum) in Vienna. Although the tanks on display were mainly used by the Austrian Federal Army after World War Two, some of them date back to this period.
T 34-85
Medium Russian tank, built between 1943–1946 at Factory No. 112 in Gorky, Russia. 27 vehicles were in service with the Austrian Federal Army from 1955 to 1964.
Technical specifications
- Weight: 33,000 kg
- Dimensions: 6,200 (8,200) × 3,100 × 2,750 mm
- Engine: 500 hp, 12-cylinder diesel
- Range (road): approx. 300 km
- Maximum speed: 53 km/h
- Crew: 5
- Maximum armour thickness: 75 mm
- Main armament: 85 mm L/5
- Ammunition capacity: 56 rounds
- Total production: 58,681 vehicles
More information about the T 34-85 here.
M24 Chaffee
Reconnaissance armoured vehicle, built from 1944–1946 by the Cadillac Motor Car Division and Massey-Harris in the United States. 46 vehicles were in service with the Austrian Federal Army from 1956 onwards.
Technical specifications
- Weight: 18,400 kg
- Dimensions: 5,030 (5,486) × 2,950 × 2,770 mm
- Engines: 2 × 110 hp, 8-cylinder petrol engines each
- Maximum speed: 56 km/h
- Crew: 4
- Total production: 4,731 vehicles
More information about the M24 Chaffee here.
25 mm Hotchkiss AA gun
French 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun Mle 1939 (produced in Japan as the Type 96).
Technical specifications
- Type: Anti-Aircraft / Autocannon
- Mass: 850 kg (1,870 lb)
- Barrel length: 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) L/60
- Shell: 25×163 mm
- Caliber: 25mm
- Rate of fire: 200 – 260 rounds per minute
Visit
The Panzergarten of Festung Nauders is free to visit. As there are just a few guns and tanks on display, we recommend combining your visit with the fortress.
Use the road exit on the South side of the avalanche tunnel, pass the bridge over the Stille Bach stream at the recycle station and follow the road to your left. You can also use this short code in your navigation system: WF6W+G6, 6543 Partitsch, Austria.
