«Tank Tower» memorial sign
The monument is a real tank tower on a round plinth, mounted on a concrete pedestal. Both the tower and the pedestal are painted green. On the front west side of the pedestal is mounted a metal plate with the inscription in block letters: “To the soldiers of the 8th Guards Tank Corps.” Among the Soviet tankmen who participated in the Great Patriotic War, there were many heroes who performed great feats. The feat of tankman Zinovy Kolobanov entered the Guinness Book of Records. On August 20, 1941 five tanks of his company destroyed 43 German tanks, 22 of them within half an hour. Kolobanov’s camouflaged tanks met the German tank column with volleys and immediately stopped the three lead tanks. Then the fire was transferred to the tail of the column. The Germans were deprived of the possibility of maneuver and could not get out of the firing sector. For their feat, Kolobanov’s crew members were presented with the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union. Dmitry Lavrinenko was the most productive Soviet tank ace of the Second World War. In just 2.5 months, from October to December 1941, he destroyed or disabled 52 German tanks. In total, Lavrinenko had a chance to participate in 28 tank battles, three times he burned in a tank. Dmitry Lavrinenko was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously only in 1990. There were also women among the famous tank drivers. One of them is Alexandra Raschupkina who was a bit inventive and pretended to be a man for a long time. Raschupkina took part in the battles for Stalingrad, and also participated in the battles for the liberation of Poland. Her secret was discovered only in February 1945, when the tank unit in which the girl served led offensive battles on the territory of Poland.
Address: Moscow, Stavropol str., 16
