1/ We're finally there! A major Russian storage base is practically empty of any equipment! A thread on the newer footage of the 1295th Central Tank Reserve Base 🧵
2/ Before continuing, check out @CovertCabal's video on the 1295th!
3/ First of all, this thread is almost more an analysis of a pile of junk than a storage base. And before anyone gets picky, I said a MAJOR storage base. You can see that several minor bases are already empty since a while ago.
4/ That said, I alreayd had high hopes for a long time that the 1295th would win the prize:
5/ If you look at the prewar footage from Google Earth, only the highlated parts still stored equipment, everything else were scrapped hulls.
6/ Re:
7/ As you can see, the stored equipment dropped pretty fast as soon as the war started.
8/ It mostly stored old stuff like T-54/55s, T-62, BMP-1s, BRDM-2s, and even BTR-50s! Tho also 136 T-80s.
9/ You can see the evolution of the spots over these almost three years:
10/
11/
12/ And you can also note that some equipment was cannibalized, and the rest of scrapped armor was moved to the huge scrapyard in the eastern part of the base. They keep demolishing to atoms junk placed there.
13/ By now, all that remains are maybe 3 tanks, 23 BMP-1s and 4 BRDM-2s. And even most of those might be scrap, as the snow makes it very difficult to be sure about the condition of their hulls.
14/ Hell, if you take a closer look you can notice they even moved the two broken BTRs stored next to the ARVs and cannibalized BRDM-2s.
15/ Another interesting thing is that, while more than half of the tanks stored here were the oldest types, many of them were kept in good condition with dry air storage systems.
16/ And also that, as I also mentioned in a thread about ARVs, these aren't being pulled out from storage.
17/ At the same time we barely see any T-55s in Ukraine, despite more than half probably removed from storage by now. I think they're instead being mostly converted to BTS-4 ARVs, as they're based in T-54/55 chassis. Otherwise, where would those come from?
18/ In summary, this base is practically done. Maybe 1-2 more months until it is ENTIRELY depleted, but it doesn't really matter at this point. This is just a sign of a bigger problem for Russia. It may have been the smallest major storage base, but...
19/ a major storage base nonetheless. The more bases are emptier, the more they have to pull out from other bases.
20/ So far I've noticed a trend of about ~20 tanks and ~20-30 BMPs removed from each major storage base per month, and this will only accelerate until all that remains is cannibalized equipment.
21/ And as Covert said, the 2456th/103rd is the next one this weekend. Stay tuned for more content!
22/ As usual, big thanks to @CovertCabal and @HighMarsed, and also to the rest of the crew like @waffentraeger, @Ath3neN0ctu4, @AS_22im, @Rebel44CZ, @UAControlMap and many more!
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.