World War II’s most famous US tank broke German siege lines at Bastogne in the Bulge It's restored and ready for display, but waiting for a display museum to be constructed.

After World War II, the historic tank’s whereabouts were unknown, and remained so until 2004.

That year, army Chaplain Keith Goode became curious about the old tank on display near the back gate of the US Army’s Rose Barracks at Vilseck, Germany. After examining the tank, he came to believe it was actually the famous Cobra King. Armor experts looked into the matter, and in December 2008 they officially confirmed the tank’s identity.

In July 2009, the US Army Center of Military History shipped Cobra King from Germany to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for restoration work.

When the tank was identified in Germany, it was missing its engine, so the team at Fort Knox faced the challenge of finding a period replacement. And Cobra King’s original tracks were difficult to restore because they had a unique addition: a duckbill, or metal extension used to compensate for the tank’s extra weight when traveling over marshland.

Cobra King’s war service didn’t end with that triumphant moment at Bastogne on December 26, 1944. In fact, damage from later combat would prevent restoration of the tank’s interior. Physical evidence showed that an explosion caused an internal fire, destroying the tank’s interior, and causing the famous “First in Bastogne” tank to be unceremoniously abandoned.

Cobra King is now in storage at Fort Benning, says Dyer, and functions as an educational tool for the US Army Armor School. According to Dyer, the tank will eventually be displayed at the National Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning, still in the process of raising construction funds.

In addition to Cobra King, the National Armor and Cavalry Museum will feature the armor collection previously displayed at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox.

http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/cobra-king-today/

the T34 tank named the Fighting Girlfriend, and the widow that convinced Stalin to set her up with it, so she could avenge her husbands death on as many Nazis as they'd send up against her

Stalin agreed with Mariya Oktyabrskaya's request and the eager fighter was quickly sent off to complete three months of training. Her male superiors were skeptical of the 38-year-old widow, but she soon proved herself and became a mechanic and driver in the 26th Guard Tank Brigade.

Whatever doubts Soviet officers had about Oktyabrskaya's combat skills quickly dissipated following her first Nazi encounter. During that first skirmish, the newly minted soldier obliterated dozens of Nazi soldiers and anti tank guns and was the first service member to breach the German line of defense. For her heroic performance, Oktyabrskaya was promoted to sergeant.

The vengeful widow proved herself again during a night raid in November 1943 when a bazooka team blasted the tracks of her tank.

 Instead of holing up in her machine's cockpit, she risked life and limb by hopping out. As her peers covered for her, Oktyabrskaya was able to fix the tread and climb back into the tank to continue her war path. She would do this twice more in battle.

Oktyabrskaya's final battle took place the following year. The Soviet sergeant led the unit into the Nazi's line of fire with such skill that she made it across two enemy trenches before her tracks were blasted by enemy guns. One last time, Oktyabrskaya hopped out to fix them. As she was working, a German artillery shell exploded close by and the widow was struck with shrapnel that sent her into an immediate coma.

Two months after "Fighting Girlfriend"'s final battle, Sergeant Mariya Oktyabrskaya succumbed to her injury and joined her husband in death. Five months later, she was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award, the highest honor bestowed upon service members who fought in combat.

http://allday.com/post/4438-to-avenge-her-husbands-murder-this-women-bought-a-tank-and-killed-nazis/

A 1969 Superbee was briefly onscreen in the movie Super 8