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The Canadian War Museum recently restored one of Second World War’s best tanks:
the rare German Panzer V (or Panther) tank.
Designed to combat highly effective Soviet tanks such as the T-34 and the KV-1,
the Panther showcased superior firepower, mobility, and frontal armor protection,
although its complex drive and suspension systems left it vulnerable to mechanical failure.
From 1943 to 1945,
Germany produced 6,000 of these fearsome Panthers,
which served Italy’s eastern front and in northwest Europe.
This captured Panther was part of a Victory-in-Europe Day parade
in Ottawa on May 8, 1945,
and was later sent to a Canadian Forces Base in Borden, Ontario, where it remained for 60 years.
The military donated the tank to the Canadian War Museum in 2005
where, after a two-year, 4,000-hour, restoration project,
it was placed on public display in January 2008.