A HUGE 26-foot-long Buffalo military tank has been discovered buried under 30ft of earth after 74 years.
Locals have spent five days excavating the vehicle from the Cambridgeshire Fens.
Volunteers are helping to dig up the huge amphibious tank, which was one of 16 brought in to act as a flood defence in the village of Crowland in the 1947 floods.
The LVT-4 tank, which weighs 18,000kg, has been underground for 74 years but appears to be well-preserved because it has been buried in a mixture of peat and clay.
The March 1947 floods came after a combination of heavy snow, a sudden thaw, high tides, rain and wind caused the River Welland to break its banks.
Around 30,000 acres of land around Crowland were flooded and 16 Buffalo tanks were brought in to help seal the breach.
When the water was pumped back into the flood plain, the water got under some of the Buffalos and five of them floated away.
One was recovered, two sank in fishing pits and two are in the hole where the team is now digging.
Daniel Abbott, chairman of Crowland Buffalo LVT, said: “I’ve always wanted to get one of the tanks out before the 75th anniversary of the floods and we started planning this a couple of years ago.
“I’m over the moon with what we’ve achieved, it’s very exciting. We’ve spent five days digging and we’re nearly there.
"We’ve had to do a lot of digging by hand, as well as using a machine from the North Level Drainage Board.
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“We found the gun mount first and it's in fantastic condition for its age. The tank seems to have been well preserved in the clay.
“Once we’ve winched it out we will assess it, then hopefully we will eventually be able to put it in a nice shed in the town and make a museum. It’s been in Crowland for 74 years and it’s part of the town’s history.”
Buffalo LVT 4s were used in the Rhine Crossing in 1945.