9.
Polish Jet
The small village of Wólka Nosowska in eastern Poland is home to just 400 residents.
This tiny town drew the attention of thousands of internet users in 2019 when an overhead
image of an abandoned plane surrounded by trees began circulating online.
The photo first appeared on an Instagram page belonging to a photographer from North Wales
named Tom Dolman.
Journalist Krzysztof Basel tracked Dolman down to ask him about what drew him to a tiny
village in the “middle of nowhere” to take snapshots of an aircraft hidden in a
grove of trees.
Basel was skeptical of the picture’s authenticity, believing that perhaps Dolman had photographed
the grove and pasted the airplane into it.
Dolman confirmed that the photo was, in fact, genuine.
To prove it, he provided the map coordinates of its location to Basel.
A closer look revealed that the jet is situated next to a house, leading the writer to speculate
that perhaps it belongs to the homeowners.
The jet is a Polish jet trainer called the PZL TS-11 Iskra.
Designed during the early 1960s, it was the first domestically developed Polish jet aircraft.
Exactly 424 were built between 1963 and 1987.
The PZL TS-11 Iskra was used by the Polish and Indian air forces, serving as the principal
training aircraft for the Polish Air Force for over 50 years.
Dolman told Basel that he first spotted the plane while traveling the Polish countryside
with a group of friends.
He noticed its wing sticking out of the grove and made plans to return to the site when
the weather was more favorable.
After taking several aerial snapshots, the photographer returned to Britain and perfected
his favorite shot before posting it to his Instagram.
Dolman never expected the photo to go viral – in fact, he was worried that his friends
might even think it was boring.
But the intriguing photo quickly racked up thousands of “likes” among friends and
strangers alike.
8.
T-34 TANK
Introduced in 1940, the Soviet-built T-34 tank was famously used by the Red Army during
Operation Barbarossa.
It quickly earned a reputation for being superior to German tanks – some Nazi leaders even
admitted that they knew it was better than the equipment they were stuck working with.
Numerous countries have used the T-34, including Angola, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Afghanistan, China,
and more.
Consequently, there are numerous abandoned T-34 tanks throughout the world.
One of the most iconic examples, nicknamed “Stompie,” can be found in London.
It was originally used by the Czech Army, and was decommissioned and sold following
the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
From there, the tank went to London, where it was used as a prop in the British film
Richard III.
After that, a local scrap dealer named Russell Gray bought the T-34 as a gift for a son.
But he saw a better use for it as a tool for revenge against the local council, whom he
was in an ongoing dispute with over their refusal to let him redevelop a plot of land.
Gray parked the vehicle on the property and positioned its gun turret toward the council’s
office.
The council had previously approved Gray’s request to install a tank at the site, but
they had mistakenly assumed he was referring to a septic tank in his application.
The tank remains parked at the site to this day.
It’s become a celebrated local fixture and is frequently painted over by graffiti artists.
When the pandemic hit, it was painted blue in support of England’s National Health
Service.
It has since been painted green, and in keeping with tradition, its color will undoubtedly
change again at some point in the near future.
7.
Train Cars in the Mountains
While it’s not unusual for trains to travel through wooded and remote areas, it’s certainly
surprising to stumble upon one sitting neglected in the forest, especially since most retired
cars end up in train graveyards before ultimately being scrapped, dismantled, or repurposed.
But every now and then, old train cars are parked somewhere seemingly random and simply
left to rot.
In 2019, Obscure Vermont blogger Chad Abramovich trudged through waist-deep snow to explore
some abandoned train cars deep in the woods of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
About a quarter-mile into his trek, he spotted three coaches and two other cars, including
a coal car.
The electric-powered cars originally belonged to the Erie and Lackawanna Railroad.
The Conway Scenic Railroad bought them during the 1990s with plans to restore them, but
they ultimately ended up at their current site, where they seem to have been forgotten
by everyone except curious urban explorers.
Abramovich noted that the abandoned train cars weren’t as big of a secret as he initially
thought, based on the graffiti covering their interiors.
He captured photos of the dilapidated cars’ debris-covered floors and old seats, with
torn cushions and paint chipping from the arm rests.
It’s clear, based on the images, that the cars are extremely rusty and in poor shape,
with a pile of snow having fallen through the roof and accumulated on the floor in one.
There’s also an old, filthy toilet and evidence that past visitors treated the old vehicles
as a party space.
6.
Rare Ferrari
The Ferrari 166 Barchetta is widely considered the car that made the company.
Incredibly rare, only 25 of the 1950 two-liter, V12 model were ever made.
At the time, Ferrari had only been in business for three years.
In 2007, a man named Manny Del Arroz bought one of these extremely rare cars after it
was found in the backyard of a home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Describing the rare find, Monterey-based automotive historian Michael T. Lynch retold the tale
of how the car ended up where it was eventually discovered.
During the 1950s, a man living in Europe found the abandoned 166M at a used car showroom
in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He called his friend Reg Lee Litton, a car enthusiast who lived in Scottsdale, and Litton
told the man to go ahead and buy the car for him.
After paying somewhere between $5,000 and $8,000 for the vehicle, Litton’s friend
had it shipped to California.
Litton picked the Ferrari up in Long Beach and drove it back to Scottsdale, where he
raced against his friends who owned Maseratis and other sports cars.
He drove it until something broke, and then he parked it in his backyard and covered it
with some rugs and plastic.
At some point, someone took the rugs for some other purpose, leaving the Ferrari exposed
to the elements.
It sat in Litton’s yard until he died.
His children managed to sell the weathered car to Del Arroz through a series of intermediaries
for over $1 million.
The buyer did some research and found out that the vehicle had run in historic races
like Le Mans, Silverstone, and Targa Florio.
A closer look during a mechanical rebuild revealed the date 6/9/49 etched into the motor,
which meant that it had been driven by former racing champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
Talk about an incredible find!
How many valuable cars do you think are somewhere in similar condition?
Tell us in the comments below and don’t forget to hit subscribe if you haven’t already!
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5.
Roadside Tank
In 2020, the Nebraska State Patrol received reports about a trailer carrying a so-called
“tank” sitting on the shoulder of an entrance ramp to Interstate 80, a 460-mile (740 km)
highway that cuts through the heart of the American Midwest.
It was an extremely unusual sight, especially since the drive along this rural route is
typically rather uneventful, marked by little more than cornfields, plains, and the open
sky.
Troopers reported to the scene just outside the town of Overton and found that the truck
driver was nowhere to be seen.
They observed that it was carrying an armored vehicle with no guns attached, meaning it
technically wasn’t a tank, but it looked a lot like one.
The Patrol determined that the vehicle belonged to the South Dakota National Guard, and had
hired a company to move it back to the state after it was used for a training exercise
in California.
But the troopers were unsure of where the driver was or why he left his truck and trailer
on the roadside.
They reassured the public that they were actively seeking the driver, but never provided any
follow-up about the situation.
The vehicle eventually left its parking spot alongside the highway, so it’s probably
safe to assume that it must have reached its destination.
4.
A Boeing in Bali
Just minutes from southern Bali’s bustling Pandawa Beach, there’s an abandoned quarry
that feels worlds away.
It’s home to an abandoned Boeing 737 passenger jet that looks like it was just randomly plopped
down onto the property one day.
The site is located along a busy highway, making it a popular stop for curious tourists.
But anyone who goes there looking for answers about how or why the plane ended up there
is bound to be disappointed.
No one seems to know the story behind the aircraft’s presence, and if anyone does,
they’re staying quiet about it.
According to local rumors, there were plans to turn the plane into a restaurant when the
owner ran out of money.
But these claims are unverified, and perhaps the uncertainty surrounding the aircraft is
precisely what keeps a steady stream of visitors coming to check things out for themselves.
Either way, the owner of the private property is happy to profit from the attraction.
After the site began attracting tourists, they installed a gated fence and hired a security
guard to ensure that anyone who wants to take a look around pays for the privilege.
The 737 is just one of at least four abandoned planes of unknown origins throughout Bali,
including two other 737s and a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.
Little is known about how any of these aircraft ended up at their current resting places,
but a lot of speculation hinges on the suspicion of failed business ventures.
What do you think is the story behind these planes abandoned in the Balinese province
of Indonesia?
Share your theories in the comments below, and make sure to like and subscribe!
3.
THAILAND’S ‘AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD’
The Ramkhamhaeng suburb outside of Bangkok, Thailand is home to a collection of rusting
planes, including a Boeing 747 and two McDonnell Douglas MD-82s.
Since their arrival at the site in 2010, the aircraft have become a tourist attraction
with a reputation as one of the world’s most unusual abandoned places due to its proximity
to people’s homes.
The property is owned by a Thai businessman who sells parts for scrap.
And while visitors find it fascinating, it seems to be the source of some major ongoing
problems.
Over the years, the site has increasingly become an eyesore.
It’s littered with plane parts and partially dismantled aircrafts, which have been stripped
of their seating, overhead compartments, and other fixtures.
Three homeless families were quick to set up headquarters on the airplane wasteland,
which gave them the chance to make some cash by charging an entry fee of anywhere from
100 to 800 baht ($3-25 USD).
They made the interiors as cozy as possible, and have told the press that it beats living
on the street.
While the families aren’t particularly bothersome to the property owner or anyone else, living
in a dilapidated old airplane raises some safety concerns.
Last year, nearby residents noticed smoke spewing from one of the planes, along with
a strong chemical odor.
Thankfully, fire crews managed to get the blaze under control.
They noticed that it appeared to have started in dry grass, but were unsure of the exact
cause.
2.
BUGATTI VEYRON
It’s not very unusual for cars to be found in bodies of water, but most of the time,
they end up there by accident.
This wasn’t the case for a 2006 Bugatti Veyron purchased by a Galveston, Texas businessman
named Andy House in 2009.
House paid $1 million for the car and insured it for $2.2 million as a collector’s item.
But instead of treating it like a collector’s item, he used it to run errands and needlessly
showed it off during joyrides.
One day, someone saw House driving the car in La Marque and began filming it, most likely
because a car this luxurious isn’t an everyday sight in the small city.
Things got weird when House drove the Veyron into the Gulf Bay and simply let it sink.
He left the motor running, which caused it to take on large amounts of saltwater and
ultimately destroyed the engine.
House allegedly gave a few different stories about what happened, first claiming that he
was reaching for his phone and that he accidentally swerved into the lake.
He also blamed a low-flying pelican and reportedly said that mosquitoes attacked him once the
vehicle hit the water.
Unfortunately for him, the entire incident was caught on camera.
The footage, which appeared on YouTube, showed no signs of House trying to brake, avoiding
a pelican, or fighting off mosquitoes.
The authorities accused House of filing a false insurance claim on the Veyron.
He was sentenced to a year in federal prison followed by three years of probation, and
was ordered to pay back the $600,000 settlement.
1.
Jaguar XJ-220
Manufactured between 1992 and 1994, the incredibly rare XJ-220 was one of Jaguar’s most unexpectedly
successful models.
During that time, it was the fastest production car ever built, topping out at 212.3 miles
per hour (341.7 km/hr) at the Nardo test track in Italy.
A group of Jaguar employees designed the XJ-220 during their spare time as part of their shared
vision of a modern version of the company’s racing cars of the 1950s and ‘60s.
The demand for high performance cars dropped during its production years due to the onset
of the early 1990s recession, and only 275 were ever made.
Given its rarity and the fact that it’s valued at over a half-million dollars, it’s
easy to assume that anyone who owns an XJ-220 would take really good care of it.
But this isn’t the case, as Crank and Piston’s Mike Bramley learned when he discovered a
black XJ-220 in the Qatari Desert, where it had clearly gone without proper maintenance
for quite some time.
It’s a shame that the owner neglected the car, which went down in history as one of
the few Jaguar models known for its speed.
Thanks for watching!
Which one of these locations was the weirdest place to find an abandoned vehicle?
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Bye! :)