Edit: 3:20 the stocks are for SKS not Mosins, I missed the cutout above the trigger guard and sling loop. Thanks for watching, here's the accompanying article - armourersbench.com/2023/05/21/what-weapons-did-wagner-capture-in-the-soledar-mines/
l think by hearing your voice i think you are the guy i see on Mooch's channel ?....So i just Sub'ed to your channel...Thanks very much..... Shoe🇺🇸....Never forget Air America....
A sheriff's department here in America still had a Thompson submachinegun in their inventory which they had bought in the 1930s. They recently sold it at auction for $90,000. Those crates of Tommy guns are literal treasure chests.
Only problem is getting them into America to sell as the importation of machine guns was banned. anywhere else in the world they aren't worth as much, a original WW2 full auto Thompson in places like New Zealand are only worth $2500-5000 depending on condition and history of course
@@NineSeptims The Thompson was effectively a victim of a format war much like VHS/Betamax. Most SMGs can quite easily be converted to 9mm Para, 9mm Largo, 7.65 Luger, 7.63 Mauser, 7.62x25 etc etc. Not so the Thompson.
Those Thompsons would be worth their weight in gold here in the US to collectors. Maxim guns?? Over 100 years old and in pristine shape?? After the war the whole mine should be turned into a museum. Tourists from all over would pay to see all that perfectly preserved history.
Without the right paperwork they aren't worth anything anywhere. And the right paperwork means "registered pre 1986 in the US". Do you have a time machine?
@@ArnoSchmidt70 technically they were manufactured BEFORE 1986 in the US and then sent abroad, maybe, MAYBE they are legally importable and salable as trasnferable machineguns
Thats what I was thinking! The condition they're in is amazing. They're walking through a History Museum with the most prestine condition things ever lol..
I worked with that facility back in the 90's. They had 5,000 new Colt 1911A1's that Waffen Frankonia bought. They have thousands of P38's, Lugers, Mausers, as well as other equipment from WWII, including Indian, Harley Davidson and German WWII motorcycles. They also have tons of other WWII vehicles and according to the documentation I received, several ME-262 jets.
Owning a Thompson here in the US is not only nearly impossible, but it would also cost a fortune. And these guys have CRATES of brand-new shipments sitting there for 80 years!
These old guns are all over the world. Here in Brazil the police ocasionally find guns from pre WW1 with drug cartels. Most conflicts in developing countries use guns from WW2 and Cold War
they could literally have sold those to collectors and bought modern weapons and ammo. I'm sure there must be people willing to pay astronomical money just too get one of these old guns
Up until 2014 ukraine was the worlds premier surplus firearm dealer. My SKS, Mosin, tokarev pistol and SVT40 rifle all came from ukraine. paid under $300 Canadian for each one.
They are freezing the acceptance of registrations and will also not allow the transfer sale or donation of handguns at this time. Of note this does not effect pre 1998 handguns or collectors. Also: - Handguns were used in 59 per cent of violent crime involving firearms between 2009 and 2020, and there are 70 per cent more handguns in Canada today than in 2010. -There were over 3,500 reported thefts of firearms in 2018. -One in three women and girls killed by an abuser is murdered with a gun.
@@LSOP-are you proposing to ban weapons for the civilians? In my country, when there was a complete ban, murder weapons still occurred... Only they didn't kill with firearms, but with axes, knives and pokers. Human violence cannot be stopped in any way
@@ColinMor-fj3qc Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gunsmiths and weapons merchants. They can make anything
Yeah, you havent seen anything. The UdSSR were extremely paranoid about being invaded as ww2 thought them a hard lesson about not having enough gear at the ready, these bunkers & dry saltmines are extremely numerous all throughout eastern europe, most being long since empty (mostly because the new govt sold it) or they have been filled up with concrete/made inaccessible. But even when i was a child we had atleast two in working condition filled with who knows what to the brim with constant guarding by the army one of them being right in the center of our town & the other a few miles away. But to be fair, i bet most of the stuff is rotted away by now, a salt mine is perfect because of the lack of moisture, but the big concrete ones above ground were compromised for sure. We even had an urban legend that several mountains were hollowed out as bunkers & long time storage vehicle depots with hundreds of new tanks as rapid response in case NATO invades. I could bet my meal today that the russians still hamster that way, they know satellites can see what they have & bet they have a humongous amout of stuff sealed away in case they get invaded, but who knows.
As a weapons enthusiast, this video was making my heart melt. Brand new Thompsons and Maxims in their original factory crates!!! What a treasure they have over there, and they don't have any appreciation of it! What a waste!!!
The answer is "yes," because these rare, valuable weapons have probably been in their original factory packaging since they left the factory floor.@@OnlyGod33-inri
Undoubtedly, modern weapons are more accurate and plentiful, but these Thompsons and Maxims are worth far more to arms collectors than their modern counterparts by a factor of ten or more.@@penclaw
the best way for Ukraine to take it back would be to say there's stocks of .32 French Longe in there, it's like the US with oil/WMDs, say they are there and he will come :D
Those brand new Thompsons are such a sight for a collectors eyes . They can fetch a hefty price, up to 40-80 grand. How can anyone not be interested in those Thompsons. It's insane.
The Thompsons were included with the tanks that we sent to the Soviets in WWII but they didn’t have any ammo for them so they just put them in storage.
@@emilynelson5985 dont be insane. Sub mgs became obsolete 70 years ago. Especially ones which weigh more than a carbine and cost a fortune. You want to be in a trench struggling to find ammo for 3 magazines full with a gun thats useless beyond a few metres/against basic armour and weighs more than a dead cow?? great collectors items or last ditch weapons only, which is why they were there probably
@@emilynelson5985 the ergonomics are absolutely dogshit, hell I would take a bolt action over a Thompson 99% of the time just do to how ungodly the selector and stock placement is.
Yeah... most people don't know how heavily stockpiled the Soviet Union was I've done business with Russians and went around a bit, they told me the West doesn't even imagine the size of the ex Soviet stockpiles of anything war related, they told me that in remote parts of the Urals there are literally artificial LAKES of millions of gallons of diesel and kherosene, enough to fuel thousands and thousands of tanks, planes and military vehicles for at least a century
As a US based weapons collector I can only dream of a whole crate of early WW2 vintage M1928 Thompsons NIB still wrapped in oil paper. Even the crate of M1 Thompsons is probably worth a million dollars (also the crate of (pretty) Maxim guns. I am amazed no one thought to get them out of the mines before Ukraine pulled back and sell them to Western collectors. Just recently I saw someone on a different site whining bout not finding good condition, original, Mosin stocks. There they are. LoL
" I am amazed no one thought to get them out of the mines before Ukraine pulled back and sell them to Western collectors. " Joe Biden would have cut off their military aid... then bragged about it on TV. Joe doesn't like arming the proles... now his kid can use dope and buy a handgun, but he's a Biden.
They’re only worth that because of the NFA which limits the supply of them. While I’m sure they would still be valuable, if these among other non registry guns could be sold, the prices would plummet.
@@cdt996 "They’re only worth that because of the NFA which limits the supply of them. " The goal of Hughes Rangel was to "poison pill" the Firearm Owners Protection Act. Instead those two dullards ruined the prospect of anyone trusting a Federal Gun Registry. Why register something so that it is frozen, the owners taxed to death or saddled with expensive crap? The gun control lobby has become a money making institution. This is why it never wins much. It relies upon people to "overcome reaction" but cheats them because of a continous stream of donations.
@@DefiantNX74205i think constant bombing takes the fun out of working with it, especially when you have to be evacuated because the russian frontline is moving fast towards you, like these guys who probably had to leave in a hurry judging by all the unfinished work. But maybe they could zen out by doing what they like, who knows.
Those Maxims are still viable weapons for fixed locations. Dependant on ammunition supplies or the ability to convert. Museums would take them in a heartbeat.
If I understand correctly those are 7.62x54R caliber the caliber is still very common in Russia and around the world it’s been used from the late 1800s in the early Mosin-Nagant till now it’s used in everything from the old Mosin-Nagant PKM machine gun and Dragunov marksman rifle
@@gwydionrusso3206 I think you are correct. It should be easy to check. If it reigned supreme in WWI/WWII, cutting down massed infantry attacks. There is no reason why it can't be effective today in a true sustained fire role. I suppose training the gun team would be the difficult bit. Not many veterans from that era left. Incidentally, my grandfather who died in the early 1980's. Fought during the last year of WWI and again in WWII. Firstly as a private in the MG Corps, as part of the crew for the Vickers Maxim. (That's why it caught my eye and why I commented.)
@@VanzerPanzer You might be surprised. In 1945 when Japan's general issue rifle had devolved to abysmal quality manufacture they still had stores of pristine pre-war rifles they were saving for the US invasion of the home islands.
About 15 years ago WW2 lend lease weapons arrived from Ukraine in the Eu. You could buy an unissued Thompson M1 for 500€ or a 1928 for 650€. PPSH 41 and 43 were around 250€, a Maxim on wheel carriage was 1000€.
I remember Ryton arms had a big stash of ukraine ww2 /cold war warehouse stuff , everything from German 98k mausers to mint condition sks carbines , most of it extremely cheap, collectors in the UK won't see bargain deac deals like that again ! Sigh 😕
@@johngreen-sk4yk Indeed, bought a lot of these guns. Tokarev SVT40, Tokarev TT33, Makarov, brand new unissued 1948 dated SKS with laminate stock. 1895 Nagant revolver. Supply has dried up over the years and have doubled or tripled on those guns.
@@zoiders Even in the US this amount put on the market would make the market for them collapse. They sell one a day/week to a collector in the US for like 300-400 bucks instead of dumping the whole lot on the market for a buck each.
Not probably, definitely. The problem is they legally can’t own them let alone import them from a war zone that the US is actively fighting and sanctioning against.
Ukraine should sell most of its antique firearms caches to collectors and use the money to buy modern weapons. They could probably get a couple of modern equivalents for each rare but outdated weapon. Mosins aren't worth that much but those tommy guns must be work bank, too bad Wagner has them and you know they will engage in corporate looting
Loved growing up in a rural town where there was absolutely 10,000 ar patterned rifles and ammunition locked up underneath a national guard depot in the middle of town. Who even knows what else was in there. The underground part is underneath a elementary school and above ground building is fifty yards from the cafeteria lol.
@@edwardsallow6518 Он имел ввиду что 90 процентов вывезли за время существования Украины, ибо они продали все что можно. Но оставшиеся 10 процентов это десятки тысяч стволов и миллионы патронов.
Worth a lot to who? They're worthless in the US due to the 1986 ban on registering machine guns. Anything that wasn't registered by July of 1986 is illegal for civilians to own. At best, these guns would be cut up into pieces and imported as parts kits without barrels, as per ATF regulations. As combat weapons, they're horribly obsolete. Heavy, not especially reliable, and they use ammunition that is next to impossible to find in most of the world and not standard issue in any military or police department, even in the US. .45 ACP, while popular with civilians in America, is incredibly rare elsewhere and is actually illegal to own in many countries in Europe and South America because civilians are banned from owning any caliber used by police or a military, past or present. It's illegal to own a machine gun in most countries, and in the ones where nobody cares (mainly African and Middle Eastern hellholes) they still wouldn't be worth anything because they can get AK-47's for the price of a live chicken, and those they can actually find magazines and ammo for.
@@Swindle1984 Collectors would pay thousands for one in a good condition, I cannot fathom why Ukraine did not sell them before now, they could get some very expensive military equipment for the price, yea the Thomson is basically useless, it only might be effective at CQC and even then, But none of that matters for collectors who have a lot of money and want a iconic piece of history.
@@Swindle1984it’s still a machine gun with a decent caliber, yes compared to others it’s not the best but it can still do a lot of damage. you’re stupid
I’m sure plenty of collectors around the world would be interested, I hope these historical weapons are not destroyed. Great video. All the best from down under. Lewis Sydney Australia
Don't worry mate, i doubt they go out of their way to destroy them, they either sell it inside russia for cheap or just let it in the salt mine, wich probably would be best, in those conditions these beauties have atleast another 40 years to look shiny.
So this is as close to heaven as one can find. An "infinite" number of guns to fix, assemble, and shoot with a neverending mountain of ammo. That is just amazing.
The arms caches we found in vietnam always had THOMPSON MACHINE GUNS in 45 apc and were found on some VC soldiers. Mostly they used AK-47, Molson nagant, SKS, and B-40 rocket. 4th div. recon 1969.
@@henrydevree8382 Not hating the player at all, just the BS "thanks for your service" type crap that comes out of the US when the US shouldn't be meddling in other countries issues, nothing to congratulate someone for when civilians die, shame the US only felt that sort of thing when the towers came down, US has killed 100s of thousands of civilians in the illegal wars and invasions over the years so yeah F for Failed in Vietnam and same gonna be the result in Ukraine. US needs to wake up it ain't all it thinks it is and the majority of the rest of the world is sick of its BS warmongering, dictatorial ways. No wonder the US armed forces are struggling for man power, seems lots of the younger ones have woken up to the BS corporate controlled Govt there.
I saw this video on telegram where Russian war journalist interviews Wagner fighter in this mine. Now i don't speak Russian, but a related language. And i think i understood that the number of Thompsons held in that mine is around 23 000 guns. The number of PPSh is around 300 000 guns. Ukrainians carried out most of modern weapons and almost all of the ammunition.
HAHAHAHAH, don't be greedy, man, I want all that for myself too, what do we do? hahaha, let's share all that with all our good bellicose brothers better, beers and whores I invite them XD
@@Yankeepride03Last time a used Thompson's was sold it went for $90,000 used. But the dealer tells me that the bidding on in the crate oiled Thompson's would start at approximately 150 to 300 k. That is a literal gold mine.
@@aaronlopez492 no, as someone mentioned these thompson's were for sale at about 500 to 650 on the European market. the only reason machine guns are so valuable in the US is because the machinegun registry is closed.
Not really, WW2 MGs are valuable in the US because we are not allowed to import anymore of them. In euro countrys that allow semi auto conversions guns like those tompsons might be worth 1k each or so, possibly 2k for the maxims, really not particularly valuable to go to much effort
Not really. It's simple supply and demand. In the US a original WW2 thompson is worth 10s of thousands because demand is extremely high and the supply is extremely low
Mr Prigozhin, please don't let the antiques rot. Historical pieces like maxims and thompsons could be sold for a fair price. For this invaluable piece of business advice, an AK-74 with 10 spare magazines and 3000 rounds would be very appreciated. Yours sincerely, Orz Orzelski. Well, at least I tried!
For some more info on this mine in Paraskoviivka , this is the Kuzminovsky Mine/Volodarsky Mine No. 1/Artyomsol Mine No. 8. It was opened in 1911 as the Kuzminovsky Mine. After the Russian Revolution it was renamed Volodarsky Mine No. 1 after the Marxist revolutionary and Soviet politician V. Volodarsky. On March 1st, 2019 Artyomsol renamed the mine the Artyomsol Mine No. 8. After the mine fell into Russian hands mid-late February, I was curious how long it would be before we got pictures and videos from inside the mine.
Ukraine had one of the largest Black Market in all of Europe before the war. Its insane what antiques they have there and what equipment you won't find anymore they sell for dirt cheap prices.
Yes they even made a movie called Lord Of War about these weapons cashes and its a true story of Yuri Orlov a arms dealer that Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yuri flies to Ukraine and illegally buys Soviet military hardware through his uncle, a former Soviet general who is overseeing the distribution of weapons to the newly-formed Ukrainian Army.
Shows the scale of lend lease that they still have whole crates of Thompson's. Not surprised that they were kept in storage - doesn't look like they had a space problem in there
I wonder if there is something about salt mines that caused this location to be chosen as a long-term storage depot. Stable temps due to being deep underground, and it's probably really really dry down there.
@@TheArmourersBench He was so angry when he found out that the Americans had stolen the design of his rifle that he sued and won it. Мosin did not steal anything, he took only the clip from the Nagant, the design of the feeder. Nagant borrowed the design of the feeder from another designer. In turn, Nagant borrowed a lot of things from Mosin, and then patented it, that is, in fact, stole it. He is a thief, and you insert his name into the name of the rifle. Given the history of the creation of the Springfield M1903, it looks very symbolic, thieves cover the thief.
Friend few years back had a few crates with the Thomson's all for deactivation all welded up i nearly cried ,they came from that mine they have been flogging them for years
I read once that the Thompsons came in crates like that and in the trucks and tanks we sent the Soviets. Problem apparently, was the availability of .45 acp which is why they were never utilizedm
People forget, but the URSS had the largest army in human history. That's why there is so many storages like that in all ex-soviet states. And that's why Russia can still fight till this day with old weapons in some areas. Thair stock is HUGE and spread all over the place in bunkers.
Не во всех постсоветских республиках так. Украине достались крупнейшие запасы. Также много в Белоруссии. В общем с западной стороны, со стороны НАТО. В республиках средней Азии такого нет
Would love to see some videos documenting the use of the older WW2 guns. I've seen pictures of people running around with Thompson's PPSH's, and I saw a video only yesterday of something running around with a MP-40, but apparently that one was a reproduction from some company in Ukraine
Because they are no place for pistol caliber weapons in modern combat as main weapon. Only 7.62x54, 12.7x108 abd 14.5x114 guns were in active use, like DP-28/27/M , maxim guns, SG-43(replacement for maxim in Soviet army) , some ptrs, KPV(its 50s 14.5 machine gun) and of course DShK.
Im sure, no, I hope, Prigozihn understands what they have found, and makes these antiques available for legal sale, to any and all private/civilian individuals interested in a purchase, and of course, at discounted prices.
One mans rubbish other mans treasure. For modern army all the Thomson's, PPSH, Maxims etc. are useless, or clearly excess amount of surplus AK/Mosin stocks... but for gunsmith working in that sort of area (Brandon Herrera comes to mind) this would be absolute goldmine. Even museums... I cannot imagine museums around the world would not be interested in absolutely brand new old stock Thomson's, PPSH, Maxims and similar weapons... surely not 10,000 of them, but couple of examples each... and there must be 100s of museums around the world.
@@Stephen85 I kind of doubt it. If they found any usable weapons then yes, but most of what wash shown were antique weapons for which you can't get ammo, can't use them anywhere etc. In piece time there would be people interested in them if not for utility then at least as collector piece, but in war time literally nobody are are interested. prigozhin is scum, but I do believe he is not lying here by saying "these are new weapons, I called everyone, nobody wants them"... because nobody wants them, not even for potato vodka.
It speaks volumes of how well managed and good America had its Quality control in WW2 when you can put a crate of Thompson SMG's in a *Saltmine* and just open the crate and have the guns ready for use after three-quarters of century!
@@pauljmeyer1 ...only for the ATF to confiscate 'em, after which they'll be forced to run each and every one of those beautiful, 100% pristine Thompsons through the shredder, with paperwork and all? 😢 Yeah nty bro, I think I'll pass. Those beautiful Thompson babies deserve so much better than a one way trip through the ATF shredder!!! 🥺😞
Imagine a _Battlefield_ or _Call of Duty_ mission or map with an underground weapons cache filled with usable antique weapons and ammunition such as this one.
Thanks for posting. Imo engineering economy willdictate what happens to such a (rare) facility especially in an all out war. For example, it is clear the facility contents were stripped of high graded war materiel. Engineering economy again.
Yeah no rust whatsoever so no pitting the wood furniture looks superb too with no deterioration I'm guessing that the humidity of that salt mine plus the correct way they were stored helped no end , BTW that's a gold mine for collectors literally.
For anyone interested 24 Thompsons have already been shipped to The DRC, some will end up in République du Cameroun as I understand General Jacob Kodji’s daughter has bought some as gifts. My got my eye on a couple.
I am African Women… we have access to information that is banned in “Western Countries” and Russia is not sanctioned in Africa. We trade absolutely everything with anyone. C’est la vie.
This is a fascinating story and piece of history. I hope some of those weapons will be preserved. Maybe the sale of them to our gun loving friends in the US could cover some reconstruction :)
Imagine finding a mountain of all kinds of ww2 gems on your porch as a new way of psychological warfare by russians to piss of the anti gun leaning president in the US. Biden: Vladimir, did you just dump tons of guns across the US? Vladimir: Eh it fell off truck blyat! Biden: It is 2.000 trucks worth of cargo... Vladimir: ...yes .... Biden: I have to sniff on some refugee kids to calm down, but right after that we will have a serious talk mister!
Imagine going into a deep cave, and in one corner you find piles of ancient plundered Aztec gold... and in the other corner you see crates of NIB WW2-era Thompsons. Which one would you take? 😁
@@jessicaregina1956 Depend on where you are. In a middle of a war zones like Ukraine, guns is worth more than gold. You can't eat gold, you can't hunt with gold, you can't defend yourself with gold. It's up to the time and place.
Yup, many of his weapons came from Ukraine. As before the fall of the USSR. Ukraine was the Soviet Union's manufacturing heart. They made everything there from guns, to tanks, to jets and choppers and heck, even rocket parts and its all in the East. Near the Russian border in Donbass.
If Prigozhin could sale those Thompsons, they'd bring him some good money. The thing is, Prigozhin is one of those "angry patriots" that keep denying that the USSR received any Lend Lease help.
@@muhacnt7988 Shermans had no issue killing T-34s in Korea so it wasn’t some super tank - the Germans destroyed them by the thousands, the Soviets just outproduced them.
For those of you that don't know any better, the average T-34 didn't last long enough to use a full tank of fuel. The T-34 was utter garbage, like most Soviet tanks.
Unused lend lease aid was supposed to be returned, destroyed or paid for at the end of the war. I believe the USSR paid $722 million in 1971. Most of the debt was written off
@@JesterEric Yes and even though the USSR was seen as an ideological enemy, the terms were more favorable to the USSR than many of our true allies and friends.
I guess that explains why so many men have died in the battles of Soledar and Bachmut. The fact that it wasn't sealed speaks volumes. I hope the documents found with the Thompsons are released. Probably arrived in Russia along with the P-39 Airocobras in 1943. Maybe not. Maybe later, or maybe captured and recaptured.
Edit: 3:20 the stocks are for SKS not Mosins, I missed the cutout above the trigger guard and sling loop. Thanks for watching, here's the accompanying article - armourersbench.com/2023/05/21/what-weapons-did-wagner-capture-in-the-soledar-mines/
Pin this
the wagner boss said in the video that most weapons were delivered to soviat union by USA during 2nd world war to fight Nazi germany.
Yes, a portion of it, like the Thompsons, is Lend-Lease materiel.
fool you are this is old news weeks weeks old
l think by hearing your voice i think you are the guy i see on Mooch's channel ?....So i just Sub'ed to your channel...Thanks very much.....
Shoe🇺🇸....Never forget Air America....
No one wanted crates of brand new Thompsons? He didn't contact me !
I wanted to say the same, but then I thought of the legal ramifications of buying trophy guns off a sanctioned war criminal. 😅
@Marcus Ott who cares!?
@@marcusott2973 no worse than fast and furious.
@@marcusott2973 no worse than fast and furious.
Collector market in Europe would buy them. Can't import them into the US though, because....reasons.
Those crates of Thompson with original paperwork is unreal part of history
worth more money than a patriot missile...
@@caroltenge5147
not NFA item
well
at least not in pre sample
decease the vale
Just how the hell did they make it to the salt mine and who did they buy them from?
@@shareurtube given as part of lend lease by USA in ww2, how they ended up not being used I don't know
@@deanrobinson4129 - 9mm and makarov rounds were more plentiful in Russia during WWII.
A sheriff's department here in America still had a Thompson submachinegun in their inventory which they had bought in the 1930s. They recently sold it at auction for $90,000. Those crates of Tommy guns are literal treasure chests.
всем все равно на это подобие оружия
никому оно даже даром не сдалось
Old trash. Melt it for rebars.
$150k+ usd.
@@Gangster88232Why would you melt something worth money into scrap?
Only problem is getting them into America to sell as the importation of machine guns was banned. anywhere else in the world they aren't worth as much, a original WW2 full auto Thompson in places like New Zealand are only worth $2500-5000 depending on condition and history of course
4:55 it never occurred to me that large stockpiles of Thompson submachine guns still existed anywhere
To the best of my knowledge America exported a load to Russia and the uk during WW2
They got sent to lots of places. The problem has always been ammunition. Hence them being left behind as you can't even convert to other calibres.
@@zoidersa shame. Soviet weapons are the opposite tho they are still in use.
@@NineSeptims The Thompson was effectively a victim of a format war much like VHS/Betamax. Most SMGs can quite easily be converted to 9mm Para, 9mm Largo, 7.65 Luger, 7.63 Mauser, 7.62x25 etc etc. Not so the Thompson.
Lend Lease Act
Those Thompsons would be worth their weight in gold here in the US to collectors. Maxim guns?? Over 100 years old and in pristine shape?? After the war the whole mine should be turned into a museum. Tourists from all over would pay to see all that perfectly preserved history.
Depending on the dates yes
Without the right paperwork they aren't worth anything anywhere. And the right paperwork means "registered pre 1986 in the US". Do you have a time machine?
@@ArnoSchmidt70 technically they were manufactured BEFORE 1986 in the US and then sent abroad, maybe, MAYBE they are legally importable and salable as trasnferable machineguns
Thats what I was thinking! The condition they're in is amazing. They're walking through a History Museum with the most prestine condition things ever lol..
and now the russians have their grubby dick beaters on them...shame
I worked with that facility back in the 90's. They had 5,000 new Colt 1911A1's that Waffen Frankonia bought. They have thousands of P38's, Lugers, Mausers, as well as other equipment from WWII, including Indian, Harley Davidson and German WWII motorcycles. They also have tons of other WWII vehicles and according to the documentation I received, several ME-262 jets.
Wow. I imagined that there would be more than we've seen. It surprises me there haven't been more photos.
I can't even afford to shoot..the peoples time and money stole from them for such absurdity s we cant enjoy or use sad..such controlled waste
No V2 rockets? Bummer
Vehicles and jets!?
Its not a really known place
I wish there was a video exploring the whole mine
Wow, hoarders
Owning a Thompson here in the US is not only nearly impossible, but it would also cost a fortune. And these guys have CRATES of brand-new shipments sitting there for 80 years!
Sadly there's lots of things that are nearly impossible in the US that in other countries aren't!
I don't understand why Ukraine didn't sold them on the market already. They could buy modern weapons with the money.
These old guns are all over the world. Here in Brazil the police ocasionally find guns from pre WW1 with drug cartels. Most conflicts in developing countries use guns from WW2 and Cold War
The FDA is corrupt af unfortunately
they could literally have sold those to collectors and bought modern weapons and ammo. I'm sure there must be people willing to pay astronomical money just too get one of these old guns
Up until 2014 ukraine was the worlds premier surplus firearm dealer. My SKS, Mosin, tokarev pistol and SVT40 rifle all came from ukraine. paid under $300 Canadian for each one.
They are freezing the acceptance of registrations and will also not allow the transfer sale or donation of handguns at this time. Of note this does not effect pre 1998 handguns or collectors.
Also: - Handguns were used in 59 per cent of violent crime involving firearms between 2009 and 2020, and there are 70 per cent more handguns in Canada today than in 2010.
-There were over 3,500 reported thefts of firearms in 2018.
-One in three women and girls killed by an abuser is murdered with a gun.
@@LSOP-are you proposing to ban weapons for the civilians? In my country, when there was a complete ban, murder weapons still occurred... Only they didn't kill with firearms, but with axes, knives and pokers. Human violence cannot be stopped in any way
Ukraine sold off all the wealth they inherited from USSR, the government is so corrupt
@@ColinMor-fj3qc Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gunsmiths and weapons merchants. They can make anything
You lucky man.
Absolutely incredible. Maxims in brand new condition. Thompson's by the crate. Millions of dollars worth of black market, collector grade, weapons.
These cold war era dooms day bunkers are absolutely mind blowing, the amount of equipment held inside them is insane
I guess an artillery shell bunker would be larger
Yeah, you havent seen anything. The UdSSR were extremely paranoid about being invaded as ww2 thought them a hard lesson about not having enough gear at the ready, these bunkers & dry saltmines are extremely numerous all throughout eastern europe, most being long since empty (mostly because the new govt sold it) or they have been filled up with concrete/made inaccessible. But even when i was a child we had atleast two in working condition filled with who knows what to the brim with constant guarding by the army one of them being right in the center of our town & the other a few miles away. But to be fair, i bet most of the stuff is rotted away by now, a salt mine is perfect because of the lack of moisture, but the big concrete ones above ground were compromised for sure. We even had an urban legend that several mountains were hollowed out as bunkers & long time storage vehicle depots with hundreds of new tanks as rapid response in case NATO invades. I could bet my meal today that the russians still hamster that way, they know satellites can see what they have & bet they have a humongous amout of stuff sealed away in case they get invaded, but who knows.
Think the US has some forgotten ones in abandoned bases active in the Cold War?
Someone contact Russia!!! Don’t fuck up those guns!! They are History
@@ItsCrap97 if you have artillery shells you can have it
That's not a salt mine, that's a Gold Mine!
It's a waste of beautiful weaponry and a waste of taxpayer funds...impressive but a bit sad really.
@@davidgalea6113 ummmmm okay we have like a 400000 thousand in stock piles probably
@@chianghighshrek bro said “probably “ smh
@@williammcgaffigan9961 oh they made 1.5 million during the war and there are still Thompson's being made even today
@@williammcgaffigan9961 you do understand that this is equipment sold to russia before the soviet union collapsed?
As a weapons enthusiast, this video was making my heart melt. Brand new Thompsons and Maxims in their original factory crates!!! What a treasure they have over there, and they don't have any appreciation of it! What a waste!!!
Maybe they seen something more impressive?
You want them to wear white gloves?!
The answer is "yes," because these rare, valuable weapons have probably been in their original factory packaging since they left the factory floor.@@OnlyGod33-inri
Undoubtedly, modern weapons are more accurate and plentiful, but these Thompsons and Maxims are worth far more to arms collectors than their modern counterparts by a factor of ten or more.@@penclaw
The Maxims are in enough numbers that both the Russians and Ukranians are still actively using them.
That's pretty wild, just thousands and thousands of 'Forgotten Weapons'
They were never forgotten... Bout sold them to make his millions...
@@mcbrite someone didn’t get the joke
Don't summon Gun Jesus now
the best way for Ukraine to take it back would be to say there's stocks of .32 French Longe in there, it's like the US with oil/WMDs, say they are there and he will come :D
And in comes Ian 🙂
Those brand new Thompsons are such a sight for a collectors eyes . They can fetch a hefty price, up to 40-80 grand. How can anyone not be interested in those Thompsons. It's insane.
Dont worry wagner had already made deal in black market
@@tashigyaltsen472 one of them Tommies would sure look good behind a glass case on someone's wall.
@@artiomvv569 sure
Worthless in the United States because they can't be registered.
Not that. U have but alot
The Thompsons were included with the tanks that we sent to the Soviets in WWII but they didn’t have any ammo for them so they just put them in storage.
These old Soviet sites are all over Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe. Built to withstand nuke strikes, very impressive structures.
I think the gem of it is the lend lease stuff with all the paperwork. Probably wont find a lot of that.
Then why aren’t we giving them .45 acp? Thompsons have a wonderful reputation as a service weapon.
@@emilynelson5985 dont be insane. Sub mgs became obsolete 70 years ago. Especially ones which weigh more than a carbine and cost a fortune. You want to be in a trench struggling to find ammo for 3 magazines full with a gun thats useless beyond a few metres/against basic armour and weighs more than a dead cow??
great collectors items or last ditch weapons only, which is why they were there probably
@@emilynelson5985 the ergonomics are absolutely dogshit, hell I would take a bolt action over a Thompson 99% of the time just do to how ungodly the selector and stock placement is.
@@opairsoft8100 A Lee Enfield and lots of mags
I think a lot of people need to keep in mind - this is ONE such depot.
There's TONS of them all over not only Ukraine but Eastern Europe.
just imagine amount of ak variants stocked all over europe, mind blowing
Reminds me of Lynch's Dune, when Sitlgar says "Greater than treasure, Usul. We have thousands of such caches, and only a few of us know them all."
Yeah... most people don't know how heavily stockpiled the Soviet Union was
I've done business with Russians and went around a bit, they told me the West doesn't even imagine the size of the ex Soviet stockpiles of anything war related, they told me that in remote parts of the Urals there are literally artificial LAKES of millions of gallons of diesel and kherosene, enough to fuel thousands and thousands of tanks, planes and military vehicles for at least a century
@@ClaudeMagicbox last autumn Russian artillery has used shells made 1971.
@@AlexMilenk 😮
As a US based weapons collector I can only dream of a whole crate of early WW2 vintage M1928 Thompsons NIB still wrapped in oil paper. Even the crate of M1 Thompsons is probably worth a million dollars (also the crate of (pretty) Maxim guns. I am amazed no one thought to get them out of the mines before Ukraine pulled back and sell them to Western collectors. Just recently I saw someone on a different site whining bout not finding good condition, original, Mosin stocks. There they are. LoL
" I am amazed no one thought to get them out of the mines before Ukraine pulled back and sell them to Western collectors. "
Joe Biden would have cut off their military aid... then bragged about it on TV.
Joe doesn't like arming the proles... now his kid can use dope and buy a handgun, but he's a Biden.
They’re only worth that because of the NFA which limits the supply of them. While I’m sure they would still be valuable, if these among other non registry guns could be sold, the prices would plummet.
@@cdt996 "They’re only worth that because of the NFA which limits the supply of them. "
The goal of Hughes Rangel was to "poison pill" the Firearm Owners Protection Act.
Instead those two dullards ruined the prospect of anyone trusting a Federal Gun Registry.
Why register something so that it is frozen, the owners taxed to death or saddled with expensive crap?
The gun control lobby has become a money making institution. This is why it never wins much. It relies upon people to "overcome reaction" but cheats them because of a continous stream of donations.
They turned out to be sks sticks anyway it seems.
To be fair, if there weren't any import regulations, they wouldn't be worth a million dollars for very long
Damn that’s a mouth watering supply of usable hardware. As a gunsmith I’d be in literal heaven!! 😂
Now Imagine being the fellas who worked with all that !
I think I can hear Brandon Herrera salivating.
Yeah, me too. And if my brother was still alive, he would have been hugging the screen!
KAVEEER ALMIGHTY GOD 🙏+🙏+🙏
@@DefiantNX74205i think constant bombing takes the fun out of working with it, especially when you have to be evacuated because the russian frontline is moving fast towards you, like these guys who probably had to leave in a hurry judging by all the unfinished work. But maybe they could zen out by doing what they like, who knows.
Those Maxims are still viable weapons for fixed locations. Dependant on ammunition supplies or the ability to convert. Museums would take them in a heartbeat.
If I understand correctly those are 7.62x54R caliber the caliber is still very common in Russia and around the world it’s been used from the late 1800s in the early Mosin-Nagant till now it’s used in everything from the old Mosin-Nagant PKM machine gun and Dragunov marksman rifle
@@gwydionrusso3206 I think you are correct. It should be easy to check.
If it reigned supreme in WWI/WWII, cutting down massed infantry attacks. There is no reason why it can't be effective today in a true sustained fire role. I suppose training the gun team would be the difficult bit. Not many veterans from that era left.
Incidentally, my grandfather who died in the early 1980's. Fought during the last year of WWI and again in WWII. Firstly as a private in the MG Corps, as part of the crew for the Vickers Maxim. (That's why it caught my eye and why I commented.)
@@gusgone4527 Bro, they are a tool, tools can be learned with training like any other tool.
Damn, these might be the last pristine vintage guns
There are hundreds of thousands more
Their prombly more depot just like this throguht out the former soviet countries so their apt more out their
It is a safe bet that every developed country on the planet has similar facilities.
@@owllymannstein7113 but conditions of maintenance might be worse. I made a pretty bold claim overall tho, yeah
@@VanzerPanzer You might be surprised. In 1945 when Japan's general issue rifle had devolved to abysmal quality manufacture they still had stores of pristine pre-war rifles they were saving for the US invasion of the home islands.
About 15 years ago WW2 lend lease weapons arrived from Ukraine in the Eu. You could buy an unissued Thompson M1 for 500€ or a 1928 for 650€. PPSH 41 and 43 were around 250€, a Maxim on wheel carriage was 1000€.
That’s really interesting. For a weapon with a fallacious operating system the Thompson would have been an excellent WW1 weapon.
I remember Ryton arms had a big stash of ukraine ww2 /cold war warehouse stuff , everything from German 98k mausers to mint condition sks carbines , most of it extremely cheap, collectors in the UK won't see bargain deac deals like that again ! Sigh 😕
@@johngreen-sk4yk same state side
I want one of the THOMPSON'S
@@johngreen-sk4yk Indeed, bought a lot of these guns. Tokarev SVT40, Tokarev TT33, Makarov, brand new unissued 1948 dated SKS with laminate stock. 1895 Nagant revolver. Supply has dried up over the years and have doubled or tripled on those guns.
Unironically more valuable than the modern small arms they could've found.
Not really, on much of the euro civil market semi converted tompsons and PPSHs are worth less than a off the shelf AR
The Thompsons must be worth their weight in gold!
How about those water cooled machine guns! Yummy, this place is a Gold Mine!
@@davep5227 *salt mine... ^^
@@mcbrite gun mine?😉
Only on the US market. Surplus has not much more than scrap value in the rest of world.
@@zoiders Even in the US this amount put on the market would make the market for them collapse. They sell one a day/week to a collector in the US for like 300-400 bucks instead of dumping the whole lot on the market for a buck each.
There are probably lots of collectors in the USA who would give tons of money for some of the older guns.
There are about150k atf agents that would shoot you to prevent you from owning them.
Not probably, definitely. The problem is they legally can’t own them let alone import them from a war zone that the US is actively fighting and sanctioning against.
And now the us is giving then tons and tons of money just to keep Bidens secret ..
Ukraine should sell most of its antique firearms caches to collectors and use the money to buy modern weapons. They could probably get a couple of modern equivalents for each rare but outdated weapon. Mosins aren't worth that much but those tommy guns must be work bank, too bad Wagner has them and you know they will engage in corporate looting
@Quin and?
Loved growing up in a rural town where there was absolutely 10,000 ar patterned rifles and ammunition locked up underneath a national guard depot in the middle of town. Who even knows what else was in there. The underground part is underneath a elementary school and above ground building is fifty yards from the cafeteria lol.
the massive gallery of crates is insane to see i wonder how much more interesting weapons were carried away when they left
There could be anything down there. The videos show so little really.
@@TheArmourersBench Russian sarcasm is lost on westerner's. He teased the Thompsons M1928 original models. these are priceless in factory condition
Оттуда вынесли 90% содержимого. Осталось 10% , а может и меньше. В начале распродавали, а потом вывезли всё чем можно воевать
@@ИльяЧендемеров I wonder who they sold them to or if they just moved them to a different wear house in Russia
@@edwardsallow6518 Он имел ввиду что 90 процентов вывезли за время существования Украины, ибо они продали все что можно. Но оставшиеся 10 процентов это десятки тысяч стволов и миллионы патронов.
Those weapons like the Thompsons are priceless for collectors. It is a goldmine for collectors.
@Brendan O' Neil The challenge is getting them into the US. Just shipping them in a plain crate would get them siezed and trashed.
Those Thompsons are actually worth a lot. Incredible weapon. Expensive to make. Expensive now.
Worth a lot to who? They're worthless in the US due to the 1986 ban on registering machine guns. Anything that wasn't registered by July of 1986 is illegal for civilians to own. At best, these guns would be cut up into pieces and imported as parts kits without barrels, as per ATF regulations. As combat weapons, they're horribly obsolete. Heavy, not especially reliable, and they use ammunition that is next to impossible to find in most of the world and not standard issue in any military or police department, even in the US. .45 ACP, while popular with civilians in America, is incredibly rare elsewhere and is actually illegal to own in many countries in Europe and South America because civilians are banned from owning any caliber used by police or a military, past or present. It's illegal to own a machine gun in most countries, and in the ones where nobody cares (mainly African and Middle Eastern hellholes) they still wouldn't be worth anything because they can get AK-47's for the price of a live chicken, and those they can actually find magazines and ammo for.
@@Swindle1984 bc people just want to flex
@@Swindle1984 Collectors would pay thousands for one in a good condition, I cannot fathom why Ukraine did not sell them before now, they could get some very expensive military equipment for the price, yea the Thomson is basically useless, it only might be effective at CQC and even then, But none of that matters for collectors who have a lot of money and want a iconic piece of history.
@@corneliusmcmuffin3256 But collectors can't legally own them. If you can't sell them to anyone, they're worthless.
@@Swindle1984it’s still a machine gun with a decent caliber, yes compared to others it’s not the best but it can still do a lot of damage. you’re stupid
I’m sure plenty of collectors around the world would be interested, I hope these historical weapons are not destroyed.
Great video.
All the best from down under.
Lewis
Sydney
Australia
Don't worry mate, i doubt they go out of their way to destroy them, they either sell it inside russia for cheap or just let it in the salt mine, wich probably would be best, in those conditions these beauties have atleast another 40 years to look shiny.
So this is as close to heaven as one can find. An "infinite" number of guns to fix, assemble, and shoot with a neverending mountain of ammo.
That is just amazing.
Yup gun heaven !!!!
Yeah except for the whole war thing going on.
@@Stephen85 uh yea that whole thing hopefully it will be over soon
It would be even better if they were able to find the much more advanced modern weapons that NATO has been supplying Ukraine with.
@@rsuriyopIf you listen to the video, the Ukrainians took those with them when they left the mine.
The arms caches we found in vietnam always had THOMPSON MACHINE GUNS in 45 apc and were found on some VC soldiers. Mostly they used AK-47, Molson nagant, SKS, and B-40 rocket. 4th div. recon 1969.
@@henrydevree8382 Nup, shouldnt have been there to start with. F for Failed
@@whakatu4life285 don't hate the player, hate the game dude. He just did his job
@@henrydevree8382 Not hating the player at all, just the BS "thanks for your service" type crap that comes out of the US when the US shouldn't be meddling in other countries issues, nothing to congratulate someone for when civilians die, shame the US only felt that sort of thing when the towers came down, US has killed 100s of thousands of civilians in the illegal wars and invasions over the years so yeah F for Failed in Vietnam and same gonna be the result in Ukraine. US needs to wake up it ain't all it thinks it is and the majority of the rest of the world is sick of its BS warmongering, dictatorial ways. No wonder the US armed forces are struggling for man power, seems lots of the younger ones have woken up to the BS corporate controlled Govt there.
@@whakatu4life285 no, F for Fucc Off and Dye
I saw this video on telegram where Russian war journalist interviews Wagner fighter in this mine. Now i don't speak Russian, but a related language. And i think i understood that the number of Thompsons held in that mine is around 23 000 guns. The number of PPSh is around 300 000 guns. Ukrainians carried out most of modern weapons and almost all of the ammunition.
Just imagine what they took with them, this is just the stuff they left.
@@Stephen85 It was all theirs for the taking.
If the Thompsons are chambered in 0.45 ACP, the PPSh in 7,62 x 25 and the Maxims in 7,62 x 54R the Ucranians did well to leave them behind.
Anyone have Prigozhin’s number? Those belong in collectors’ hands and museums, not rotting away in a Ukrainian mine.
Indiana Jones moment.
@@alanxu3936 That should have been the new Indiana Jones movie, not the self insert fan fiction that Phoebe Waller Bridge cooked up.
I'd rather have Prigozhin's current location and a cruise missile.
@@Spudtron98 cringe
@@Spudtron98 goof ball
A thompson in such good condition, literally never fired, could easily be worth $150,000
Oh my god. Collectors are sending dark web messages to Prigozhin as we speak.
😂, even Putin
this will fuel the war effort for a couple of months lol
@@Santucho999 nah, weapons are too old.
I would definitely be one if I had access. LOL
i wish i could have all of that for myself
Agreed
We all do.
Start a new PMC and just go get them before they are gone. A piece of pie...💂♂
Join wagner for a stash of those now I mean adding these as trophies in payment will sure pump their recruit numbers
HAHAHAHAH, don't be greedy, man, I want all that for myself too, what do we do? hahaha, let's share all that with all our good bellicose brothers better, beers and whores I invite them XD
So freakin cool. The mine has no humidity. No rust.
That Thompson's got my attention!😮
Same!
😮 Those Thompsons are worth a lot of 💰
@@Yankeepride03Last time a used Thompson's was sold it went for $90,000 used. But the dealer tells me that the bidding on in the crate oiled Thompson's would start at approximately 150 to 300 k. That is a literal gold mine.
@@aaronlopez492 No, it's a literal salt mine and a figurative gold mine... Speakz!
@@aaronlopez492 no, as someone mentioned these thompson's were for sale at about 500 to 650 on the European market. the only reason machine guns are so valuable in the US is because the machinegun registry is closed.
The WW2 mint condition guns are a incredible find!!!
Prigoshin is about to throw out a fortune
@@nkristianschmidtYeah about that...
Wow tens of thousands of brand new WW2 guns? This stuff must be worth multi if not hundreds of millions... What an incredible treasure!
Not really, WW2 MGs are valuable in the US because we are not allowed to import anymore of them.
In euro countrys that allow semi auto conversions guns like those tompsons might be worth 1k each or so, possibly 2k for the maxims,
really not particularly valuable to go to much effort
@@therideneverends1697 probably half that if this stockpile ever flooded the market
Not really. It's simple supply and demand. In the US a original WW2 thompson is worth 10s of thousands because demand is extremely high and the supply is extremely low
Mr Prigozhin,
please don't let the antiques rot. Historical pieces like maxims and thompsons could be sold for a fair price.
For this invaluable piece of business advice, an AK-74 with 10 spare magazines and 3000 rounds would be very appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Orz Orzelski.
Well, at least I tried!
hahahah, dont worry dude, who know mr Prigozhin will know about your polite letter to him and he make an offer to you ;)
He wants to sell them actually
@@NeostormXLMAX wooo really? where you saw that?
oh yeah? and where is he going to sell them lol? like for real it would be transported to russia and disappear forever
You’ll have plenty of chances to appreciate it in ww3
You have a calm systematic way of presenting. Only a pleasure to listen to your presentation.
Here in the US a class 3 mint Tommy gun like those are worth roughly 35k-45k and they have dozens, if not hundreds of them in just that location
For some more info on this mine in Paraskoviivka , this is the Kuzminovsky Mine/Volodarsky Mine No. 1/Artyomsol Mine No. 8. It was opened in 1911 as the Kuzminovsky Mine. After the Russian Revolution it was renamed Volodarsky Mine No. 1 after the Marxist revolutionary and Soviet politician V. Volodarsky. On March 1st, 2019 Artyomsol renamed the mine the Artyomsol Mine No. 8.
After the mine fell into Russian hands mid-late February, I was curious how long it would be before we got pictures and videos from inside the mine.
Ukraine had one of the largest Black Market in all of Europe before the war. Its insane what antiques they have there and what equipment you won't find anymore they sell for dirt cheap prices.
Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gunsmiths and weapons merchants.
No it didn't
Yes they even made a movie called Lord Of War about these weapons cashes and its a true story of Yuri Orlov a arms dealer that Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yuri flies to Ukraine and illegally buys Soviet military hardware through his uncle, a former Soviet general who is overseeing the distribution of weapons to the newly-formed Ukrainian Army.
@spongebob7296 it is based on viktor bout, and most weapons that are on the black market are straight from russia
They still have the hugest black market selling American weapons to isis
Shows the scale of lend lease that they still have whole crates of Thompson's. Not surprised that they were kept in storage - doesn't look like they had a space problem in there
I wonder if there is something about salt mines that caused this location to be chosen as a long-term storage depot. Stable temps due to being deep underground, and it's probably really really dry down there.
Seems to be the reasoning. Thanks for watching
The salt sucks every bit of humidity out of the air. As long as it's not touching salt, metal will last forever.
It is eerie to see the weapons then which apart from a proof firing have never been used
Quick correction: those are SKS, not Mosin stocks, at 3:20.
You're right, my mistake, I missed the inlet above the trigger guard. Thanks for watching.
@@TheArmourersBench just Mosin, not Mosin-Nagant. Or call the rifle Springfield M1903 Mauser-Springfield.
Well I'm sure Mauser would have liked that haha.
@@TheArmourersBench He was so angry when he found out that the Americans had stolen the design of his rifle that he sued and won it. Мosin did not steal anything, he took only the clip from the Nagant, the design of the feeder. Nagant borrowed the design of the feeder from another designer. In turn, Nagant borrowed a lot of things from Mosin, and then patented it, that is, in fact, stole it. He is a thief, and you insert his name into the name of the rifle. Given the history of the creation of the Springfield M1903, it looks very symbolic, thieves cover the thief.
That crate of Thompsons is probably worth about a million USD
Man.. really wish they'd put those on the C&R market. Beautiful classic guns
Friend few years back had a few crates with the Thomson's all for deactivation all welded up i nearly cried ,they came from that mine they have been flogging them for years
I read once that the Thompsons came in crates like that and in the trucks and tanks we sent the Soviets. Problem apparently, was the availability of .45 acp which is why they were never utilizedm
People forget, but the URSS had the largest army in human history. That's why there is so many storages like that in all ex-soviet states. And that's why Russia can still fight till this day with old weapons in some areas. Thair stock is HUGE and spread all over the place in bunkers.
Не во всех постсоветских республиках так. Украине достались крупнейшие запасы. Также много в Белоруссии. В общем с западной стороны, со стороны НАТО. В республиках средней Азии такого нет
Would love to see some videos documenting the use of the older WW2 guns. I've seen pictures of people running around with Thompson's PPSH's, and I saw a video only yesterday of something running around with a MP-40, but apparently that one was a reproduction from some company in Ukraine
Because they are no place for pistol caliber weapons in modern combat as main weapon. Only 7.62x54, 12.7x108 abd 14.5x114 guns were in active use, like DP-28/27/M , maxim guns, SG-43(replacement for maxim in Soviet army) , some ptrs, KPV(its 50s 14.5 machine gun) and of course DShK.
There’s been plenty of use in all the urban fighting and in the trench clearing.
Several videos have surfaced of the Maxim guns in use against Russian invaders.
@@Mortablunt and as secondery for rpg and similar troopers
Im sure, no, I hope, Prigozihn understands what they have found, and makes these antiques available for legal sale, to any and all private/civilian individuals interested in a purchase, and of course, at discounted prices.
One mans rubbish other mans treasure. For modern army all the Thomson's, PPSH, Maxims etc. are useless, or clearly excess amount of surplus AK/Mosin stocks... but for gunsmith working in that sort of area (Brandon Herrera comes to mind) this would be absolute goldmine. Even museums... I cannot imagine museums around the world would not be interested in absolutely brand new old stock Thomson's, PPSH, Maxims and similar weapons... surely not 10,000 of them, but couple of examples each... and there must be 100s of museums around the world.
I would start a museum to get that collection!
I am sure they have already be traded for potato vodka.
@@Stephen85 I kind of doubt it. If they found any usable weapons then yes, but most of what wash shown were antique weapons for which you can't get ammo, can't use them anywhere etc. In piece time there would be people interested in them if not for utility then at least as collector piece, but in war time literally nobody are are interested. prigozhin is scum, but I do believe he is not lying here by saying "these are new weapons, I called everyone, nobody wants them"... because nobody wants them, not even for potato vodka.
@@lp9280 good, I am glad they can't profit off of them.
@@Stephen85 same... i hope Ukraine will be able to reclaim this catche and put it on the market once war ends.
if these were imported into the USA right now the barrels and receivers would be torch cut in several places.
our government sucks
Holy shit the amount of money those guns are worth in that mine is insane.
On the U.S. market people would pay real money for vintage WW1 and WW2 guns.
in everywhere, dude, not just in yankeeland
I just wish we could get our stuff back and buy it at cost.
That’s what you get for helping out communists at the expense of Europe.
In Syria about a year ago, a shipping container full of unissued STG 44s were shown in a video. Amazing what we produce for war.
wow link please ?
Goodness, to have such a slice of that arsenal in my armory. Welp, a man can dream,and dreams are cheap.
hahahah, everybody wnat that right now :D
Keep Ian far away; once inside, he might never return.
Down the rabbit hole.
It speaks volumes of how well managed and good America had its Quality control in WW2 when you can put a crate of Thompson SMG's in a *Saltmine* and just open the crate and have the guns ready for use after three-quarters of century!
Those piles of crates of never used Thompson submachine guns are worth a fortune.
Those pristine maxims, stuck in a cave for decades 😢
Aww Im Sad too😢
Whoa! Those Maxims and Thompsons are high dollar items worldwide!-John in Texas
It’s a real crime those Thompsons can’t be returned to the USA and sold privately.
Let's keep the faith
They will be. Russians are openly selling their uniforms and 'body armour' on western sites (ebay mostly)
Sure! Pay Prigozhin and he'll have them sent to the USA at a bargain basement price, no worries.
@@pauljmeyer1 i would strangle prigozhin to death just to get 1 of those thompsons
@@pauljmeyer1 ...only for the ATF to confiscate 'em, after which they'll be forced to run each and every one of those beautiful, 100% pristine Thompsons through the shredder, with paperwork and all? 😢
Yeah nty bro, I think I'll pass. Those beautiful Thompson babies deserve so much better than a one way trip through the ATF shredder!!! 🥺😞
Imagine a _Battlefield_ or _Call of Duty_ mission or map with an underground weapons cache filled with usable antique weapons and ammunition such as this one.
A battlefield map that is just tunnels filled with Soviet era weapons
Funny how that " explosives stacked to blow the entrance " looked just like crates of old stuff. 😂
with all that hardware being assesed now i think i know why wagner is back in the game and doesnt complain about ammo shortages anymore
Он жаловался на нехватку артиллерийских снарядов.
Wow that would be an awesome museum!
Whoa a Thompson, I just posted a full auto one. Love these.
I would not be suprised, in light of Prigozhin's recent comments, to see these start to appear in Africa.
Africa, Latin America, and through out Asia, their enough to supply a nation armory for years
Yeah, because the rich Africans can afford crates of vintage Thompsons at 150.000-300.000 a pop to do their random killing in style! 🙄
@@mcbrite thos guns only have value to american collectors, to the rest of the world it's just another tool for a purpose.
@@mcbrite It's not like they pay Museum Quality prices, more likely they get sold by the Kilo.
African warlords are getting plenty of better stuff (some western) from corrupt Ukrainian officials for over a year now.
Thanks for posting. Imo engineering economy willdictate what happens to such a (rare) facility especially in an all out war. For example, it is clear the facility contents were stripped of high graded war materiel. Engineering economy again.
Holy Crap, those Maxims and Tommy Guns looked brand new. They are worth a small fortune individually.
Man thats a nice find 4:49 they look to be in great shape.
Yeah no rust whatsoever so no pitting the wood furniture looks superb too with no deterioration I'm guessing that the humidity of that salt mine plus the correct way they were stored helped no end , BTW that's a gold mine for collectors literally.
For anyone interested 24 Thompsons have already been shipped to The DRC, some will end up in République du Cameroun as I understand General Jacob Kodji’s daughter has bought some as gifts. My got my eye on a couple.
From this batch? How do you know this?
I am African Women… we have access to information that is banned in “Western Countries” and Russia is not sanctioned in Africa. We trade absolutely everything with anyone. C’est la vie.
@@MadeleineTakam_Info_on_Profileya you're full of shit
It's good to know that even back then the government was giving away stuff that they wouldn't let civilians have.
Give me 30 minutes alone in that mine and I would die a happy man!
i would stuff my pockets and socks with thompsons
This is a fascinating story and piece of history. I hope some of those weapons will be preserved. Maybe the sale of them to our gun loving friends in the US could cover some reconstruction :)
Imagine finding a mountain of all kinds of ww2 gems on your porch as a new way of psychological warfare by russians to piss of the anti gun leaning president in the US.
Biden: Vladimir, did you just dump tons of guns across the US?
Vladimir: Eh it fell off truck blyat!
Biden: It is 2.000 trucks worth of cargo...
Vladimir: ...yes ....
Biden: I have to sniff on some refugee kids to calm down, but right after that we will have a serious talk mister!
Imagine going into a deep cave, and in one corner you find piles of ancient plundered Aztec gold... and in the other corner you see crates of NIB WW2-era Thompsons. Which one would you take? 😁
Take both piles
The gold. Durr. Its kinda hard to sell thompsons. Something something batf.
@@jessicaregina1956 Depend on where you are. In a middle of a war zones like Ukraine, guns is worth more than gold. You can't eat gold, you can't hunt with gold, you can't defend yourself with gold. It's up to the time and place.
That's not a weapons Depot, it's an arms Museum.
PPSH! Thompson! Damn! Would love to get my hands on these.
5:27 Are those Thompson M1928? I think so, Thompson M1 and M1A2 does not have finned barrels ..
they are yes. he just teased them, he knows what he has.
No one wants them! Blimey, I'll buy them!
Another great video Matt.
Russian sarcasm is lost on westerner's. He teased the Thompsons M1928 original models. these are priceless in factory condition
this would be the ultimate post apocalypse score
Apparently those are the stocks that Victor Bout drew from throughout his career as an arms dealer?
Yup, many of his weapons came from Ukraine. As before the fall of the USSR. Ukraine was the Soviet Union's manufacturing heart. They made everything there from guns, to tanks, to jets and choppers and heck, even rocket parts and its all in the East. Near the Russian border in Donbass.
If Prigozhin could sale those Thompsons, they'd bring him some good money. The thing is, Prigozhin is one of those "angry patriots" that keep denying that the USSR received any Lend Lease help.
@@muhacnt7988 Shermans had no issue killing T-34s in Korea so it wasn’t some super tank - the Germans destroyed them by the thousands, the Soviets just outproduced them.
For those of you that don't know any better, the average T-34 didn't last long enough to use a full tank of fuel. The T-34 was utter garbage, like most Soviet tanks.
Unused lend lease aid was supposed to be returned, destroyed or paid for at the end of the war. I believe the USSR paid $722 million in 1971. Most of the debt was written off
@@muhacnt7988 So why was the 1st Guards Tank Regiment using them in Berlin?
@@JesterEric Yes and even though the USSR was seen as an ideological enemy, the terms were more favorable to the USSR than many of our true allies and friends.
Prigozhin is gonna have a lot of collectors asking him for those sweet authentic Thompsons
Those Thompsons would make cool trophies, maybe Prigozhin could reward them like medals to Wagner veterans.
Most Wagner veterans get a free zinc crate as a reward.
Too bad we can't send some of these WWII to someone who would appreciate them
man untouched crates of maxim and lend lease thompsons is insane i hope they handled it well
Makes sense why he wanted those mines so badly. Lots of cash in those crates.
May I come with a truck there? I can help to clean the facility for free.
Leave it to the USSR to stockpile perfectly preserved arms for almost a century.
I think I saw an mg42 stickin out
Yes most of guns in Soledar are either allies and Germans.
The Syrian civil war both sides used WW2 weapons, not surprising there being used in this war.
I guess that explains why so many men have died in the battles of Soledar and Bachmut. The fact that it wasn't sealed speaks volumes. I hope the documents found with the Thompsons are released. Probably arrived in Russia along with the P-39 Airocobras in 1943. Maybe not. Maybe later, or maybe captured and recaptured.
Probably major part Tommy-guns arrived with tanks and armored vehicles.
@@AlASokolovправильно. Они точно входили в комплект поставки танка Шерман.
Это опись осмотра , не документы . Да и зачем они вам ? Оружие оплачено СССР и у Украины нет никаких прав владеть им .
@@ИмператорСметаны The weapons where given to the USSR, which then transfered them to Ukraine in the 70s.
they are Ukranian property