The Sturmgeschütz Ausf. A recently acquired by the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum. One of the most controversial tanks in private ownership.

This StuG III is probably one of the most controversial tanks in private ownership given it is likely that this vehicle used parts that were acquired from a Static display StuG.

This history of this vehicle begins when it was originally found in the River Shosha, Tula region (Шоша, Тульская область). It belonged to Stug Btr.660. The “7000 kilometers in a Sturmgeschuetz” wartime diary exactly depicts the loss of one StuG Ausf. A in this river by Knights Cross recipient Heinrich Engel. It wears tactical markings of 2nd battery 192 Sug Abteilung for June 1941, typically seen at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.

However, where the controversial history of this tank begins is in around 2011 where parts of the vehicle are almost certainly pilfered from a different StuG. The same person who undertook this restoration also restored a static monument where he almost certainly pilfered some parts.

To quote from the court record.

the contract for the restoration of the said memorial. In May 2011, Bushmakov dismantled the ACS and took it to the territory of Leibstandart LLC, located in Moscow, for restoration. In the course of the work, some of the original parts of the ACS were replaced with new ones made of modern materials and using modern technologies.

In order to avoid responsibility for the theft of historical values, some genuine parts from another unidentified installation were supplied to the ACS . And no later than July 28, 2011, the self-contained artillery installation was placed in the designated place in the memorial.

According to the conclusion of the metallurgical examination, the body and a number of parts of the ACS are a remake.

Thus, as a result of Bushmakov's actions, the currently installed ACS ceased to be of cultural and historical value.

You can read the court record on here http://volokolamsk.mo.sudrf.ru/modules.php?name=press_dep&op=1&did=109&fbclid=IwAR3TOEjrtBuk5kuclz9PBLHRwQAlQ0GzPxZNPp3DrPX_h91z5awUOytW-Ow

TLDR: Person who restored this StuG monument installed replica with different parts and "farmer style" weldings. Stealing from monument - it's almost same than grave robbery.

/r/TankPorn Thread Link - i.imgur.com