Dunbar Tank Wreck

Bogie wheel

A tank wreck dating from World War II lies within the area of the John Muir Country Park to to the west of Dunbar, East Lothian. The largest feature within the park is a large T-shaped sandbar known as Spike Island, surrounded by salt marshes and lying to the west of Belhaven Bay.

Much of the east coast was considered to be at risk of invasion by German troops stationed in occupied Norway, and and a number of coastal defences can still be found there, such as the numerous anti-glider posts, and the rubble of a former concrete observation post to the extreme west. Hedderwick Hill Plantation overlooks the bay, and was a wartime training area, where some related structures can still be seen.

Matilda tank remains

On the southern shore at NT6441079842 lie the remains of a tank, tentatively identified as a Matilda MKII. The remains consist of one bogie section with wheels, approximately two metres long, less than one metre wide, and about 750 millimetres high.

At NT6442979820 lies a smaller amount of indeterminate wreckage which shows signs of having been blown up, with evidence of the metal having melted. (it is possible looking at the photos that it was cut up with a gas axe for scrapping as opposed to being blown up, if it had been blown up large heavy chunks of armour would be in close proximity)

Given the shattered nature of the remains, it is possible that the tank was an obsolete or damaged item, such as the X-Craft at Aberlady, dumped on the sands for target practice by artillery or aircraft.

The tank remains are not recorded, but a human femur was recovered and recorded near the same location in 2003.