Ivan Naydenov

**Ivan Naydenov** is a Red Army tank driver.

After an Eastern Front tank battle in the summer of 1943, a Russian tank driver is found alive in a destroyed Soviet tank among dozens of other wrecked tanks. Miraculously recovering from burns on 90% of his body, he suffers amnesia and cannot recall his identity. He receives a new passport with the name Ivan Naydenov (from the Russian word найденный, "found") and is returned to duty. Naydenov believes he has the mysterious ability to communicate with tanks as if they were people, though he tries not to advertise this. He is also recognized as the best tank driver in his army group.

In the meantime, rumors arise about a new, invincible Nazi tank that appears seemingly out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly, destroying dozens of Soviet tanks. A captured German soldier describes the tank as a Panzer VI Tiger painted completely in white. This mysterious, heavily-armored and powerfully-armed enemy tank is dubbed the "White Tiger" by the Soviet and German forces.

Naydenov is given command of a prototype tank, an upgraded version of a T-34/85 with stronger armor, a more powerful engine, and only needing three crew members. Given his skills, Naydenov is ordered to locate and destroy this White Tiger. He plans to hide his tank in a ditch in the middle of a forest and use another T-34 to lure the White Tiger into an ambush. On the edge of the forest, the White Tiger appears and opens fire. Naydenov's plan fails, the other T-34 is destroyed by the Tiger, and Naydenov's tank is damaged when the Tiger hits it from behind. The White Tiger then retreats back into the forest from which it came. The crew of Naydenov's tank is confused on why the White Tiger didn't destroy them when it had been behind them at such a close range. The Soviet officers believe the Tiger sank into the swamp behind the forest where it disappeared, but Naydenov believes it's still out there.

As the story turns out, Naydenov believes in the existence of "The Tank God" He thinks that he was revived because the Tank God wanted Him to destroy the "White Tiger". He believes this is why he can understand the tanks and why he survives his battles, he thinks that when shells are fired at him his own tank warns him of the incoming danger and he avoids it. Naydenov becomes obsessed with finding the mysterious Nazi tank. He is convinced that the enemy tank is unmanned, a ghost of the war. The counterintelligence officer assigned to track down the White Tiger comes to believe the latter's interpretation and assists Naydenov. A captured German officer also reveals that he has never received any reports or documents on the existence of this Tiger, and he remarks that the legend of the death tank is causing more fear than hope in the German Army.

During a subsequent battle, a Soviet tank force is completely destroyed by the White Tiger, which reloads and fires faster and more accurately than any tank crew should have been able to. When it withdraws, Naydenov gives chase in his tank and comes upon an abandoned village. After destroying a hidden Panzer IV, he comes upon the White Tiger and engages it. The White Tiger's turret is damaged during the battle, but it manages to escape after Naydenov's T-34's gun is disabled. The sympathetic counterintelligence officer attempts to convince his commanding general that both the White Tiger and the "born-again" Naydenov are creations not of man, but of the war itself. The general is unconvinced and sends the counterintelligence officer on 10-day leave, thinking the officer is exhausted or insane.

After the Battle of Berlin and the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945, the counterintelligence officer meets Naydenov in a field and tries to convince him to go home, saying that the war is over. But Naydenov disagrees, saying that the war will not truly end until the White Tiger is destroyed. Naydenov believes the White Tiger has gone into hiding and has been recovering from its wounds since their last battle. He claims it will return in several decades unless it is completely destroyed. Naydenov then vanishes along with his tank, seemingly into thin air.

## Awards

* Soviet Military Medal of Honor USSR 1938-1943
* Soviet Army Badge (Excellent Tankman)