Belgian car graveyard features Pontiac Chieftains and Ford Thunderbirds that were abandoned by US troops during WWII
- Car graveyard contains vehicles abandoned by WWII US troops
- Pontiac Chieftains and Ford Thunderbirds are just a few
- There are over 500 cars that were abandoned up until the 1960s
Published on Jan 01, 2025 at 2:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 27, 2024 at 2:39 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Sitting in woodland and almost reclaimed by nature in the nearly 80 years since WWII ended lies a creepy car graveyard full of vehicles some of which were abandoned by US troops.
Pontiac Chieftains and Ford Thunderbirds are just a few of the models sitting unloved and left to the ravages of time.
However, there are over 500 vehicles that were abandoned from WWII up until the 1950s and 60s.
Labeled the ‘traffic jam forest’, it’s an eerie sight.
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The abandoned car graveyard dating as far back as WWII
The small Belgian town of Châtillon is an unexpected location for its four graveyards – and tourists and urban explorers alike flock to the site.
The 500 vehicles within them that date from WWII up to the 1950s and 60s deep are slowly being reclaimed by nature.
The story goes that US troops were unable to take their vehicles back to the States after the Third Reich fell.
However, some of the classic examples, including multiple Pontiac Chieftains, Renault Dauphine, and a Ford Thunderbird, are closer to mid-century.
Rusty Volkwagens and a Studebaker Champion also feature.
All are buried deep in mud and shrubbery that has accumulated in the decades.
Their deterioration
What’s unanimous is that the vintage American automobiles were symbols of luxury and performance at various points of the twentieth century.
Riddled with rust, broken glass, and fading exteriors, they are now forgotten and have been left to decay in nature at a site described by many as ‘creepy’.
Car graveyards are a global phenomenon: this peculiar example lies at the bottom of an Italian lake.
Meanwhile, untouched Bentleys and Porsches ended up in this Chinese supercar graveyard – and the reason why has been revealed.
Last but not least, a UK graveyard deep in a forest serves as an eerie time capsule.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
