Chatillon Car Graveyard in Belgium

In the forests near Chatillon, a small village in southern Belgium, lie between 100-150 dilapidated and decaying cars.

During World War II, a number of American troops were stationed in Chatillon. Urban legends claim that when the war ended, the troops being sent home didn’t have the money to ship their vehicles back with them, so they hid them in the Belgian forest.

In a small forest near the village of Chatillon located in Southern Belgium, lies a graveyard of abandoned vintage rusty cars. All of these cars once belonged to US soldiers that were stationed in the region. Nobody knows how they managed to acquire these wonderful cars right in the middle of World War 2. When the war ended, all the troops were sent back home, the cost of having all of their cars shipped was too costly. In the end, they decided to leave all of the cars in Belgium, one by one each of the cars were driven and parked, hidden from the foliage of the forest. Not a single car was shipped back. 
There were about four car graveyards around the forests of Chatillon with approximately 500 abandoned vehicles. Only one remains today. Nature has reclaimed the vehicles and over time, corrosion, decay and looting from locals and car collectors have destroyed these one vintage beauties.

The story goes that, after the war ended, departing US soldiers hid their cars in the forest due to the cost of shipping them overseas. Plans to retrieve the vintage vehicles at a later date were never realised, and the cars steadily deteriorated as the decades passed.

Left to the mercy of the elements, souvenir hunters and enthusiasts on the lookout for spares, their rusting shells gradually became part of the forest. But over the years, more cars have been added to the corroding collection, explaining why many of these vehicles don’t actually fit the wartime story, and most likely rendering it an urban myth that has blown a pile of old wrecks out of proportion.

Today the vintage vehicles make for an unusual sight in the woodland – hardly the most environmentally friendly auto collection, but nonetheless one that has been woven into the fabric of the local landscape.