Yeah, I've heard about it. At that time we had several utopian projects of something similar to a tank (for example: Tsar Tank – by the way, the model of this monster is now standing near Lobnya, and one day I will get there with a camera.)
In no case will I write that he was lucky to be present at such an event - not only because he died, but also because he happened to live during the World War. Such wars are started by politicians who have not divided something among themselves, and other people are paying for it with their lives.