During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, losses of major items of equipment were substantial in many battles all throughout the war. Due to the expense of producing such equipment as replacements, many armies made an effort to recover and re-use enemy equipment that fell into their hands.

Equipment capture

Soviet troops made use of German boots, knives, mess-kits, flashlights and other personal items such as shavers and sidearms. Likewise, German troops often sought Soviet winter boots ( vаlenki) and hats. Troops on both sides each favored the other's submachine guns. German troops used Soviet PPSh-41 submachine guns and Red Army troops (and Soviet partisans) used captured German

MP-40 The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II. Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with ...

s. After the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, several hundred German

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight ot ...

tanks and similar StuG III assault guns/tank destroyers were captured. A significant effort was made to repair and re-use them due to their widespread availability. More than 100 were rebuilt as the SU-76i self-propelled gun, with some even serving as Soviet SG-122 self-propelled howitzer vehicle prototypes. Besides Panzer IIIs and StuG IIIs, the Soviets also used about a hundred ex-German Panzer IV medium tanks as well as Panther tanks. Tiger I and II tanks seized by the Soviets were only largely used for testing rather than fighting on the frontline. Nazi Germany fielded a large quantity of their own captured enemy weapons ranging from rifles to tanks. In particular, the German military used a number of T-34/76 tanks which fell into their hands early on in the war, as well as other older and lighter models such as the T-26 and a handful of the KV-series heavy tanks. Captured Soviet rifles and submachine guns were also operated by German soldiers, as were artillery guns of various types, such as the 76mm anti-tank/field gun, that were lost by the Soviet Red Army as they rapidly retreated eastwards all throughout 1941.

Use of captured equipment

Captured equipment was valuable to the Soviets as a source of intelligence on German equipment capabilities and weaknesses. The first examples of German

Tiger I tank The Tiger I () was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in North African Campaign, Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent German heavy tank battalion, heavy tank battalions. It gave t ...

and Königstiger tanks captured in combat were sent to Soviet proving grounds for evaluation. Photographic evidence does exist of usage of German equipment by the Soviets; ,they were often only used for a short period of time. When Axis tanks were captured and could be repaired for use, they were often used in deception operations. A common tactic was for a Soviet tank unit to approach a German position using one or two captured German tanks in the lead. The hope was that the German defenders, recognizing a "friendly" tank, would not fire, or would delay their fire long enough for the Soviet unit to make a close approach. Axis tanks and other AFVs were also re-marked and sometimes re-armed with Soviet weapons. One such example is the SU-76i assault gun based on captured

. Evidence also exists of German

Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 10 ...

-based command vehicles re-armed with Soviet 20mm ShVAK cannons.

Example listing of captured equipment

Captured German armored fighting vehicles

Panzer 38(t) The 38(t), originally known as the ČKD LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by ČKD, the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the annexation of Cz ...

medium tank *

Sd.Kfz. 11 The Sd.Kfz. 11 (''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'' – special motor vehicle) was a German half-track that saw widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft gun up t ...

artillery tractor *

Sd.Kfz. 250 The Sd.Kfz. 250 (German: ''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'' 250; 'special motor vehicle') was a light armoured half-track, very similar in appearance to the larger Hanomag-designed Sd.Kfz. 251, and built by the DEMAG firm, for use by Nazi Germany in Worl ...

armored halftrack *

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Pan ...

tank *

Sturmgeschütz III The ''Sturmgeschütz III'' (StuG III) assault gun was Germany's most-produced fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle during World War II, and second-most produced German armored combat vehicle of any type after the Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track. It ...

assault gun *

tank. *

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...

tank *

Tiger II The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,''Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: " armoured fighting vehicle"), ''Ausf.' ...

tank *

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to ...

* Sd.Kfz. 301 Borgward *

Panhard 178 The Panhard 178 (officially designated as ''Automitrailleuse de Découverte Panhard modèle 1935'', 178 being the internal project number at Panhard) or "Pan-Pan" was an advanced French reconnaissance 4x4 armoured car that was designed for the ...

ex-French armored car employed by the Germans *

Panzer II The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while l ...

light tank *

light tank

Example listing of other Axis vehicles

*Hungarian

Toldi Toldi may refer to: *Toldi (tank), Hungarian light tank *Toldi trilogy, epic poem trilogy written by the Hungarian poet János Arany *Miklós Toldi Miklós Toldi (c. 1320 – November 22, 1390) was a Hungarian nobleman from Bihar County of th ...

light tank *Romanian R-1 tankette *Romanian R-35 light tank

Captured aircraft

Bücker Bü 133 Jungmeister The Bücker Bü 133 ''Jungmeister'' was an advanced trainer of the ''Luftwaffe'' in the 1930s. It was a single-engine, single-seat biplane of wood and tubular steel construction and covered in fabric. Development The Bü 133 was a development ...

Dornier Do 215 The Dornier Do 215 was a light bomber, aerial reconnaissance aircraft and later a night fighter, produced by Dornier originally for export, but in the event most served in the ''Luftwaffe''. Like its predecessor, the Dornier Do 17, it inherited t ...

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

Gotha Go 145 The Gotha Go 145 is a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by ''Luftwaffe'' training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Eu ...

* Focke-Wulf Fw 190 * Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 *

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 ''Uhu'' ("Eagle Owl") is a German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It first flew in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940 and was produced until mid-1944. In ad ...

* Heinkel He 111 * Junkers Ju 87 * Messerschmitt Bf 109 *

Henschel Hs 126 The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft of World War II that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122. The pilot was seated in a protected cockpit under the parasol wing and the gunner in an open rear cockp ...

References

{{reflist

Links

Galleries of trophy armour, planes and guns at "War is over" site
Eastern European theatre of World War II Eastern Front (World War II) World War II military equipment of Germany World War II military equipment of the Soviet Union

Equipment capture

Use of captured equipment

Example listing of captured equipment

Captured German armored fighting vehicles

Example listing of other Axis vehicles

Captured aircraft

See also

References

Links