What captured Soviet weapons did the Germans fight with? Captured armored vehicles of the Wehrmacht

Let's talk about the trophies of the Red Army, which the Soviet victors took home from defeated Germany. Let's talk calmly, without emotions - only photographs and facts.

A Soviet soldier takes a bicycle from a German woman (according to Russophobes), or a Soviet soldier helps a German woman
align the steering wheel (according to Russophiles). Berlin, August 1945.

Whatever happens on this famous photo, we will never know the truth anyway, so why argue? But the truth, as always, is in the middle, and it lies in the fact that in abandoned German houses and shops, Soviet soldiers took everything they liked, but the Germans had quite a bit of brazen robbery.
Looting, of course, happened, but sometimes people were tried for it in a show trial at a tribunal. And none of the soldiers wanted to go through the war alive, and because of some junk and the next round of struggle for friendship with the local population, to go not home as a winner, but to Siberia as a condemned man.
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Soviet soldiers buy up on the “black market” in the Tiergarten garden. Berlin, summer 1945.

Although the junk was valuable. After the Red Army entered German territory, by order of the USSR NKO No. 0409 dated December 26, 1944. All military personnel on active fronts were allowed to send one personal parcel to the Soviet rear once a month.
The most severe punishment was deprivation of the right to this parcel, the weight of which was established: for privates and sergeants - 5 kg, for officers - 10 kg and for generals - 16 kg. The size of the parcel could not exceed 70 cm in each of three dimensions, but home different ways they managed to transport large equipment, carpets, furniture, and even pianos.
Upon demobilization, officers and soldiers were allowed to take away everything that they could take with them on the road in their personal luggage. At the same time, large items were often transported home, secured to the roofs of the trains, and the Poles were left to the task of pulling them along the train with ropes and hooks (my grandfather told me).
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Three Soviet women kidnapped in Germany carry wine from an abandoned wine store. Lippstadt, April 1945.

During the war and the first months after its end, soldiers mainly sent non-perishable provisions to their families in the rear (American dry rations, consisting of canned food, biscuits, powdered eggs, jam, and even instant coffee, were considered the most valuable). The Allied medicinal drugs, streptomycin and penicillin, were also highly valued.
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American soldiers and young German women combine trading and flirting on the “black market” in the Tiergarten garden.
The Soviet military in the background in the market has no time for nonsense. Berlin, May 1945.

And it was possible to get it only on the “black market”, which instantly appeared in every German city. At flea markets you could buy everything from cars to women, and the most common currency was tobacco and food.
The Germans needed food, but the Americans, British and French were only interested in money - in Germany at that time there were Nazi Reichsmarks, occupation stamps of the victors, and foreign currencies of the allied countries, on whose exchange rates big money was made.
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An American soldier bargains with a Soviet junior lieutenant. LIFE photo from September 10, 1945.

And the funds Soviet soldiers were found. According to the Americans, they were the most good buyers- gullible, bad at bargaining and very rich. Indeed, since December 1944, Soviet military personnel in Germany began to receive double pay, both in rubles and in marks at the exchange rate (this double payment system will be abolished much later).
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Photos of Soviet soldiers bargaining at a flea market. LIFE photo from September 10, 1945.

The salary of Soviet military personnel depended on the rank and position held. Thus, a major, deputy military commandant, received 1,500 rubles in 1945. per month and for the same amount in occupation marks at the exchange rate. In addition, officers from the position of company commander and above were paid money to hire German servants.
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For an idea of ​​prices. Certificate of purchase by a Soviet colonel from a German of a car for 2,500 marks (750 Soviet rubles)

The Soviet military received a lot of money - on the “black market” an officer could buy himself whatever his heart desired for one month’s salary. In addition, the servicemen were paid their debts in salary for past times, and they had plenty of money even if they sent home a ruble certificate.
Therefore, taking the risk of “getting caught” and being punished for looting was simply stupid and unnecessary. And although there were certainly plenty of greedy marauding fools, they were the exception rather than the rule.

As a result of the defeats, the Red Army found itself in such a situation that it was necessary to fight not only against the Germans, but also for German tanks, because there were very few of its own. But what they were like in battle is another question.

And it will be a big surprise for many that destroyed German tanks were used already in the first weeks of the war. However, they could not repair them, so they were used as firing points to fire at the Germans with their own weapons. Soviet tank crews even resorted to special raids using fast light T-26 tanks to capture German tanks. Just such a raid was undertaken on July 7, 1941, when Ryazanov from the 18th Division was able to bring a captured German T-3 tank with his tank.

At first, Soviet tank crews used German tanks largely because their vehicles were damaged and they needed something to fight with. And the command did not encourage the seizure of trophies, but everything changed in the fall of ’41. When enterprises were even created that collected captured masses of tanks in order to eventually repair them and take them into battle. Over time, this department or enterprise has constantly expanded and improved.

The very first large batches of captured equipment soviet tanks shame received in the spring of 1942, after the victory in the battle for Moscow. Thus, from December 41 to April 42, the Soviet 5th Army was able to obtain more than 400 units of enemy equipment in battles, almost half of which were trucks. But there are only 25 tanks, but this is only one army.

Initially, they studied German technology, and only then sent it to the front. And these tanks were given very patriotic names, such as: Dmitry Donskoy, Alexander Surov, Kutuzov and Nevsky. The Soviet military was especially fond of the Stug 3, the famous German self-propelled gun.

Regarding opinions, the Soviet tank crews liked the most medium tank T-3, which had excellent optics, as well as equipment that would provide communication with other tanks. Also especially prized were the German Panthers, which were used only by battle-tested tankers to fight directly against German tanks.

Many people are interested in the question of the use of captured tanks in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. Here I recommend the book by Maxim Kolomiets “Trophy Tanks of the Red Army. On the Tigers to Berlin! A short compilation from which I bring to your attention. More details can be found by following the link to the source. But I still highly recommend reading the book itself.

Trophies are an inevitable attribute of any war. Very often, captured equipment and weapons were used against their former owners. Armored vehicles were no exception. The fact that the Germans fought with our tanks is known, perhaps, to any lover of the history of armored vehicles. But not everyone knows that units of the Red Army used, and very successfully, tanks and self-propelled guns of the Wehrmacht. Meanwhile, captured German armored vehicles fought in the Soviet armed forces from the very beginning to the very last days war, and was even exploited after it.
The first trophies The use of captured German tanks by units of the Red Army began from the first days of the Great Patriotic War. Many publications often mention the episode of the use of captured tanks by units of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front for a night attack on German units. Generally speaking, information about the use of captured tanks by units of the Red Army during 1941 is quite scarce, because the battlefield remained with the enemy. Nevertheless, it is not without interest to provide some facts about the use of captured equipment.

Red Army soldiers on captured tanks x Pz.lll and Pz. IV. Western Front, September 1941

During the counterattack of the 7th Mechanized Corps of the Western Front on July 7, 1941, military technician 1st rank Ryazanov (18th Tank Division) in the Kotsa area broke through with his T-26 tank behind enemy lines, where he fought for 24 hours. Then he went back to his own people, removing two T-26s and one captured Pz from the encirclement. III with a damaged gun. Ten days later this car was lost. In the battle on August 5, 1941, on the outskirts of Leningrad, the combined tank regiment of the Leningrad Armored Command Improvement Course captured “two tanks from the Skoda factories that were blown up by mines.” After repairs, they were used in battle by units of the Red Army. During the defense of Odessa, units of the Primorsky Army also captured several tanks. So, on August 13, 1941, “during the battle, 12 enemy tanks were knocked out, three of them were withdrawn to the rear for repairs.” A few days later, on August 15, units of the 25th Infantry Division captured “three serviceable tankettes (we are most likely talking about light Romanian R-1 tanks) and one armored car.”
Along with tanks, captured tanks were also used in the first months of the war. German self-propelled guns. Thus, during the defense of Kyiv in August 1941, the Red Army captured two serviceable StuG 111s. One of them was sent for testing to Moscow, and the second, after being shown to city residents, was equipped with a Soviet crew and left for the front. In September 1941, during the Battle of Smolensk, the tank crew of junior lieutenant Klimov, having lost their own tank, moved into a captured StuG III and in one day of battle knocked out two enemy tank, an armored personnel carrier and two trucks, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

StuG III, captured by Red Army units in full service. August 1941

On October 8, 1941, Lieutenant Klimov, commanding a platoon of three StuG IIIs (the document refers to “German tanks without a turret”), “performed a daring operation behind enemy lines,” for which he was nominated for the Order of the Red Banner of Battle. On December 2, 1941, Lieutenant Klimov died during a duel with a German anti-tank battery.
The wider use of captured equipment in the Red Army began in the spring of 1942, when, after the end of the battle of Moscow, as well as counterattacks near Rostov and Tikhvin, hundreds of German vehicles, tanks and self-propelled units. For example, the troops of the 5th Army of the Western Front alone from December 1941 to April 10, 1942 sent 411 units of captured equipment to the rear for repair (medium tanks - 13, light tanks - 12, armored cars - 3, tractors - 24, armored personnel carriers - 2, self-propelled guns- 2, trucks - 196, cars - 116, motorcycles - 43. In addition, during the same period, army units collected 741 units of captured equipment (medium tanks - 33, light tanks - 26, armored vehicles - 3, tractors - 17, armored personnel carriers - 2, self-propelled guns - 6, trucks - 462, passenger cars - 140, motorcycles - 52).
Another 38 tanks: Pz. I - 2, Pz. II - 8, Pz. III - 19. Pz. IV - 1, ChKD (Pz. 38(t) - 1. artillery tanks (as they were often called in Soviet documents of the first year of the war assault guns StuG III - 7 was registered at the sites of past battles. During April-May 1942 most This equipment was taken to the rear. For more organized collection trophies, at the end of 1941, a department for the evacuation and collection of trophies was created in the Armored Directorate of the Red Army, and on March 23, 1942, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR signed an order “On accelerating work on the evacuation of captured and domestic armored vehicles from the battlefield.”

Red Army soldiers near a captured Romanian R-1 tank. Odessa area, September 1941

The first repair base tasked with repairing captured armored vehicles was repair base No. 82 in Moscow. Created in December 1941, this enterprise REU GABTU KA was originally intended to repair British tanks and armored personnel carriers that arrived under Lend-Lease. However, already at the end of March, by the decision of the GABTU KA, approved by the State Defense Committee, the specialization of repair base No. 82. Captured tanks began to be delivered to repair base No. 82. In total, according to the report of repair base No. 82 for 1942, 90 tanks of all types were repaired there.
Another Moscow enterprise engaged in the restoration of German armored vehicles was a branch of plant No. 37, created on the site of the production facility evacuated to Sverdlovsk. The branch was engaged in the repair of T-30/T-60 vehicles and trucks. In addition, in 1942, five Pz tanks were delivered to it. I (two repaired), seven Pz. II (three repaired), five Pz.38(t) tanks (three repaired), five “trophy self-propelled guns"(not repaired), two light captured armored cars (repaired), one medium (repaired), four "walkie-talkie armored cars" (one repaired), as well as 89 captured vehicles (52 repaired) and 14 half-track tractors (10 repaired).

Captured equipment brought for repairs in the courtyard of the Podemnik plant, where repair base No. 82 was located: Pz. II, flamethrower version of Pz. II Flamm "Flamingo", Pz. III, Pz.35(t), Pz.38(t), StuG III, Sd.Kfz.252 and Sd.Kfz.253 armored personnel carriers. The emblems of German tank divisions are visible on many vehicles. April 1942

Thus, in 1942, about 100 captured armored units, including armored cars, were repaired at the repair enterprises of GABTU KA and the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry. By the way, according to the recollections of one of the repairmen, the best tank for repair was the Czechoslovakian Pz.38(t), since “it had a fairly simple and reliable engine and simple transmission mechanisms. If a Czech tank did not burn, it was usually restored. At the same time, almost all German tanks required much more delicate handling.”
Over the 11 months of 1943, 356 captured vehicles were delivered to tank repair plant No. 8 (Pz. II - 88, Pz. III - 97, Pz. IV - 60, Pz.38(t) - 102. other types - 12), of which repaired 349 (Pz. II - 86, Pz. III - 95, Pz. IV - 53, Pz.38(t) - 102, other types - 12). True, not all repaired German tanks were sent to the Active Army. For example, in August 1943, 77 captured German tanks were shipped from Plant No. 8 to infantry, machine gun and rifle and mortar schools, 26 to reserve rifle regiments, and 65 - to twelve tank schools. In May - April 1944, repair plant No. 8 moved again to Kyiv. And in the first half of 1944, repair plant No. 8 repaired 124 medium and 39 light German tanks, after which the repair of captured equipment was removed from it. Thus, during 1942–1944, tank repair plant No. 8 repaired at least 600 German tanks various types. True, not all of them made it to the front; many vehicles were sent to training and spare tanks.

Repairers inspect Pz tanks. III, in the foreground is a Pz. III from the German 18th Panzer Division, equipped with underwater equipment. Moscow, repair base No. 82, April 1942

In addition to repair bases, army and front-line repair units were involved in repairing captured equipment. Perhaps the greatest amount of work was done by repair units of the Western Front in 1942. For example, in June, the 22nd army repair and restoration battalion of the front repaired ten German tanks, and the 132nd separate repair and restoration battalion over the same period repaired 30 captured Pz vehicles. II, Pz. III and Pz. IV
However, in July 1942, 16 captured tanks were sent to the 22nd army repair and restoration battalion, and four more were sent to the 132nd separate repair and restoration battalion. Moreover, this battalion was also involved in the rearmament of German tanks domestic weapons. True, the scale of such work was small and concerned mainly with the replacement German machine guns for domestic diesel engines and installation of domestic optics.
In November 1942, units of the Western Front sent 23 German tanks and one armored car to rear repair bases. In addition, a number of captured armored vehicles were repaired by the factories of the Main Directorate for Tank Repair of the People's Commissariat tank industry. So, in 1943, at plant No. 264 in Stalingrad (formed on the basis of the plant of the same name after the liberation of the city, it was supposed to repair tanks) 83 Pz vehicles were repaired. III Pz. IV and eight more - at the beginning of 1944.
Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to say that during the years of the Great Patriotic War, the repair plants of the GBTU KA and the enterprises of the Main Directorate for Tank Repair of the NKTP repaired at least 800 German tanks and self-propelled guns.

A train of repaired Prague tanks on their way to the Active Army. Western Front, July 1942. The front tank was rearmed instead of Czechoslovakian ZBs Soviet machine guns DT

Very interesting information on the accounting of captured equipment in the Red Army. Thus, as they were lost during the fighting, during 1942 the following were written off: Pz.1–2, Pz. II - 37, Pz. III - 19, Pz. IV - 7, StuG III - 15, Pz.35(l) - 14, Pz.38(t) - 34. Pz. II Flamm - 2, Total - 110 tanks, armored vehicles - 8.

French armored vehicles AMD-35. used in the Wehrmacht under the designation Panard 178(f), at repair base No. 82 in Moscow. The front armored car has already been repaired and is intended for transfer to the Red Army. The car was repainted in standard Soviet khaki color 4B0. April 1942

The peak use of captured equipment occurred in 1942–1943. To facilitate its operation among the troops at this time, specialized leaflets were published on the use of the most widespread samples of captured German combat and transport vehicles. Depending on the amount of serviceable equipment, this equipment was reduced to separate companies or battalions of captured tanks, created on an initiative basis, and was also included in the regular tank units of the Red Army. Captured tanks were used as long as there was enough fuel, ammunition and spare parts.
Sometimes entire units equipped with German materiel operated. One of them was formed as part of the 20th Army at the end of July 1942. According to the temporary staff approved for it, it was supposed to have 219 people, 34 captured tanks, 3 half-track tractors (captured), 10 trucks (five GAZ-AA and five Opel), three gas tankers and one GAZ M-1 passenger car. This unit in the documents was called a special separate tank battalion or, after the surname of the commander, “Nebylov’s battalion” (commander - Major Nebylov, military commissar - battalion commissar Lapin). As of August 9, 1942, it included 6 Pz. IV, 12 Pz. III, 10 Pz.38(t) and 2 StuG III. This battalion participated in hostilities until October 1942.
There was another battalion with captured equipment as part of the 31st Army of the Western Front (referred to in documents as a “separate tank battalion letter “B”.” Formed in July 1942, by August 1 it consisted of nine T-60s and 19 captured German Like Nebylov's battalion, this unit operated until October 1942.
Quite a few captured tanks operated on the North Caucasus and Transcaucasian fronts. So the 75th separate tank battalion, from the 56th Army, operationally subordinate to the commander of the 3rd Rifle Corps, as of June 23, 1943, had four companies: 1st and 4th captured tanks (four Pz. IV and eight Pz. III), 2nd and 3rd - on English "Valentines" (13 vehicles). And in March the 151st Tank Brigade received 22 German vehicles (Pz. IV, Pz. III and Pz. II), which became part of its 2nd battalion.

A column of captured combat vehicles (a Pz. III tank in front, followed by three StuG IIIs) on the Western Front, March 1942. On the sides of the self-propelled guns you can see the inscriptions “Let’s avenge Ukraine!”, “Avenger”, “Beat Goebbels!”

On August 28, 1943, units of the 44th Army were assigned a separate company of captured tanks consisting of three Pz. IV thirteen Pz. III, one M-3 General Stewart and one M-3 General Lee. On August 29–30, the company together with the 130th rifle division captured the village of Varenochka and the city of Taganrog. As a result of the battle, the tankers destroyed ten vehicles, five firing points, 450 soldiers and officers, captured seven vehicles, three repair huts, two tractors, three warehouses, 23 machine guns and 250 prisoners. Its losses amounted to five damaged Pz. III (one of them burned down), three Pz. mines were blown up by mines. III, seven people killed and 13 wounded.
The 213th Tank Brigade became the only brigade of the Red Army that was fully armed with captured materiel. On October 1, 1943, after being in reserve, an order was received from the commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the Western Front “to arm the brigade with German-made (captured) tanks captured by the Red Army during combat operations in the period 1941–1943.” By October 15, the brigade had 4 T-34 tanks, 35 Pz. III and 11 Pz. IV, as well as a fully equipped motorized rifle battalion and the required artillery and vehicles.
After the battles, by January 26, 1944, the 213th brigade had a list of 26 combat vehicles (T-34, 14 Pz. IV and 11 Pz. III), of which only four Pz. were serviceable. IV, and the remaining tanks required current and medium repairs. By February 8, 1944, only T-34 and 11 Pz remained in the brigade. IV, which were being prepared to be sent to factories for repair. Seven more Pz. IV by this time was transferred to the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade. And two weeks later, the 213th Tank Brigade began rearming with domestic equipment.

Captured tanks Pz. IV and Pz.38(t) from the 79th separate training tank battalion. Crimean Front, April 1942. The vehicles were captured from the 22nd Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht

Quite an interesting evidence of the operation of the captured German tank Pz. IV was left by World War II veteran Rem Ulanov. According to his memoirs, in January 1944, after the hospital, he ended up in the 26th separate company guard of the 13th Army headquarters: “There they put me on the only captured Pz tank in the company. IV. Having tried it on the go and traveled several tens of kilometers, I could evaluate it ride quality and ease of management. They were worse than those of the SU-76 (before that, R. Ulanov was the driver of this self-propelled gun.
The huge seven-speed gearbox, located to the right of the driver, was tiring with heat, howling and unusual smells. The tank's suspension was stiffer than that of the SU-76. Noise and vibration from the Maybach engine caused headache. The tank was devouring great amount gasoline. Dozens of buckets of it had to be poured through an inconvenient funnel.”

Inspection of captured Pz. IV, captured from the 22nd Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht. Crimean Front, 79th separate training tank battalion, April 1942.

In January 1944, in battles on the outskirts of Zhitomir, units of the 3rd Guards Tank Army captured a significant number of damaged German tanks. By order of the deputy army commander for technical affairs, Major General Yu. Solovyov, in the 41st and 148th separate repair and restoration battalions, one platoon was created each of the most experienced repairmen, who in short term restored four Pz.1V tanks and one Pz. V "Panther". A few days later, in a battle near Zherebka, the crew of a Soviet Panther knocked out a Tiger tank.
In August 1944, the guard company of Lieutenant Sotnikov successfully used three such vehicles in the battles near Warsaw. Captured Panthers were used in the Red Army until the end of the war, mostly sporadically and in small quantities. For example, during the repulsion of the German offensive in the area of ​​Lake Balaton in March 1945, the 991st self-propelled artillery regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Gordeev (46th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front) included 16 SU-76 and 3 captured Panthers. .

"Panthers" of Lieutenant Sotnikov's guard company east of Prague (a suburb of Warsaw), Poland, August 1944

Apparently, the first part of the Red Army to use captured Tigers was the 28th Guards Tank Brigade (39th Army, Belorussian Front). On December 27, 1943, during an attack by the “tigers” of the 501st battalion near the village of Sinyavki, one of the vehicles got stuck in a crater and was abandoned by the crew. Tankers of the 28th Guards Tank Brigade managed to pull out the Tiger and bring it to their location.
The vehicle turned out to be completely serviceable, and the brigade command decided to use it in battle. The “Journal of Combat Operations of the 28th Guards Tank Brigade” says the following about this: “12/28/43. The captured Tiger tank was returned from the battlefield in full serviceable condition. The crew of the T-6 tank was appointed as the brigade commander, consisting of: tank commander, three-time guard order bearer Lieutenant Revyakin, guard driver mechanic, Sergeant Major Kilevnik, guard gun commander, Sergeant Major Ilashevsky, guard turret commander, Sergeant Major Kodikov, guard gunner-radio operator, Sergeant Akulov. The crew mastered the tank within two days. The crosses were painted over, and instead of them, two stars were painted on the tower and “Tiger” was written.”
Later, the 28th Guards Tank Brigade captured another Tiger (the author does not have information about where and when this happened): as of July 27, 1944, it had 47 tanks: 32 T-34, 13 T-70, 4 SU-122, 4 SU-76 and 2 Pz. VI "Tiger". This technique successfully participated in Operation Bagration. As of October 6, 1944, the 28th Guards Tank Brigade had 65 T-34 tanks and one Pz. VI "Tiger".

German armored vehicles (armored car Sd.Kfz. 231, tanks Pz. III Ausf. L and Pz. IV Ausf.F2), captured in full service near Mozdok. 1943

In addition to German tanks, Soviet troops received vehicles from their allies. So, in August 1944, in the Stanislav area, units of the 18th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front defeated the 2nd Tank Division of the Hungarians, capturing a lot of different equipment. In preparation for the upcoming battles in the Carpathians, the army command decided to use the trophies they had acquired. On September 9, 1944, by order No. 0352 for the troops of the 18th Army, a “Separate Army Battalion of Captured Tanks” was formed: “As a result of the operation, the army’s tank fleet was enriched with captured vehicles requiring restoration with army repair equipment. The repair of combat vehicles is basically completed, the tanks are ready to go into service.
According to the approved temporary staff, the battalion consisted of three companies (three platoons each), a maintenance platoon, a utility department and a point medical care. In addition to tanks, the battalion was given one passenger car, two motorcycles, fifteen trucks, a repair camp and two tank trucks. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the name of the battalion commander. It is only known that the deputy commander was Captain R. Koval, and the political instructor was Captain I. Kasaev. The battalion was first brought into battle on September 15, 1944.
Unfortunately, there is no breakdown of tanks by brand. It is only known that on November 14, five Turans and two Zrinyi self-propelled guns took part in the battle, and on November 20, three Turans and one Toddy. It should be noted that in addition to the Hungarian tanks, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade had two captured “artillery assaults” (StuG 40), which Soviet tank crews successfully used since September 1944. As of January 1, 1945, the brigade still had three Turans, one Toldi, one Zrinyi self-propelled gun and one Artshturm.

Red Army soldiers studying the Hungarian Toldi tank. 18th Army, August 1944

In addition to tanks and self-propelled guns, units of the Red Army also used captured armored personnel carriers. For example, in November 1943, in the battles near Fastov, the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade captured 26 serviceable German armored personnel carriers. They were included in motorized rifle battalion brigades, and some of them were used until the end of the war.

Soviet artillerymen use the captured Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf C armored personnel carrier as a tractor for the ZIS-3 cannon. Orel area, 1943

Trophy German armored vehicles was also used in recent months Great Patriotic War. This was primarily due to large tank losses in some operations, for example, at Lake Balaton near Budapest. The fact is that after the battles of January-February 1945, units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had a small number of combat-ready combat vehicles. And the 6th SS Panzer Army, which launched a counterattack, on the contrary, had about a thousand tanks and self-propelled guns. To replenish tank park, by March 2, 1945, the 3rd Mobile Tank Repair Plant of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had restored 20 German tanks and self-propelled guns, which were manned by the crews of the 22nd training tank regiment. On March 7, 15 of them were sent to staff the 366th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the 4th Guards Army. These were 7 self-propelled guns "Hummel", 2 "Vespe", 4 SU-75 ( general marking adopted in Soviet army German self-propelled guns based on StuG with 75 mm. guns, without breakdown into specific types) and 2 Pz tanks. V "Panther". By March 16, 1945, the regiment already had 15 captured self-propelled guns, 2 Panthers and one Pz. IV.

The crew of the captured tank Pz. IV advances to the front line. 1st Belorussian Front, winter 1944

After the war, captured equipment was planned to be used for training purposes, so most of the serviceable German armored vehicles were supposed to be transferred to tank armies and corps. For example, June 5, 1945 Marshal Soviet Union Konev ordered the 30 captured, repaired armored units available in the 40th Army zone, located in Nove Mesto and Zdirets, to be transferred to the 3rd Guards Tank Army “for use in combat training.” The transfer process was planned to be completed no later than June 12.
In total in active army There were 533 serviceable captured tanks and self-propelled guns in service and 814 in need of current and environmental repairs.
The exploitation of captured equipment continued in the Soviet armed forces until the spring of 1946. As tanks and self-propelled guns broke down and spare parts for them ran out, German armored vehicles were written off. Some of the vehicles were used at training grounds as targets.

Captured Panther tank from the 366th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment. 3rd Ukrainian Front, 4th Guards Army, March 1945. The numbers and crosses on the tank are painted over and red stars with a white border are painted on top of them

Destroyed german tank"Somua" S 35 (Somua S35, Char 1935 S), turned starboard towards us. 400 of these tanks went to Germany as a trophy after the defeat of France in 1940. The tank was destroyed by Soviet partisans in 1943 in the Leningrad region.

Former Polish tank 7TP, captured by the Germans in 1939. Used by the Wehrmacht for its own needs, it was then sent to France, where it was captured by American troops in 1944.

The Soviet T-34-76 tanks captured by the Germans were put into service. It’s interesting that the Germans modernized the tanks: they installed commander’s cupolas from the Pz.III, improving visibility (one of the shortcomings of the original T-34), equipped the guns with a flame arrester, added a box on board, and installed headlights on the left. In addition, the tanks and machine guns seem to be German.

Tank KV-2 from Pz.Abt.zBV-66 in Neuruppin. As a result German modification received commander's cupola, stowage for additional ammunition at the rear of the vehicle, Notek headlight and a number of other minor changes.

This photo shows the same KV-2 and T-34.

German sappers clear the road in front of a captured Soviet T-34 tank. Autumn 1941.

A very famous car. Modernized captured Soviet tank KV-1 from the 204th tank regiment of the 22nd tank division of the Wehrmacht. The Germans installed on it, instead of a 76.2 mm cannon, a German 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 cannon, as well as a commander's cupola.

Trophy Soviet light tank T-26 model 1939 in the service of the Wehrmacht.

Trophy KV-2

Captured French tank S35 from the 22nd Tank Division in Crimea. All french tanks In this division they belonged to the 204th Tank Regiment (Pz.Rgt.204).

Destroyed captured Soviet T-34 tanks produced in 1941 from an unidentified Wehrmacht tank unit.

Captured Soviet tank T-26 of the SS division "Totenkopf" bearing the name "Mistbiene".

The same tank captured by Soviet troops in the Demyansk cauldron.

A rare photograph. Captured English tank M3 “Stuart”, shot down in battle on the night of October 8-9, 1944 near Tehumardi, on the island of Saaremaa (Ezel) (Estonia). One of the fiercest battles in Saaremaa. In the night battle, the 2nd battalion of the German 67th Potsdam Grenadier Regiment (360 people) and detachments of the 307th separate anti-tank fighter division and the 1st battalion of the 917th regiment of the Soviet 249th “Estonian” division (670 people in total) collided ). The losses of both sides amounted to 200 people.

German prisoners of war on their way to the railway station to be sent to the camp pass by a captured Soviet T-70 light tank with Wehrmacht insignia. Two high-ranking officers are visible in the first rank of the column of prisoners. Neighborhoods of Kyiv.

A German tankman inflicts German identification marks on the turret of a captured Soviet T-34-76 tank. On the side of the tower, in the center of the cross, a patch is clearly visible, most likely covering a hole in the armor. Tank with a stamped turret from the UZTM plant.

Residents of Belgrade and soldiers of the NOAU inspect a damaged German tank of French production Hotchkiss H35. Karageorgievich street.

German collection point faulty armored vehicles in the Königsberg area. 3rd Belorussian Front. In the picture, from left to right: captured Soviet tank T-34/85, light tank Pz.Kpfw.38(t) of Czech production, captured Soviet self-propelled guns SU-76, another T-34 tank is partially visible to the right. In the foreground are parts of the destroyed turret of a captured Soviet tank T-34/85.

It was not only Soviet small arms that succumbed to the ranks of the German army. Against Soviet troops The Germans also converted tanks, including the legendary KV-2 and T-34, which also distinguished themselves in service in the troops of the Third Reich.

But the T-34 with crosses on board looks, at least, strange and unusual. However, such tanks German troops, sad as it may be, there was a sufficient number. Along with them, they turned against the Soviet troops and heavy tanks KV-1 and KV-2, superior in firepower to German armored vehicles.

It is worth noting that for their combat characteristics“KVshki” were quite popular among the Germans. True, it is not very clear where the Germans got spare parts to repair the T-34 and Klimov Voroshilovs damaged in battle. And a lot of equipment was captured. By the end of the summer of 1941 alone, more than 14 thousand Soviet tanks had become the prey of the Germans. More often, due to a lack of spare parts, damaged T-34s and KVs left service, and suitable parts were used to repair other tanks.

In 1943, the Germans set up a repair shop in Kharkov on the territory of a tractor plant. Here, Soviet T-34s damaged in battle were repaired and modified.

According to one version, the Germans got Soviet tanks not only as war trophies, but also as banal goods - in pre-war times. It is no secret that until 1941 the USSR had diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany.

Whether this is true or not, it is a fact - in the same ranks as part of the SS division "Reich" German PZ.IV and Soviet T-34 went to fight against the allied forces. The towers of the latter, by the way, were used by the Germans to create an armored car - Panzerjagerwagen, a formidable anti-tank weapon.

During the war years, not only the KV and T-34 “lit up” in the ranks of the Wehrmacht troops. In the service of the Germans were also less famous examples of heavy equipment from the country of the Soviets, such as the T-26, BT-7, T-60 and T-70 Komsomolets tractor, BA armored vehicle and even Po-2 aircraft. The Germans also used our howitzers and self-propelled guns against the Soviet troops.

But, in fact, the number Soviet armored vehicles in the service of the Germans was not so great on the scale of the war. From June 1941 to May 1945, about 300 Soviet tanks took part in battles against the Red Army.