Where did the captured German equipment go? Trophies from Germany - what it was and how
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 big parties captured equipment Soviet tank crews received it in the spring of 1942, after the victory in the Battle of 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 them former owners. Was no exception armored vehicles. 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.
First trophies Use of trophies German tanks 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 parts of the 34th tank division 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front captured tanks for a night attack 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 Pz.lll and Pz. tanks. 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, August 15, part 25 rifle 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 Battle of Smolensk, tank crew junior lieutenant Klimov, having lost his own tank, moved into a captured StuG III and in one day of battle knocked out two enemy tanks, 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 guns were captured. 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, tanks light - 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 assault guns were often called in Soviet documents of the first year of the war. StuG III - 7 was registered in the places where the battles took place. During April-May 1942, most of this equipment was taken to the rear. For a more organized collection of 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 equipment from the battlefield.” and domestic armored vehicles."
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 with domestic weapons. True, the scale of such work was small, and concerned mainly the replacement of German machine guns with domestic diesel engines and the 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 of the 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 about 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 in the troops at this time, specialized leaflets were published on the use of the most widespread samples of captured German military 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). A 151st tank brigade got 22 in March German cars(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 Infantry 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 driven several tens of kilometers, I could evaluate its driving performance and ease of control. 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. The noise and vibration from the Maybach engine caused headaches. The tank consumed a huge amount of 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 platoon Maintenance, utility department and medical aid station. In addition to tanks, the battalion was assigned 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
Captured German armored vehicles were also used in recent months Great Patriotic War. This was primarily due to big losses in tanks 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 the tank fleet, 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 Hummel self-propelled guns, 2 Vespes, 4 SU-75 (general markings adopted in the Soviet army for German self-propelled guns based on StuG with 75-mm guns, without breaking down 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, the active army had 533 serviceable captured tanks and self-propelled guns in service and 814 in need of routine 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
It is known that capturing a trophy is as natural in war as a mistake... After all, what is war if not a system of mistakes? And the fewer mistakes, the fewer trophies the enemy has... This “trophy” photo selection will be shown only from the German side. However, this will not hurt to show us a wide variety of equipment from the main countries that participated in the Second World War.
Soviet five-turret heavy tank T-35 manufactured in 1938, abandoned in the Dubno area in a roadside ditch due to a malfunction or lack of fuel. Such non-combat circumstances were the main reason for the loss of almost all of these tanks in the first weeks of the war.
Two white stripes on the turret are the tactical insignia of the 67th Tank Regiment of the 34th Tank Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Kyiv OVO. Nearby is a T-26 manufactured in 1940.
The use of captured equipment is fraught with many dangers, primarily the danger of being hit by your own units. However, this did not prevent the use of not only captured tanks, but also aircraft. In the photo is the Yak-9!
Of course, sometimes the trophies needed some work. The next photo (which has already become a classic) is a T34 with an improved commander’s cupola, a flash suppressor, additional boxes and a headlight...
Soviet heavy tank IS-2, captured by the Germans. On the tower there is an inscription in German: “Designed for OKW” (OKW, High Command Wehrmacht).
Matilda abandoned by crew
German soldiers with Churchill in the background
German soldiers, probably with a BA-10 in the background
American soldier inspects the abandoned Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. G with the left track "unbooted", France, 1944. The self-propelled gun was immobilized by a shell hitting the left sloth.
"Panther" (Pz.Kpfw V Panther Ausf. G), knocked out near a bridge in Germany. Inscription on German reads: “Attention, the bridge is closed to all types of vehicles, cyclists should dismount.”
Destroyed Sturmgeschutz IV near Aachen, Germany. Apparently, the car was repainted by the crew to a quick fix– winter color is absent in many places. To clear the roadway, the self-propelled guns were dragged to the edge of the road.
Heavy blown up by its crew anti-tank self-propelled gun"Panzerj?ger Tiger", Germany, March 1945. The photographer decided to take a photo before the representative of the Military Police cleaned up. Roof armor plate fighting compartment thrown back by the explosion, the 250 mm thick front of the cabin is clearly visible.
This Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf. J was lost in the battle for St. Fromonde, France, in July 1944, and is being prepared for recovery using an American M1A1 tractor. A hole in the frontal armor of the hull is clearly visible. On the tank turret, to the right of the gun mantlet, on the surface of the zimmerit you can see traces of bullets from small arms
"Sturmtiger" (38cm RW61 auf Sturmm?rser Tiger) with a downed track, photographed near the autobahn in the Ebendorf area. Germany, April 1945. At the rear of the fighting compartment there is a crane designed to load 330 kg of high-explosive rockets through a hatch in the roof.
Local residents inspect the damaged Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. G, belonging to the 10th Panzergrenadier Division, photograph taken May 10, 1945. Field work side skirts give this self-propelled gun the appearance of a Jagdpanzer IV.
StuG III, captured by Red Army units in full service. August 1941
Red Army soldiers on captured Pz.lll and Pz. tanks. IV. Western Front, September 1941
Red Army soldiers near a captured Romanian R-1 tank. Odessa area, September 1941
* Captured German armored car Sd.Kfz.261 in service in the Red Army, Western Front, August 1941. The car was repainted in the standard Soviet protective color 4 BO, a red flag was attached to the left wing
* A column of captured combat vehicles (a Pz. III tank and three StuG IIIs) on the Western Front, March 1942. On the side of the tank is the inscription “Death to Hitler!”
* The picture clearly shows the emblem of the 18th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht and the regimental badge of the 18th Tank Regiment painted on the turret of the Pz tank. IV. Western Front, September 1941
* A team of tank repairmen studying captured StuG III (from the 192nd assault gun division) at repair base No. 82. April 1942
* Captured German armored vehicles captured by units of the 65th Army at Demekhi station. Belorussian Front, February 1944
* A column of captured combat vehicles (a Pz. III tank in front, followed by three StuG IIIs) on the Western Front, March 1942.
* Inspection of the repaired Pz tank. III engineer-major Gudkov. Western Front, 1942
* Captured StuG III self-propelled gun with the inscription “Avenger”. Western Front, March 1942
* Captured tank Pz. III, under the command of Mitrofanov, is sent on a combat operation. Western Front, 1942
The crew of the captured self-propelled gun Panzerjager I clarifies combat mission. Presumably the 31st Army of the Western Front, August 1942.
The crew of the tank Pz. III under the command of N. Baryshev in his combat vehicle. Volkhov Front, 107th separate tank battalion, July 6, 1942
Unit Commissioner I. Sobchenko conducts political information in the 107th separate tank battalion. Volkhov Front, July 6, 1942. Pz tanks are visible in the background. IV and Pz. III (tower numbers 08 and 04) (RGAKFD SPB).
Scout V. Kondratenko, a former tractor driver, made his way to the German rear and took a serviceable Pz tank to his location. IV. North Caucasus Front, December 1942
Captured tank Pz. IVAusf FI with Soviet crew. North Caucasus Front, presumably the 151st Tank Brigade. March 1943
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
Captured T-34 tank, converted by the Germans into an anti-aircraft gun self-propelled gun with a 20 mm quad automatic cannon. 1944
One of the T-34 tanks of the motorized division "Gross Germany". In the foreground is an Sd.Kfz.252 armored personnel carrier. Eastern Front, 1943
Heavy tank KV-1, used by the 1st Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht. Eastern Front, 1942
“Stalin’s Monster” - the KV-2 heavy tank in service with the Panzerwaffe! War vehicles This type was used by the Germans in several copies, however, judging by the photo, at least one of them was equipped with a German commander's cupola
A captured T-60 tank is towing a 75mm light infantry gun. Noteworthy is the fact that this vehicle, used as a tractor, retains the turret. 1942
This turretless captured T-60 is used as a light armored personnel carrier armed with an MG34 infantry machine gun. Voronezh, summer 1942
Converted into a tractor light tank T-70 towing 75 mm anti-tank gun Cancer 40
The tractor - a captured Soviet T-70 tank without a turret - is towing a captured Soviet 76-mm ZIS-3 cannon. Rostov-on-Don, 1942
A German officer uses the turret of a captured BA-3 armored car as an observation post. 1942 The wheels of the rear axles are equipped with “Overall” tracks.
Ferdinand", captured intact and with his crew by soldiers of the 129th Infantry Division
KV-1 model 1942 with a ZIS-5 gun in a cast turret:
KV-1 itself early series, with L-11 cannon and early chassis.
German visible alteration - German commander's cupola.
The German self-propelled gun in the picture was made by the Germans on the basis of a captured Soviet light tank T-26, on which is again installed a captured French 75-mm divisional gun of the 1897 model from the Schneider company Canon de 75 modèle 1897, converted by the Germans into an anti-tank gun (the barrel with the bolt is supplemented muzzle brake and mounted on a carriage from a German 50 mm PaK guns 38 (the original carriage was outdated and unusable), the gun was eventually named PaK 97/98(f). Official name the resulting vehicle was 7.5 cm Pak 97/38(f) auf Pz.740(r).
The destroyed German tank "Somua" S 35 (Somua S35, Char 1935 S), turned to us with its starboard side. 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, then sent to France, where it was captured 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 of the German modification I 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.
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. 
Captured 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 railway station To be sent to the camp, they 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 photo, from left to right: a captured Soviet tank T-34/85, a Czech-made light tank Pz.Kpfw.38(t), a captured Soviet self-propelled gun 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. 
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, many trophies were taken from occupied Germany to the USSR. Various objects of art, military equipment and much more became trophies. This post will introduce us to the most interesting trophies of the war.
"Mercedes" Zhukov
At the end of the war, Marshal Zhukov became the owner of an armored Mercedes, designed by order of Hitler “for the people needed by the Reich.” Zhukov did not like Willis, and the shortened Mercedes-Benz 770k sedan came in handy. The marshal used this fast and safe car with a 400-horsepower engine almost everywhere - he only refused to ride in it when accepting surrender.
"German armor"
It is known that the Red Army fought with captured armored vehicles, but few people know that they did this already in the first days of the war. Thus, the “combat log of the 34th Panzer Division” speaks of the capture of 12 German tanks on June 28-29, 1941, which were used “for firing from the spot at enemy artillery.”
During one of the counterattacks of the Western Front on July 7, military technician Ryazanov broke through into the German rear on his T-26 tank and fought with the enemy for 24 hours. He returned to his family in a captured Pz. III".
Along with tanks, the Soviet military often used German self-propelled guns. For example, in August 1941, during the defense of Kyiv, two fully operational StuG IIIs were captured. Junior Lieutenant Klimov fought very successfully with self-propelled guns: in one of the battles, while in StuG III, in one day of battle he destroyed two German tanks, an armored personnel carrier and two trucks, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. In general, during the war years, domestic repair plants brought back to life at least 800 German tanks and self-propelled guns. The Wehrmacht's armored vehicles were adopted and were used even after the war.
"U-250"
On July 30, 1944, the German submarine U-250 was sunk by Soviet boats in the Gulf of Finland. The decision to raise it was made almost immediately, but the rocky shoal at a depth of 33 meters and German bombs greatly delayed the process. Only on September 14, the submarine was raised and towed to Kronstadt.
During the inspection of the compartments, valuable documents, an Enigma-M encryption machine, and T-5 homing acoustic torpedoes were discovered. However, the Soviet command was more interested in the boat itself - as an example of German shipbuilding. The German experience was going to be adopted in the USSR. On April 20, 1945, the U-250 joined the USSR Navy under the name TS-14 (captured medium), but it could not be used due to the lack of necessary spare parts. After 4 months, the submarine was removed from the lists and sent for scrap.
"Dora"
When Soviet troops When they reached the German training ground in Hilbersleben, many valuable finds awaited them, but the attention of the military and Stalin personally was especially drawn to the super-heavy 800-mm artillery piece"Dora", developed by Krupp.
This gun, the fruit of many years of research, cost the German treasury 10 million Reichsmarks. The gun owes its name to the wife of chief designer Erich Müller. The project was prepared in 1937, but only in 1941 the first prototype was released.
The characteristics of the giant are still amazing: “Dora” fired 7.1-ton concrete-piercing and 4.8-ton high explosive shells, its barrel length is 32.5 m, weight is 400 tons, vertical guidance angle is 65°, range is 45 km. The lethality was also impressive: armor 1 m thick, concrete – 7 m, hard ground – 30 m.
The speed of the projectile was such that first an explosion was heard, then the whistle of a flying warhead, and only then the sound of a shot was heard.
The history of "Dora" ended in 1960: the gun was cut into pieces and melted down in the open-hearth furnace of the Barrikady plant. The shells were detonated at the Prudboya training ground.
Dresden Gallery
The search for paintings from the Dresden Gallery was similar to a detective story, but it ended successfully, and ultimately the paintings of European masters arrived safely in Moscow. The Berlin newspaper Tagesspiel then wrote: “These things were taken as compensation for the destroyed Russian museums of Leningrad, Novgorod and Kyiv. Of course, the Russians will never give up their spoils."
Almost all the paintings arrived damaged, but the task of the Soviet restorers was made easier by the notes attached to them about the damaged areas. The most complex work produced by the artist State Museum fine arts them. A. S. Pushkin Pavel Korin. We owe him the preservation of the masterpieces of Titian and Rubens.
From May 2 to August 20, 1955, an exhibition of paintings from the Dresden Art Gallery was held in Moscow, which was visited by 1,200,000 people. On the day of the closing ceremony of the exhibition, an act was signed on the transfer of the first painting to the GDR - it turned out to be “Portrait young man"Dürer. A total of 1,240 paintings were returned to East Germany. To transport paintings and other property, 300 railway cars were needed.
Gold of Troy
Most researchers believe that the most valuable Soviet trophy of World War II was the “Gold of Troy.” “Priam’s Treasure” (as the “Gold of Troy” was originally called) found by Heinrich Schliemann consisted of almost 9 thousand items - gold tiaras, silver clasps, buttons, chains, copper axes and other items made of precious metals.
The Germans carefully hid the “Trojan treasures” in one of the air defense system towers on the territory Berlin Zoo. Continuous bombing and shelling destroyed almost the entire zoo, but the tower remained undamaged. On July 12, 1945, the entire collection arrived in Moscow. Some of the exhibits remained in the capital, while others were transferred to the Hermitage.
For a long time, the “Trojan gold” was hidden from prying eyes, and only in 1996 the Pushkin Museum organized an exhibition of rare treasures. The “Gold of Troy” has not yet been returned to Germany. Oddly enough, Russia has no less rights to him, since Schliemann, having married the daughter of a Moscow merchant, became a Russian subject.
Color cinema
A very useful trophy turned out to be the German AGFA color film, on which, in particular, the “Victory Parade” was shot. And in 1947, the average Soviet viewer saw color cinema for the first time. These were films from the USA, Germany and other European countries brought from the Soviet occupation zone. Most Stalin watched films with translations specially made for him.
The adventure films “The Indian Tomb” and “Rubber Hunters”, biographical films about Rembrandt, Schiller, Mozart, as well as numerous opera films were popular.
Georg Jacobi’s film “The Girl of My Dreams” (1944) became a cult film in the USSR. Interestingly, the film was originally called “The Woman of My Dreams,” but the party leadership considered that “dreaming about a woman is indecent” and renamed the film.
