Trophy armored vehicles Wehrmacht. Great Britain

23
First english a tankthat the Germans had inherited in September 1939 was Matilda I captured in Poland. This tank, handed over to the Poles for review and testing, eventually ended up at the Kummersdorf Wehrmacht test site.

In relatively large numbers, the Matilda I and Matilda II tanks fell into the hands of the Germans after the evacuation of the British expeditionary forces from the European continent. Subsequently, the Matilda tanks became Wehrmacht trophies in Africa and on the Eastern Front. These cars received the designation Pz. 748 (e). Their use was episodic. However, in Africa, a company of captured 8 tank regiments of the 15 German tank division, for example, operated seven Matilda tanks during the summer of 1941. At the same time, five Matildas were in service in the 5-th tank regiment of the 21-th German tank division. For several years, the tank "Matilda" was part of the 212 of the German tank battalion on the island of Crete.

There is only one case of conversion of the tank "Matilda" in the ACS. At the end of 1942, the available Hochsee-Lehrkommando tank was reequipped with a German 50-mm tank gun. In this case, the tower was dismantled, and the gun was installed on the roof of the hull behind the box-shaped shield. To the left and right of the gun on the shield were mounted two MG08 / 15 machine guns, designed for air defense and short-range defense. This machine was used in the development of combat training tasks.

This tank Matilda, shot down by British artillery, was part of the 8 German Tank Regiment. 27 May 1941, the Germans captured seven tanks of this type, three of them were suitable for further use. North Africa, 1941 year


Tanks of the African corps: Pz.lAusf.B and trophy "Matilda". 1941 year


The rest of the British tanks, both infantry and cruising, which became Wehrmacht trophies, were used in very limited quantities - mainly due to the lack of spare parts for repairs, and often time to carry it out. The latter circumstance was characteristic, for example, for the African Corps.

The ability to "process" the English trophies was among the Germans actually only once - in the 1940 year. According to German data, in France, the British lost the 24 cruiser tank Mk I and Mk ICS, 31 - Mk II, 38 - Mk III and 65 - Mk IV. Some of them were technically sound, others required some minor repairs. Formally, all these machines were adopted, and they received the designation of the end-to-end Wehrmacht mobile weapons system. However, not a single captured car of the first three brands entered the troops. Several units were transferred to the Kummersdorf testing ground, including for the development of new models of anti-tank weapons. The fate of the captured Mk IV was somewhat different. Six cars (of which only one was on the move) were made available to the Armaments Office. But another nine Mk IV formed a company of captured tanks Beutepanzer-Kompanie (e), which in 1941 year was included in the 100 th flamethrower tank battalion. In its composition, the former British "cruisers" 22 June 1941, crossed the border of the USSR. However, their combat path through the Soviet land was not long. A month later, no car was listed in the 100 th flamethrower battalion.

Trophy "Matilda", converted into SAU, armed with 50-mm tank gun


Trophy cruiser tank Mk IVA closes the column 100 th flamethrower tank battalion. Eastern Front, summer 1941 of the year (center)


One of the "Crusaders" of a company of captured tanks of the German African Corps. 1942 year


The first Crusaders were captured by the Germans in June 1941 during Operation Battleaxe. Basically, these tanks were abandoned by the British due to technical malfunctions. After the repair, they became part of the Africa Special Forces Battalion 1942, formed in February, Panzer Abteilung zbV Panzer-Armee Afrika, fully equipped with captured tanks. Over the course of 1942, this unit constantly had a platoon of Kruseider tanks. Separate tanks of this type were used by the 5 tank regiment and the 605 anti-tank division. The battalion was armed with 12 Valentine tanks. In the platoon of captured tanks 605-th anti-tank division used another five "Valentine." The losses of the English captured vehicles could be replenished, since North Africa was the theater of the massive use of tanks of this type. It is curious to note that sometimes the units missing in the repair of British tanks were delivered from Germany. First of all, we are talking about weapons and radio stations. At the same time, a fleet of captured British tanks captured in France in 1940 was used as a “donor”.

Tank "Churchill III" with a German crew. The Churchill's 23 was captured by the Germans while repelling an English raid on Dieppe 19 on August 1942. Most of them were not recoverable, but several machines managed to repair and put into operation the 81 of the trophy tank company. At the end of 1942, the company joined the 100 tank regiment, where two Churchill III served until the end of 1943.


10 5-mm self-propelled howitzer leFH 16 on the chassis of a captured English light tank Vickers Mk VI


Another car on the same chassis is a carrier for ammunition.


In contrast to the French military vehicles, the British tanks in large numbers by the Germans were not altered. The only exception was the Mk VI light tanks: apparently, because these vehicles made up the majority in the tank fleet of British expeditionary forces, and the Germans captured them more than others. It was on the chassis of the light Mk VI tanks that the first Selbstfahrlafette (self-propelled gun carriages) of the Wehrmacht were created. The division of the already mentioned above Alfred Becker was engaged in their manufacture. This officer launched the Western campaign with the rank of captain, commander of the 12 battery of the 227 artillery regiment. He distinguished himself by the fact that after the seizure of Holland, using captured trucks, he transferred his battery from horse traction to mechanical. After the capitulation of France on the basis of his unit organized the manufacture of self-propelled guns. Naturally, his work would have been impossible without the support of the command.

Two types of self-propelled guns were made on the chassis of the Mk VI light tanks: the first was armed with an 105-mm light field howitzer leFH 16 and the second had an 150-mm heavy field howitzer leFH 13. In both cases, obsolete art systems from the period of the First World War were used. They were installed in the open at the top and behind the cabin, located in the aft part of the tank hull, in the place where the tower was previously located. A total of 12 self-propelled guns with a 105-mm howitzer and six with a 150-mm were manufactured. These vehicles entered service with the 15 battery of the 227 artillery regiment and the 1 battery of assault guns re-formed within this part. In addition to self-propelled guns, four vehicles of advanced artillery observers and 12 ammunition carriers were made on the base of the Mk VI tank. In this composition, this regiment in October 1941 year departed on the Eastern Front. He received baptism of fire in the area of ​​Leningrad, and, according to Germans, self-propelled guns were successfully used even for firing at Soviet tanks. The ACS in the English chassis fought on the Eastern Front until the end of 1942, when the last of them were lost.

Trophy British armored car Daimler Dingo Mk I in the service in the Wehrmacht. East Front, 1942 year


Humber Mk I armored car seized by the German Afrika Korps in 1942


Experimentally, a self-propelled gun, armed with an 75-mm Cancer 40 anti-tank cannon, was created in the Becker unit on the chassis of the British Mk VI tank.

In 1940, the first English armored vehicles were captured in France, but subsequently they were not used by the Germans in the European theater of war, with the exception of Daimler Dingo Mk I (in Wehrmacht le Pz.Sp.Wg.Mk I 202 (e). captured English armored vehicles were used only in North Africa, and most often immediately after seizure - there was enough engine resource, spare parts, etc. These were mainly Marmon-Herrington armored vehicles of various modifications and Humber. Two armored buses were operated by General E. Rommel's headquarters AEC Dorchester.

Wehrmacht Trophy - South African armored car Magtop-Herrington Mk III. On the hood of the car stretched the so-called Fliegersichttuch - "identification plate aviation»


Captured British soldiers under the protection of captured armored vehicles Marton-Herrington Mk II (in the foreground) and Mk III. The armored car Mk II is armed with a 25-mm French anti-tank gun


Trophy armored car Magtop-Herrington Mk II, used in the Wehrmacht as a commander machine[/ Center]

The armored English AES Dorchester headquarters bus used for its intended purpose by the headquarters of General E. Rommel, commander of the German Afrika Korps. 1942 year


The arsenal of various German units consisted of the English tracked armored personnel carriers Universal Carrier (gepanzerter Maschinen-gewehrtrager Bren 731 (e). Some of the vehicles were re-armed or re-armed. The most well-known variants with the 20-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun Flak 38 and 37-mm had a group of X-NUMX-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun, Flak 35 and X-NUMX-mm. / 36. Both of them were installed in the body of an armored personnel carrier with their own shields. In the Wehrmacht 3 Motorized Division, several armored personnel carriers armed with a package of three 88-mm anti-tank grenade launcher (8,8 cm Raketen panzerbuschse 43). In addition, captured British armored personnel carriers were used in the Luftwaffe to clear runways from snow. They were equipped with a dozer blade and used in various police formations for patrol service.

Rommel's trophy staff bus received its own name "Moritz", which was inscribed on the sides of the hood




German paratroopers on the captured English Bren-Carrier armored personnel carrier. Crete, 1941 year
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

23 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. pinecone
    0
    27 May 2013 08: 24
    An informative article, a good selection of photos. We are waiting for material about the captured Soviet and American armored vehicles of the Wehrmacht.
  2. +4
    27 May 2013 08: 45
    Germans under Dunkirk even got Churchill with a slingshot
  3. +2
    27 May 2013 08: 47
    ______________
    1. +3
      27 May 2013 08: 49
      ______________
      1. +3
        27 May 2013 08: 50
        ______________
        1. +4
          27 May 2013 09: 00
          Firefly forgot to mention.
          1. +1
            27 May 2013 09: 02
            ______________
            1. +1
              27 May 2013 09: 07
              ______________
          2. spd2001
            +1
            27 May 2013 09: 55
            "Fireflies", if I'm not mistaken MADE IN USA, and the article seems to be about trophies from Great Britain.
            1. +1
              27 May 2013 10: 05
              Quote: spd2001
              "Fireflies", if I'm not mistaken MADE IN USA

              You are mistaken. Not completely, but mostly.
              1. spd2001
                +2
                27 May 2013 10: 45
                English 17-foot cannon and all. The tank itself is American. If you approach from the point of view of mass and volume, then I was not much mistaken, you are more. But for me this is not important. bully
                1. +2
                  27 May 2013 11: 35
                  Quote: spd2001
                  English 17-foot cannon and all

                  Re-read the subject. You can start with the elementary Wikipedia
                  Sherman Firefly (Sherman Firefly - Sherman Firefly) - M4A1 and M4A4 tanks the british army rearmed with a 17-pound (76,2 mm) anti-tank gun. Sherman IIC (based on M4A1) and Sherman VC (based on M4A4). A 17-pound cannon is mounted in a conventional turret; a mask-mount is specially designed for this gun.
                  Quote: spd2001
                  in terms of mass and volume

                  But what if from the point of view of combat effectiveness?
                  1. spd2001
                    +1
                    27 May 2013 12: 33
                    If from Wikipedia, then you can add this: "Since the British got very good results, they offered the Americans to produce a 17-pounder gun under license and install it on American Shermans, especially since it did not require a new turret to install it. Due to the reluctance to install foreign weapons on tanks, the Americans, after several experiments, decided to abandon this decision, and began to install their own less powerful M1 gun. " I meant the mass fraction (comparative volumes of the American tank and the British cannon) of the cannon in the tank itself, nothing more. The effectiveness is undeniable, but where would the British put their cannon without Sherman?
                    1. +1
                      27 May 2013 12: 41
                      Quote: spd2001
                      "I meant the mass fraction (comparative volumes of an American tank and an English gun)


                      And I mean specifically Sherman Firefly
                      1. +1
                        27 May 2013 12: 43
                        Quote: spd2001
                        Efficiency is undeniable, but where would the British insert their gun without Sherman?

                        If you forget about self-propelled guns Archer and more
                      2. +1
                        27 May 2013 12: 49
                        Late Comet with a shortened gun
                        Yes
                      3. +2
                        27 May 2013 12: 50
                        Experimental Cherkel
                      4. +2
                        27 May 2013 12: 52
                        And Challenger A30

                        Poles in Prague May 1945
                      5. spd2001
                        +1
                        27 May 2013 14: 20
                        I get it, you don’t understand me. Well, I repeat, it doesn’t matter. Nice photos.
                      6. +2
                        27 May 2013 16: 27
                        Quote: spd2001
                        I get it, you don't understand me

                        fellow
                        Quote: spd2001
                        "Fireflies", if I'm not mistaken MADE IN USA, and the article seems to be about trophies from Great Britain.

                        Quote: Kars
                        Sherman Firefly (Sherman Firefly - Sherman Firefly) - British Army M4A1 and M4A4 tanks,
                    2. major1976
                      +3
                      27 May 2013 16: 54
                      Dear, do not argue with Kars! This is a connoisseur of tank technology and will put anyone in the belt this is undoubtedly a plus, but pathos and this is a minus! He also admires the Anglo-American BTT, forgetting that the main role in the 2nd World War was played not by gentlemen and gringo tanks !
                      1. spd2001
                        +3
                        27 May 2013 17: 49
                        I got it. I was not going to argue and did not argue. It doesn't matter to me. I was just trying to explain (I don’t know how easy it could be) The Sherman tank is American and weighs more than an English gun inserted into it. "Zaporozhets" with a Mercedes engine does not become a German car (maybe so)))). Sometimes the presence of a sense of humor helps with pain in the fingers, after tiresome knocking on the keyboard, in order to impose their point of view. For myself, I extracted the pluses - now I know which "tractors" they inserted the English gun. You look will come in handy.
                      2. +1
                        27 May 2013 19: 12
                        Quote: spd2001
                        Not going to argue and did not argue

                        request
                        Quote: spd2001
                        The Sherman tank is American and weighs more than an English gun inserted into it. "

                        At the same time, Sherman firefly still remains an English tank, which was not even in service with the US Army, and is placed in a separate category, while Sherman with 75 mm and 76 mm American guns is not a separate category,
                      3. +2
                        27 May 2013 19: 38
                        Okay no argument
                        Great tank robbery. Hitler's captured armor
                        Anthony Tucker-Jones

                        The volume of American tank production meant that the re-use by Germans of captured equipment of transatlantic origin was inevitable. Surprisingly, this was much smaller than expected. The Germans used American light tanks M5, medium tanks M4 and armored vehicles M8 and a half-track tank MZ, but on a very special basis. In France, the Germans even used British tanks Sherman Firefly”With a 17-pound cannon captured in battles in Normandy, but all this was also done on an individual basis.

                      4. +1
                        27 May 2013 19: 06
                        Quote: major1976
                        Dear, do not argue with Kars

                        How can this not be argued - but how will I be entertained?
                        Quote: major1976
                        He also admires the Anglo-American BTT, forgetting that it was not the gentlemen and gringo tanks that played the main role in the 2nd World War!

                        And what does this have to do with the qualities of specific models of equipment? You don’t have to lend me such a thing - for example, the British did not succeed in the heavy tank. I just like Cherchel. A39 tortoise is just lovely
                      5. +1
                        27 May 2013 21: 29
                        "the heavy tank failed to the British" - m. failed, but their only heavy tank - Churchill, they spent throughout the war.
                      6. +2
                        27 May 2013 21: 38
                        Quote: Blackgrifon
                        but their only heavy tank, Churchill, they led through the whole war.


                        I would not say that the only one, starting with the fact that the British, in principle, did not have such a classification as a heavy tank, ending with the fact that Churchill appeared after the start of WWII. And what they spent is not a special indicator of something, there. And there are so many modifications that you can’t name everything without a reference.
                      7. 0
                        28 May 2013 00: 02
                        He was classified as severe in the Red Army. Can you name some other British heavy tank?
                        There were a lot of modifications of Churchill, but the modification is not another machine.
                        "that Churchill appeared after the beginning of WWII" if I am not mistaken, then in 40-41 he had already fought.
                      8. +2
                        28 May 2013 10: 00
                        Quote: Blackgrifon
                        He was classified as severe in the Red Army. Can you name some other British heavy tank?

                        Well, you never know that we have been classified - the tank is English, and they have it as an infantry tank like Matilda and Valentine. And so are not the serial A43 Black brins and A38
                        Quote: Blackgrifon
                        then in 40-41 he was already at war.

                        June 1941
                        and the war began in 1939
                  2. 0
                    27 May 2013 21: 40
                    "And if from the point of view of combat effectiveness?" - judging by the descriptions of the battles on the Western Front, the German tankers tried first of all to destroy the Firefly, and only then took on the rest. In fact, Firefly was one of the few Allied tanks that could fight the Panthers and Tigers more or less on an equal footing.

                    Purely American cars could not boast of such characteristics for a long time.
  4. avt
    +2
    27 May 2013 09: 34
    good Continued at the level, especially the photos are pleasing.
  5. +4
    27 May 2013 10: 04
    The sequel is really happy. It seems that the Germans really did not disdain anything, they let everything into business. It was interesting to melt at least something or just adapt what was available to their needs.
    1. +1
      27 May 2013 21: 33
      They adapted everything - but for some reason the Soviet army’s trophies weren’t really used.
      Here's the question - if anyone read the memoirs of German generals who fought in Africa, so according to them Matilda the British threw hundreds, and judging by the official data on the number of captured vehicles in the same Tobruk there were not a few, and judging by this article their Germans used limited and mainly in Africa. Some kind of inconsistency :) Maybe someone has more accurate information on this topic?
  6. 0
    27 May 2013 14: 31
    Just figure it out, 25 mm anti-tank gun. Fart on the pigeons.
    1. +1
      27 May 2013 21: 36
      At the beginning of the war, it was effective - the armor of most tanks, except for a few exceptions (KV, T-34, Churchill, Matilda, etc.) could not withstand the fire of such a weapon. And on the Eastern Front, most of our light tanks were armed with even lighter guns.

      The British had another problem - their two-pound, which they armed most of their tanks, did not have high-explosive ordnance.
  7. +1
    27 May 2013 16: 32
    The trophy is certainly a good thing, only until the first breakdown. There are practically no spare parts, and they will repair their native equipment first, and only then the trophy.
    1. 0
      28 May 2013 00: 06
      Pz. 28, which the Germans obtained in large numbers from our Czech brothers, were modified according to German standards and constituted a large percentage of the BT in the German tank forces. At the end of the war, the Hetzer self-propelled gun was created on the basis of this vehicle. So the trophy is not a trophy :)

      PS: in our army actively used trophy Pz. III and even Panthers. And for Pz. III was established production of ammunition.
  8. Yemelya
    +2
    27 May 2013 19: 16
    The last reserve of the Panzervaffe is the captured British Mk V, captured by the Red Army in Berlin. Most likely the Germans took it as a trophy in the USSR (maybe one of those that were used in the defense of Tallinn in 1941), was brought to Kummersdorf, and when approaching the Red Army, he was sent to fight:
    1. +1
      27 May 2013 21: 28
      I'm afraid you were misled - this Mk V stood in Berlin as a monument. And then the Mk V - this is not for you the T-34, which is now refueling and it will go.
  9. +1
    27 May 2013 21: 26
    Quote: major1976
    BTT, forgetting that the main role in the 2nd World War was not played by gentlemen and gringo tanks!

    Well - you’ll open any modern directory or magazine, so there the losses of the Soviet Army in tanks — as many as 100 and the Russians didn’t know how to fight and the detachments drove them! Only here is the problem with the tank - the thing is very durable and even wrecked, it is maintainable, respectively, the same tank could be knocked out, repaired, knocked out and repaired again. Moreover, the cars that were sent for restoration after the repair passed like new ones. And the fairy tales about the hordes and flocks of T-000, which hunted for the only Tiger, were invented by beaten Wehrmacht generals. Until 34, our tankers massively went into battle on light tanks armed with light ShVAK cannons (if I do not confuse), while the main enemy tank at the initial stage - T-III - was armed with a 1943 mm gun.
    But well-equipped units made the Germans a real nightmare - just remember the battles near Moscow when our tankers used the T-34 in ambush.
    1. +1
      27 May 2013 21: 46
      Quote: Blackgrifon
      Soviet Army in tanks - as much as 100

      official number 96 500
      and it’s destroyed.
      Quote: Blackgrifon
      Moreover, the cars that were sent for restoration after the repair went like new

      But vryatli they fell into the statements as newly made. And the fact that there were a lot of knocked out, it will only give the figure from 200 to 350 thousand drunk. But at the same time the Germans had the same situation, and even better repair and restoration units. Tigers returned to build up to ten times.
      Quote: Blackgrifon
      Until 1943, our tankers massively went into battle on light tanks armed with light ShVAK cannons (if I do not confuse), while the main enemy tank at the initial stage - T-III - was armed with a 50 mm gun.

      Not quite so, but the percentage of light vehicles was high, as indeed in the German troops.
      Quote: Blackgrifon
      when our tankers used the T-34 in ambush.

      They used all the ambushes, and the Tiger in ambush was no less horrified.
      1. 0
        28 May 2013 00: 11
        "the official figure is 96 500
        and precisely those destroyed. "

        As an argument I will cite information from the old magazine "Around the World" - the USSR produced only 100 tanks.

        "Not exactly, but the percentage of light vehicles was high, as well as in the German troops."

        Yes, but admit that if you compare our light tanks and the Pz. III and Pz. 28, then in most cases the comparison will be in our favor. The Germans initially classified their cars as "average". And of our light tanks, only the T-50 and BT of the latest modifications were really serious opponents.
        1. +2
          28 May 2013 09: 54
          Quote: Blackgrifon
          As an argument, I will cite information from the old magazine "Around the World" - the USSR produced only 100 tanks.

          This is not a special argument. If you start to be more interested in the topic, you will find out the number of produced and the number of people who arrived under the Lend Lease. In total, the USSR depressed 75% of Tanks and self-propelled guns from the total, or 400 with a trifle from the availability on June 22, 1941
          Quote: Blackgrifon
          Yes, but admit that if you compare our light tanks and the Pz. III and Pz. 28, then in most cases the comparison will be in our favor. The Germans initially classified their cars as "average".

          I don’t know what is panzer 28. I’ll assume that Czech, and the three as it was and remained the medium tank
    2. 0
      28 May 2013 08: 57
      Until 1943, our tankers massively went into battle not only on light tanks, but also on the T-34. By the way, since 1942, the T-60 was replaced (a total of about 6 thousand units were produced), and went to the T-70 armed with a 45 mm cannon. A total of 8226 vehicles were produced, in particular, in the second half of 1941, 1885 T-34s and 1700 T-60s and T-70s were manufactured. In 1942, already 12500 were built.
      T-34 and about 9500 T-70.
  10. Drosselmeyer
    0
    29 May 2013 02: 09
    And the tires on the English trucks were already valid then ...

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"