Hungarian StuH

The German StuG III assault gun inspired AFV designers in a number of nations, Hungary included. The Hungarian army was in desperate need of a support vehicle with a more powerful weapon than the 20 mm gun of the Toldi or 40 mm gun of the Turan. Based on German experience, Hungarian designers created their own assault gun called Zrínyi.

Panzerfaust Instructions

 "Order of the Chief of Staff of the Armoured and Mechanized Forces to Chiefs of Staff of Armoured and Mechanized Forces for Fronts on the issues of usage of captured Panzerfausts

#0792134
March 17th, 1945

Careless Lend Lease

"Memo of the Chief of the 5th Department of the GBTU Tank Directorate on complaints about the shipping of imported armoured vehicles to the USSR

March 13th, 1945

The main complaints are as follows:

1. Armoured vehicles arrive unevenly throughout the entire (protocol) period of shipments of armoured vehicles to the USSR. Whether or not each tank is equipped with spare parts and tools or even its technical condition is unknown, which makes receiving the vehicles, issuing them in a timely manner, and training the crews difficult.
2. From the 59th to the 63rd convoy inclusive the M4A2 tanks were not equipped with large tarps. The 61st Convoy arrived with 87 tanks lacking optical sights. 72 spare sights were delivered with the 63rd convoy. To this day we do not have 15 sights, without which the tanks cannot be sent to the front.
   The barge "Eskine" arrived in Baku with 27 M4A2 tanks that did not have tools or spare parts. From the 59th to the 63rd convoy inclusive M4A2 tanks arrived without machine gun belt boxes (each tank should have 17 of them) and starting with the 64th convoy they were only partially equipped with boxes. A shortage of boxes delayed the shipment of the tanks to the front.
   The spare parts boxes had no spare machine gun barrels, machine gun pintle mounts, electrolytic fluid, or antifreeze.
   Some tanks had gas oil in their lubrication system instead of oil. Some tanks had their electric devices hooked up incorrectly, etc.
3. It is not known whether or not the tanks went through modernization until they arrive at the receiving department, which makes handling the vehicles more difficult.
4. None of the arriving documentation has been translated into Russian, which also makes handling the vehicles difficult and delays the issuing of vehicles in units, as translation of the technical documentation and composition of the Russian equivalent takes a very long time.
5. As a rule, we don't have precise information on arrivals of imported armoured vehicles by month.

Chief of the 5th Department of the GBTU Tank Directorate, Engineer Lieutenant Colonel Biletkin"

CAMD RF F.38 Op.11355 D.3018 L.81-82

Printed in Glavnoye Bronetankovoye Upravleniye Lyudi, Sobytiya, Fakty v dokumentakh, 1944-1945 p.431

New Life for an Old Howitzer

The Germans were quite pragmatic with their materiel in the Second World War, leading to a number of weapons that combined elements of various epochs. One such weapon was the 15 cm sFH 13/1 (Sf) SPG, which combined the 150 mm sFH lg First World War era howitzer and a captured French chassis. A few dozen of these vehicles were built and took part in fighting in North Africa and Normandy.

Starshina Commanders

 "In 1941 order #0433 signed by then Deputy People's Commissar of Defense comrade Fedorenko ordered the assignment of Lieutenants and Junior Lieutenants as the commanders of medium and light gun tanks.

Based on this order, commanders of T-26 and BT tanks also have to be officers.

Considering the shortage of officers and less demanding training for commanders of T-26 and BT tanks compared to modern vehicles, I consider it possible and reasonable to appoint well prepared troops with the rank of Starshina who have a lot of experience in these tanks.

I ask for your decision.

Attached: order of the People's Commissar of Defense.

Deputy Commander of Armoured and Motorized Forces of the Red Army, Colonel-General of the Tank Forces, B. Korobkov

Member of the Military Council of the Armoured and Motorized Forces of the Red Army, Colonel-General of the Tank Forces, N. Biryukov"

CAMD RF F.38 Op.11355 D.1518 L.35
Printed in Glavnoye Bronetankovoye Upravleniye Lyudi, Sobytiya, Fakty v dokumentakh, 1944-1945 p.421

EKV Production Pitch

"I report that GOKO decree #3774s issued on July 20th, 1943, instructed the People's Commissariat of Electronics Production to produce, insall, and test a KV tank with equipment designed by the academy and the NKEP by October 1st, 1943, and the GBTU was instructed to perform proving grounds trials by October 25th, 1943.

Production of the electric transmission was delayed, as a result of which the NKEP only presented the GBTU with the tank in November of 1944. 

The Final SU-76

The SU-76M (SU-15) light SPG was accepted into service with the Red Army on July 8th, 1943. This was the second most numerous AFV in the Red Army after the T-34/T-34-85. The SU-76M design was good and changed little throughout the war, but feedback from the front lines led to a modernization by the end of it, primarily aimed at improving the protection of the fighting compartment. This vehicle did not receive a new index. It is sometimes referred to as "SU-76M post-war production", but that is not the case. Production began in April of 1945 and lasted for only two months after the end of WW2. These "post-war" SPGs fought during the Soviet-Japanese war of August 1945.

RPG-40 Manual

 "Study combat techniques! Anti-tank grenade model 1940

The impact anti-tank hand grenade model 1940 is designed to combat armoured cars and tanks. It can also be used to combat strongholds and field fortifications. The grenade weights approximately 1.2 kg.

The RPG-40 consists of a hull, a handle, and an impact fuse. The hull contains explosives. A handle is screwed on. A fuse is inserted into the top before throwing or on special orders from the commander. The fuse is held inside with a latch.

The grenade's trigger is held in the handle. The safety level disconnects when thrown and pulls out the safety pin. When the grenade strikes its target, a mobile weight inside the grenade will drive a rod forward. This frees two balls that then allow the spring to drive the firing pin into the primer.

Warspot Article: How to Kill a T-34

Suddenly faced with the thickly armoured and well armed T-34 tanks in the summer of 1941, the Germans had to develop new tactics. Techniques developed to combat these new tanks ranged from reasonably effective to downright absurd. Find out about both types in my latest article on Warspot.net.

A Trophy from Pilsen

Germany invaded Czechoslovakia on March 15th, 1939. This was the final step in the process kicked off by the Munich Agreement in the fall of 1938. France and Britain were not prepared for war, and their appeasement policy handed Czechoslovakia to the Germans. The first step was annexation of the Sudetenland, then the rest of the country. Slovakia declared independence, but Jozef Tiso's government was loyal to Germany. The Germans assumed direct control of Czechia, its advanced industry, and its armoured vehicles, including the LT vz.35. These tanks were designated Pz.Kpfw.35(t) in the German army and played a big role in 1939-1941.