Quote:
Originally Posted by aglooka
T34/76 (the early war model) were certainly captured and used in numbers. Mostly tough without turrets as heavy prime movers and so, because any T34 at the front was a target  (they were used at the front tough and sometimes even modified with German equipment). There was a special maintenance depot for T34 in the German army. But you have to remember that most (especially the early models) T34 were captured because their transmission was broken and thus unusable.
The T34/85 (late war version) came at a time that the war was going so bad for the Germans that few ended up in German hands.
greetings,
Aglooka |
Das Reich SS division had a number of T-34 in 1943, there is some photografic evidence of mixed T-34 and Pz IV long units from this unit.
AFAIK the SS tried to reactivate part the Kharkow production plant to refit T-34s.
KV-1 and at least one
KV-2 were also used, there are pics of some the Germans extensively modified. But this looks more a
Cuckoo like epispde (
Cuckoo was a much photografed
Panther used by a British unit) than widespread.
The lights (BT, T-26, T-60, T-70) were usually used as tractors (often minus turrets) until they completely broke down or for rear area anti-partisan duties.
IMO the most significant German use of former soviet equipment were the 76mm guns (some even made it to the Afrika Korps!!) and 120mm mortars.