Major Alfred Becker and the Paris Baukommando

JCFalkenbergIII · #1 (**permalink**) March 22nd, 2008, 08:54 PM

I have always like reading about the accomplishments of individuals and their
impact on the war. Major Becker is one of them.

Major Alfred Becker, a First World War veteran and mechanical engineer, was heavily involved in the conversion of captured vehicles from 1940.
In 1942 he converted captured French carriers into the 15cm (Sf) Lorraine Schlepper self-propped gun, which meet with great approval from the OKH. These were shipped to Afrika to supplement Rommel’s forces in the desert.
Towards the end of 1942 he was transferred to France to devise ways of utilising various captured French vehicles. Becker’s engineering staff set about their work and were soon pumping out a variety of innovative designs. From 1943 he started to convert the Hotchkiss H35 and 39 light tanks to mount a 7.5cm PaK40 or 10.5cm leFH16 as an assault gun. In the summer of 1943 he was given command of the 200. Sturmgeschützabteilung, part of the rebuilding 21. Panzerdivision, which he equipped with the new assault guns. By the time of the Allied invasion in June 1944 he had built the StuG abteilung up to five batteries of 10 vehicles (4x 7.5cm PaK40 and 6x 10.5cm leFH16 each). Becker was however more than just a simple engineer. In 1914 he had won the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class, and during the fighting Poland had added the 1939 Bar to each of his crosses (commanding the 15. Batterie, 227. Artillerie-Regiment, 227. Infanterie-Regiment). For his inventive use of captured vehicles he was awarded the War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords and by 1945 had earned himself a Knight’s Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords.

Skipper · #2 (**permalink**) March 22nd, 2008, 10:46 PM

He was a smart guy who was a first class recycler!

I heard about these Hotchkiss being converted. There were a whole bunch captured in 1940, including spares so that an entire unit could be created with German coloured Hotchkisses. I have posted 1941 pics in the Gilze Rijen thread. The reason is because Nick found spares there too. I also saw a video on youtube of Hotchkiss tanks driving to the front (apparently all the way from southern Frnace. Then during the 1944 retreat they were still serving, however I do not know how many were converted to Pak 40. Probably not that many because by then the original which were sent to front in 1941 would mostly have been destroyed and not tha tmany left in France .

JCFalkenbergIII · #3 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 03:59 AM

I found a little more about him

.

The answere is simple: One single person (Hpt. Alfred Becker, 227. ID (Artillery) was in charge ot the salvage the whole French captured AFV's. He collected the scrap in one place and did a triage with the vehicles:
1. Minor repairs and refits
2. Major repair and refits
3. Spare parts source

The the vehicles where repaired by importance all of one type in one step. All remaining spare parts where stored away. What was left was shipped back to the steelworks.
The Wehrmacht had only on Alfred Becker, so most captured vehicles in Russia where doomed!

Alfred Becker was an interesting guy. He started the war in the west with his Batterie (12.) horsepowered. After reaching the first dutch artillery depot on the way of 227. ID he equiped his Batterie and the recon element of 227. ID with motorized vehicles.
OK, motorized is fine, but mechanized is better. So Becker started to refit his Batterie with SPA's (!!!) (BY HIMSELF, WITH AN ARCWELDER !!!! ). After 6 month the FIRST armored artillery Battery of the German Wehrmacht was combat ready (without one vehicle build by a professional manufacturer!!!). The armoured artillery vehicle was composed from Vickers Mk.6 under-carriages with 10,5cm Feldhaubitze 16.
After that Becker was instantly transfered to Alkett to help this armourworks build a SPA on a French Lorain ammo-carrier.
In 1942/3 Becker salavaged all usable tank wreckage he found in France as described above. Now his unit was called "Baustab Becker". His production output (more than 1800 tanks and other Vehicle) was used to form "verstarkte schnelle Brigade West". Becker was also simultaniously commanding officer of Sturmgeschütz-Abt. 200 (later Sturmpanzer-Abt. 200).

Feldgrau.net :: View topic - What happened with all the russian tanks?

Skipper · #4 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 07:52 AM

Thanks Falkenberg, guys like him were worth gold for the Germans. You gave him a few outdate chassis a turret , a couple of bolts and after some welding he'D invent a new hybrid (or shal I call it centaur) . I can't confirm about the Russian material, all I know is that he worked on the westfront first.

JCFalkenbergIII · #5 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 05:23 PM

As was mentioned before about the huge amount of armor captured by the Germans from the Soviets in 1941 Im surprised his skills and expertise were not used on the Eastern Front also.

JCFalkenbergIII · #6 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 06:45 PM

Im surprised that there were not alot of conversions of the Soviet BT series that were captured.

T. A. Gardner · #7 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 07:12 PM

The major reason more wasn't done with captured tanks and equipment was simply that the Wehrmacht in general had little interest in fully exploiting this avenue for gaining equipment. As has already been pointed out Becker, initially at his own expense and initiative, began as virtually a one man show. Only when it became apparent to the entrenched management types that this sort of operation was not only feasible but desirable did Becker's efforts get official sanction.
This is simply a case of a hide-bound management system that was too myopic to see the true value of mass captured equipment and make a systematic effort to utilize it efficently.

In the "what-if" category, what if such an effort had been made? That is, there were field recovery units tasked with rounding up and shipping back to Germany all captured useful equipment captured. The large number of Soviet tanks alone might have been systematically refurbished and sent to form units for service in France or Africa (avoiding misidentification problems). A spares system could have been instituted as part of this effort to keep the vehicles in running order.
French equipment, likewise, could have been better utilized than it was. The R 39 and H 39 tanks were already in service with Romania's military. These could have been given to them enmasse to bolster their units ability where they already had spares and maintenance systems set up for them.
Equipment that proved too expensive or unrepairable could have been scrapped for its raw material value.
But, the Germans apparently gave little or no thought to such operations prior to the war or even once it started. Most efforts in this area were more local operations than any systematic one that had official sanction.

JCFalkenbergIII · #8 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2008, 08:46 PM

Certainly a waste of materials and talent.

JCFalkenbergIII · #9 (**permalink**) March 24th, 2008, 05:31 AM

[IMG]

marderI(a).jpg (168.7 KB) Viewed 3063 times

Za Rodinu · #10 (**permalink**) March 24th, 2008, 10:39 AM

Great thread indeed!

The Soviets themselves did something in this line of work with the SU-76i, a sort of rationalized StuG.

Why the Germans didn't do this themselves with Sov equipment? In the first place we have to recognise that the good Major had all the time in the world in a backwater. So he had the time to riffle through organised stocks, warehouses and yards.

No such thing in the East Front. At most you could remove the turret out of a T-60 and hey presto, an artillery tractor. No great possibility at all of being able to do that kind of work. Besides, from Feb 43 the frontline was already moving in the wrong direction for the peace of mind required.

In any case lots and lots of artillery pieces, for instance, were captured and used, and indeed a significant number were used in self-propelled mounts, albeit in Pz38(t) and PzII chassis.

There was some extemporaneous use of Sov. vehicles, but these were mostly improvisations and one-offs, to be abandoned at first malfucntion for lack of organised spares.

Here's what a Stug should look like, not that crazy mass of wild angled plates. Take that, PzJgr!

Carl W Schwamberger · #11 (**permalink**) March 24th, 2008, 11:07 AM

There was a program to move suitable comercial wheeled transport into Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe use. Perhaps the management and enginering attention went to that critical effort diverting effort from AFV salvage?

Beyond that there does not seem to be a truly efficent effort at exploiting the industry of the occupied territorys. A university professor I studied under had researched the Cezchoslovakian economy in the 1930s. in the 1950s he looked at data for the subsequent decades and thought that industrial outpout of Cezch industry actually declined during the era of nazi control. I've heard similar opinions expressed for industrial production in other occupied areas.

JCFalkenbergIII · #12 (**permalink**) March 24th, 2008, 07:30 PM

That could be one of the problems. There were certainly more types and makes of wheeled transport in German service then any other country during the war. As I mentioned in another thread it must have been a maintinence and supply nightmate.