The oldest captured tank in German service was the Renault FT-17/18 (FT - Faible Tonnage - Light Weight) two-man light tank, designated by the victorious Germans as Panzerkampfwagen 17R/18R 730(f). The French Army still had some eight hundred examples of this antiquated machine which dated in its design back to early 1917. It was produced in numerous versions and widely exported to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Holland, Yugoslavia and Poland. It was recognised as having no front line combat value upon its capture by the Germans and many of the captured tanks badly needed repairs. Nonetheless, some were still used for training, policing and security duties in the Channel Islands. Germany. Norway and Serbia. Others were used as command and artillery posts. Some were converted to artillery tractors by having the upper part of the hull, along with the turret removed.
The remaining FT-17/18s were used in armoured trains or were handed over to the Luftwaffe to be used for security duties and as snow ploughs for their airfields. Some were still in use as late as 1945. According to original German captured tank inventories as of July 1943, there were still 12FT-17/18 tanks in active service in the West, mainly France. Some tanks took part in the Paris rising of August 1944, being used both by the Germans and the uprisers.
The Renault VM/AMR 33 (1933) and Renault ZT/AMR 35 (1935) were two-man light cavalry tanks. Again, they had little combat value and were mainly used for police duties in occupied territories. In German service, AMR 33 was designated as Panzerspahwagen VM 70l(f).
The Renault Char Leger R-35 two-man light tanks were the most numerous French tanks as of May 1940 and approximately eight hundred and forty (out of 1,035 in service) were captured by the Germans. The Renault R-35 was designated as Panzerkampfwagen 35R 731(f).
The R-35 was a reasonable design. Some R-35s in France were even pressed into German service during the course of the campaign in France. After the campaign, repaired vehicles were modified to German standards by replacing the original cupola top with split hatch covers and the addition or replacement of radio equipment.
Although R-35s and R-40s were not obsolete vehicles, their characteristics made them unsuitable for front line service and only a small number were used as infantry support tanks. The majority were relegated to second line duties in Western Europe. Some twenty-five Renault R-35s served with the Panzer Abteilung z.b.V 12 (special employment unit) and were used in an anti-partisan role in the Balkans: another 30 were handed over to the SS and were used for policing duties in occupied territories.
In late 1941 46 R-35s were also used to equip the 100th Panzerbrigade, which was the basis of the newly formed 21st Panzer Division of North Africa fame. The R-35s were not taken to Africa and after the debacle in Tunisia the same machines were used for training the nucleus of the new division again in late 1943. Panzer Abteilung 206, which operated in the Cherbourg peninsula in June 1944, is known to have used two R-35s in action. A Number of R-35s also saw service with 100th Panzer Ersatz und Ausbildung Abteilung (reserve Tank Battalion), which was supporting the 96th Infantry Division in St. Lo - Caretan area in June 1944. In addition, some were also used by units stationed in the Channel Islands along with the garrison in Paris. Some unmodified tanks were also used in armoured trains.
The Germans felt they had little to gain from the employment of many of the French tanks captured in the wake of the fall of France. These light tanks are being employed for ploughing duties, a purpose to which many were better suited than combat.
In 1940 Germans handed over 109 R-35s to Italy, where they equipped two reserve tank battalions but proved to be useless due to the lack of spare parts. Undeterred, in 1941 the Germans sold some forty R-35s to their Bulgarian allies, where they equipped the 1st Armoured Brigade that performed security duties in Serbia until September 1944, although the Bulgarians must surely have encountered similar difficulties to the Italians.
From May to October 1941, Alkett in Berlin converted 174 R-35s to anti-tank hunters. Designated as ‘4.7cm Pak(t) auf Panzerkampfwagen 35R(t’) ohne Turm’ or Panzerjäger 35R 731(f), it was intended to replace the inefficient Panzerjäger I. These machines equipped the second-string tank destroyer units of Infantry Divisions. Interestingly, there were still some one hundred and ten in service in France as of early 1944, and 20 remained in service as late as May 1945 in the Channel Islands.
A number of R-35s escaped the conversion process and remained in service with garrison infantry units and in l945 there were still a few Panzerkampfwagen 35R 73 1 (f) in German service. According to original German captured tank inventories, as of July 1943 there were 58 R-35s in service in the West.
The Renault Char D-l infantry (medium) tanks were designated by the Germans as Panzerkampfwagen D-l 732(f). Although the Germans captured a number there is no evidence of them being pressed into service. As of 10 May 1940 the French Army had some seventy-five D-2s in service, although it can be assumed that few were used for security duties or as mobile fortifications. It is most likely the majority were scrapped and their turrets were handed over to Croatia, where they were mounted on armoured trains.
A total of 1,188 Hotchkiss tanks were in service with the French Army as of 10th May 1940: of these, the Germans captured approximately six hundred. Generally, all Hotchkiss tanks were referred to as Panzerkampfwagen 38H 735(f).
The Germans modified Hotchkiss tanks to their standards by replacing the original cupola top with split hatch covers and by the addition or replacement of radio equipment. Hotchkiss tanks were issued to captured tank Panzer Regiments of various Panzer Divisions (including the 7th and 8th in late 1940) as battle tanks, and saw service in France, Norway, Crete, the Balkans, Finland and
Russia. The first unit to be equipped with Hotchkiss tanks and which saw combat in Finland in the summer of 1941 was Panzer Abteilung 211. Some Hotchkiss tanks also equipped the 100th and 101st Beute-Panzer-Brigades. Hotchkiss tanks were also used in a reconnaissance role, as command tanks. Some tanks, including some sixty in service with the SS, were used for internal policing and security duties. The Germans also handed over 15 Hotchkiss tanks to Hungary in 1943 and sold 19 to Bulgaria in 1944. Two H-39s were handed over to Croatia. As of 20th May 1942 there were 15 Hotchkiss tanks with Panzer Abteilung 212 stationed on Crete.
Twenty-four Hotchkiss tanks were converted to communication and command tanks designated as Ein Grosser Funk und Befehlswagen 38H 735(f), also known as Artillerie-Panzer-Beobaehtung 38H 735(f), artillery observation vehicles. All 24 were issued to 21st Panzer Division’s 155th Panzerartillerie Abteilung stationed in France in 1944.
In 1942, some twenty-four (some sources state sixty) H-39s (including at least one H-JJ) were converted to 75mm PaK 40 L/46 anti-tank gun carriers (Panzerjäger), designated as ‘7.5cm PaK40 (Sf) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(f)’ but more commonly referred to as Marder I. A similar conversion was also completed in 1942 by converting 48 H-39s to 105mm leFH 16 L/22 and leFH 18 (18/40) L/28 (leichte Feldhaubitze - light field howitzer) carriers, designated as ‘10.5cm leFH18(Sf) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(f)’. In both conversions armament was mounted in an open-topped superstructure. Both conversions were completed by Captain Alfred Becker’s Baukommando in Paris and at Krefeld (in co-operation with Alkett in Berlin) and served with units stationed in France, including 8th Panzerartillerie Abteilung and Sturmgeschütz Abteilung 200, commanded by Major Alfred Becker. The turrets of vehicles converted to weapon carriers were used in fortifications; some tanks were even dug in as fixed bunkers.
Another interesting conversion were 11 H-35s and H-38s mounted with ‘428 32cm schwere Wuhrframen 40’ (28O/320mm rocket projector) by Panzer Abteilung 205.
This unusual photograph demonstrates the lengths to which the German propaganda service were prepared to go to achieve results. The lens of a camera has replaced the machine-gun of this Panzer III.
Some Hotchkiss tanks were also used in armoured trains operating in the Balkans. As late as 1944 some were also used as training vehicles with their turrets and hatches removed. It was also a common practice to equip units refitting and resting in France with captured tanks for the duration of their time in the field. (The 6th Panzer Division’s Panzer Regiment II was equipped in this way). As of 31 May 1943 there were 355 captured tanks in German service. According to original German captured tank inventories, as of July 1943, they were distributed as follows: 15 as part of Army Group Centre, 96 in the Balkans, 149 in the West, 68 in Norway and 33 in Lapland. Panzer Abteilung 206, which operated in the Cherbourg peninsula in June of 1944, used sixteen H-38s. A number of H-38s also saw service with the 100th Panzer Ersatz und Ausbildung Abteilung (Reserve Tank Battalion), which was supporting the 96th Infantry Division in the St. Lo-Caretan area in June 1944. As of 30th December 1944, there were still 29 (H-38s) Hotchkiss tanks in German service and even a few in 1945. At least one unarmed H-39 tank was captured and pressed into service by the insurgents during the Prague uprising in May 1945.
The Char de Cavalerie Somua S/35Char 1935 S three man medium tank armed with 47mm SA 35 L/34 gun and 7.5mm Reibel machine gun was the best French tank as of May of 1940 and around five hundred were in service with the French Army. It was the first vehicle in the world with all-cast hull and turret. This feature, however, made it unsuitable for conversion. Some Somuas were pressed into service during the campaign by the by 3rd SS (Motorised) Division, ‘Totenkopf’. Altogether, during the course of campaign, the Germans captured two hundred and ninety-seven Somua S-35s, designated as Panzerkampfwagen 35S 739(f), and employed them mainly as commander’s tanks along with some machine-gun armed command tanks with rear mounted frame antennas and additional radio equipment. The Germans modified S-35s to their standards by replacing original cupola top with split hatch covers and the addition or replacement of radio equipment. The first unit to be equipped with Somua tanks, which saw combat in Finland in the summer of 1941, was Panzer Abteilung 211. In 1941 Germans handed over some thirty-two S-35s to Italy, two to Hungary in 1943 and six to Bulgaria in 1944.
As of 20th May 1942 there were five Somua S-35 tanks with Panzer Abteilung 212 stationed on Crete.
In November 1941 some sixty Somuas had their turrets removed and were used as artillery tractors, along with ammunition carriers, on the Eastern Front. The turrets were used in fortifications on the Atlantic Wall.
Panzerkampfwagen 35S 739(f) tanks were issued to captured tank Panzer Regiments of various Panzer Divisions and saw service in France, Norway, the Balkans, Finland and Russia. S-35s were also used in equipping the newly formed 23d Panzer Division (France 1941/42) and the 24th Panzer Division, East Prussia, in late 1941.
On the eve of D-Day, on 1st June 1944, the 21st Panzer Division stationed in Normandy had twenty-three Somua S-35s in service. A number of S-35s also saw service with the 100th Panzer Ersatz und Ausbildung Abteilung (Reserve Tank Battalion), which was supporting the 96th Infantry Division in the St. Lo-Caretan area in June of 1944. According to original German captured tank inventories, as of July 1943 there were two S-35s as part of Army Group Centre, 43 in the Balkans, 67 in the West, 17 in Norway and 16 in Lapland. There were still some thirty S-35s in German service as of 30th December 1944 and few in 1945. Some of the ‘German’ Somuas were captured and ended up with the French resistance.