When in 1945 the Second World War came to an end, in service with the Allies anti-Hitler coalition there were huge surpluses military equipment. Indeed, in the United States alone, during the war years, approximately 294 thousand aircraft were produced.
Military equipment in huge quantities, in order to save money, was not even transported back to the States, but was abandoned or destroyed in theaters of operations. In addition, for example, car companies opposed the return of surpluses of cheap jeeps because of fears of a decline in sales of new cars.
Unused Navy ships have been stripped for parts, sunk to form artificial reefs, and even used as nuclear test targets in the Pacific.
Tanks have been converted into tractors, planes have been scrapped, but World War II military equipment is still stored in large quantities mothballed throughout the American Southwest. 
1946 Armored vehicles at a storage site in the United States. 
1946 18 million pounds of scrap brass remains in US Army warehouses. 
1946 
1946 Obsolete M3A1 tanks in the warehouse of the US Army. 
1946 
1946 Surplus motorcycles in England in a set of five pieces are being prepared for sale for scrap metal. 
1947 Heavy bombers are waiting to be dismantled at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1947 Engines from mothballed aircraft at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1947 Planes are turned into scrap metal at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1946 800 military jeeps awaiting auction in a warehouse in England. 
1946 
1946 
1949 
1946 A former tank plows the land on a farm.
It is known that the capture of a trophy is as natural a thing in war as a mistake ... After all, what is war if not a system of mistakes? And the fewer mistakes, the fewer trophies the enemy has... This "trophy" photo selection will be shown only from the German side. However, this will not hurt to show us a lot of the most diverse equipment of the main countries participating in the Second World War.
Soviet heavy five-turreted T-35 tank, manufactured in 1938, abandoned in the Dubno region in a roadside ditch due to a malfunction or lack of fuel. Similar, non-combat circumstances were the main reason for the loss of almost all of these tanks in the first weeks of the war.
Two white stripes on the turret - tactical badge of the 67th Tank Regiment of the 34th tank division 8th mechanized corps of the Kyiv OVO. Next to the T-26 issue of 1940.
The use of captured equipment is fraught with many dangers, primarily the danger of being hit by your own units. However, this did not prevent the use of not only captured tanks, but also aircraft. In the photo Yak-9!
Of course, sometimes the trophies needed to be improved. The next photo (which has already become a classic) is a T34 with an improved commander's turret, a flame arrester, additional boxes and a headlight ...
Soviet heavy tank IS-2, captured by the Germans. On the tower there is an inscription in German: "Intended for OKW" (OKW, High Command of the Wehrmacht).
Matilda abandoned by the carriage
German soldiers in front of Churchill
German soldiers, probably in front of the BA-10
An American soldier inspects an abandoned Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. G with the "unshod" left caterpillar, France, 1944. The self-propelled gun was immobilized by a shell hit on the left sloth.
"Panther" (Pz.Kpfw V Panther Ausf. G), shot down near a bridge in Germany. The inscription on German reads: "Attention, the bridge is closed to cars of all kinds, cyclists dismount."
Destroyed Sturmgeschutz IV near Aachen, Germany. Apparently, the car was hastily repainted by the crew - the winter color is missing in many places. To free the roadway, the self-propelled guns were dragged to the edge of the road.
A heavy anti-tank self-propelled gun "Jagdtigr" (Panzerj?ger Tiger) blown up by its crew, Germany, March 1945. The photographer decided to take a picture before the representative of the Military Police put himself in order. The armor plate of the roof of the fighting compartment was thrown off by the explosion, the forehead of the cabin 250 mm thick is clearly visible.
This Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf. J was lost in the battles for the city of Saint-Fromond, France, in July 1944, and is being prepared for evacuation using the American M1A1 tractor. You can clearly see a hole in the frontal armor of the hull. On the turret of the tank, to the right of the gun mantlet, on the surface of the zimmerite one can observe traces of bullets from small arms
"Sturmtigr" (38cm RW61 auf Sturmm?rser Tiger) with a downed caterpillar, photographed near the autobahn in the Ebendorf area. Germany, April 1945. At the rear of the fighting compartment is a crane designed to load 330-kg high-explosive rockets through a hatch in the roof.
Local residents inspect the wrecked Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. G, belonging to the 10th Panzergrenadier Division, photo taken May 10, 1945. Field-work side skirts give this SPG the look of a Jagdpanzer IV.
StuG III captured by the Red Army in perfect working order. August 1941
Soldiers of the Red Army on captured tanks Pz.lll and Pz. IV. Western Front, September 1941
Soldiers of the Red Army at the captured Romanian tank R-1. Odessa area, September 1941
* Captured German armored car Sd.Kfz.261 in service with the Red Army, Western Front, August 1941. The vehicle was repainted in the standard Soviet camouflage color 4 BO, a red flag was fixed on the left wing
* A column of captured combat vehicles (a Pz. III tank and three StuG III) on the Western Front, March 1942. On board the tank is the inscription "Death to Hitler!"
* The image clearly shows the emblem of the 18th Wehrmacht Panzer Division and the regimental badge of the 18th Panzer Regiment on the turret of the Pz. IV. Western Front, September 1941
* A brigade of tank repairmen studying captured StuG IIIs (from the 192nd assault gun battalion) at repair base No. 82. April 1942
* Captured German armored vehicles captured by units of the 65th Army at the Demekhi station. Belorussian Front, February 1944
* A column of captured combat vehicles (a Pz. III tank in front, followed by three StuG IIIs) on the Western Front, March 1942.
* Inspection of the repaired tank Pz. III Major Engineer Gudkov. Western Front, 1942
* Captured self-propelled gun StuG III with the inscription "Avenger". Western Front, March 1942
* Trophy tank Pz. III under the command of Mitrofanov is sent to a military operation. Western front, 1942
The crew of the captured Panzerjager I self-propelled gun is refining its combat mission. Presumably 31st Army Western Front, August 1942.
The crew of the tank Pz. III under the command of N. Baryshev on his combat vehicle. Volkhov Front, 107th separate tank battalion, July 6, 1942
The commissar of the unit I. Sobchenko conducts political information in the 107th separate tank battalion. Volkhov Front, July 6, 1942. Tanks Pz. IV and Pz. III (tower numbers 08 and 04) (RGAKFD SPB).
Scout V. Kondratenko, a former tractor driver, made his way to the rear of the Germans and took a serviceable Pz tank to his location. IV. North Caucasian Front, December 1942
Trophy tank Pz. IVAusf FI with Soviet crew. North Caucasian Front, presumably the 151st Tank Brigade. March 1943
German armored vehicles (armored car Sd.Kfz. 231, tanks Pz. III Ausf. L and Pz. IV Ausf.F2), captured in perfect condition near Mozdok. 1943
Captured T-34 tank, converted by the Germans into an anti-aircraft self-propelled gun with a 20-mm quadruple automatic cannon. 1944
One of the T-34 tanks of the motorized division "Grossdeutschland". In the foreground is an armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.252. Eastern Front, 1943
Heavy tank KV-1, used in the 1st Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht. Eastern Front, 1942
"Stalin's Monster" - a heavy tank KV-2 in the ranks of the Panzerwaffe! Fighting vehicles of this type were used by the Germans in the amount of several copies, however, judging by the photo, at least one of them was equipped with a German commander's cupola
The captured T-60 tank tows a 75 mm light infantry gun. Attention is drawn to the fact that the turret has been preserved on this machine, used as a tractor. 1942
This turretless captured T-60 is used as a light armored personnel carrier armed with an MG34 infantry machine gun. Voronezh, summer 1942
A T-70 light tank converted into a tractor towing a 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun
The tractor - a captured Soviet T-70 tank without a turret - tows a captured Soviet 76-mm ZIS-3 cannon. Rostov-on-Don, 1942
A German officer uses the turret of a captured BA-3 armored car as an observation post. 1942 Overroll caterpillars are put on the wheels of the rear axles
Ferdinand", captured by serviceable crewed soldiers of the 129th rifle division
KV-1 model 1942 with a ZIS-5 gun in a cast turret:
KV-1 of the earliest series, with the L-11 cannon and early undercarriage.
German visible alteration - German commander's cupola.
German staff officers in the field near the aircraft Fi 156 "Storch" (Fieseler Fi 156 Storch)
Hungarian soldiers are interrogating a Soviet prisoner of war. The man in the cap and black jacket is supposedly a policeman. On the left is a Wehrmacht officer
A column of German infantry moves along the streets of Rotterdam during the invasion of Holland
Luftwaffe soldiers from the air defense unit work with a stereoscopic rangefinder Kommandogerät 36 (Kdo. Gr. 36). The rangefinder was used to control the fire of anti-aircraft batteries equipped with Flak 18 series guns.
German soldiers and civilians at the May 1 celebration in occupied Smolensk.
German soldiers and civilians at the celebration of May 1 in occupied Smolensk
German assault gun StuG III Ausf. G, belonging to the 210th assault gun brigade (StuG-Brig. 210) moves past the positions of the 1st Marine Infantry Division (1. Marine-Infanterie-Division) in the Ceden area (currently the Polish town of Cedynia - Cedynia).
German tankers repairing the engine of the Pz.Kpfw. IV with a short-barreled 75 mm gun.
German tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H training tank division (Panzer-Lehr-Division), shot down in Normandy. In front of the tank lies a unitary high-explosive fragmentation shot Sprgr.34 (weight 8.71 kg, explosive - ammotol) to the 75-mm gun KwK.40 L / 48. The second shell lies on the body of the vehicle, in front of the turret.
A column of German infantry on the march on the Eastern Front. In the foreground, a soldier carries a 7.92 MG-34 machine gun on his shoulder.
Luftwaffe officers in front of a car in Nikolsky Lane in occupied Smolensk.
Employees of the organization Todt dismantle reinforced concrete French defenses in the Paris region. France 1940
A girl from the village of the Belgorod region sits with a balalaika on the trunk of a fallen tree
German soldiers rest near an army truck "Einheitsdiesel" (Einheits-Diesel).
Adolf Hitler with German generals inspects the fortifications of the Western Wall (also called the "Siegfried Line"). With a map in hand, the commander of the border troops of the Upper Rhine, Infantry General Alfred Wäger (Alfred Wäger, 1883-1956), third from the right is the chief of staff of the Wehrmacht High Command, Colonel-General Wilhelm Keitel (Wilhelm Keitel, 1882-1946). Second from the right is Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945). A cameraman is standing on the parapet in a raincoat.
Church of the Transfiguration in occupied Vyazma.
Pilots of the 53rd Luftwaffe Fighter Squadron (JG53) at an airfield in France. In the background are Messerschmitt Bf.109E fighters.
Artillery officers of the Wehrmacht African Corps, photographed by the corps commander, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel (Erwin Eugen Johannes Rommel).
Calculation of the Swedish-made 40-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun "Bofors" on the cover of the Finnish airfield Suulajärvi.
Vehicles of the Hungarian army on Vorovskogo Street in occupied Belgorod. On the right is the Polish-Lithuanian church.
Commander of the 6th by the German army Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau (October 8, 1884-January 17, 1942) stands near his staff car. Behind him stands the commander of the 297th Infantry Division, General of Artillery Max Pfeffer (Max Pfeffer, 06/12/1883-12/31/1955). There is a version according to which, according to the words of the Wehrmacht General Staff officer Paul Jordan (Paul Jordan), when in the first months of the war, during the offensive, the 6th Army collided with T-34 tanks, after a personal inspection of one of the tanks, von Reichenau told his officers : "If the Russians continue to produce these tanks, we will not win the war."
Finnish soldiers break camp in the forest before leaving their group. Petsamo Region
A salvo of 406-mm bow guns of the main caliber of the American battleship Missouri (Missouri (BB-63) during firing practice in the Atlantic..
Pilot of the 9th Squadron of the 54th Fighter Squadron (9.JG54) Wilhelm Schilling in the cockpit of a Messerschmitt Bf.109G-2 fighter at the Krasnogvardeysk airfield.
Adolf Hitler with guests at the table in his house in Obersalzberg. Pictured from left to right: Professor Morrel (Morrel), wife of Gauleiter Forster (Forster) and Hitler.
A group portrait of policemen against the backdrop of a temple in an occupied Soviet village.
A Hungarian soldier at the captured Soviet heavy artillery tractor "Voroshilovets".
Dismantled Soviet attack aircraft Il-2 in the occupied Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh region
Loading ammunition into the German assault gun StuG III. In the background is an ammunition carrier Sd.Kfz. 252 (leichte Gepanzerte Munitionskraftwagen).
Soviet prisoners of war are repairing the cobblestone pavement of the street before the parade of Finnish troops in the center of captured Vyborg.
Two German soldiers at a single 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun mounted on a Lafette 34 machine gun in a position in the Mediterranean
Gun crews with their 88-mm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft guns on the German artillery support ferry "Siebel" during the voyage to Lahdenpohja (Lahdenpohja).
German soldier digging a trench in the Belgorod region
Broken and burnt german tank Pz.Kpfw. V "Panther" in the Italian village south of Rome
The commander of the 6th motorized infantry brigade (Schützen-Brigade 6), Major General Erhard Raus (Erhard Raus, 1889 - 1956) with officers of his headquarters.
Lieutenant and Oberleutnant of the Wehrmacht confer in the steppe on the southern sector of the Eastern Front.
German soldiers wash off winter camouflage from a Sd.Kfz half-track armored personnel carrier. 251/1 Ausf.C "Hanomag" (Hanomag) at the hut in Ukraine.
Luftwaffe officers walk past cars in Nikolsky Lane in occupied Smolensk. The Assumption Cathedral rises in the background.
A German motorcyclist poses with the Bulgarian children of the occupied village.
An MG-34 machine gun and a Mauser rifle at German positions near an occupied Soviet village in the Belgorod region (Kursk region at the time of this photo).
A German tank Pz.Kpfw, shot down in the valley of the Volturno River. V "Panther" with tail number "202"
Graves of German soldiers in Ukraine.
German cars at the Trinity Cathedral (Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity) in occupied Vyazma.
A column of captured Red Army soldiers in the ruined locality near Belgorod.
A German field kitchen is visible in the background. Next, the StuG III self-propelled guns and the Horch 901 car.
Colonel General Heinz Guderian (1888 - 1954) and SS Hauptsturmührer Michael Wittmann
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel at the Feltre airfield.
German road signs at the intersection of K. Marx and Medvedovsky (now Lenin) streets in the occupied Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh region
Wehrmacht soldier near road signs in occupied Smolensk. Behind the ruined building, the domes of the Assumption Cathedral are visible.
The inscriptions on the plate on the right side of the picture: Bridge (to the right) and Dorogobuzh (to the left).
A German sentry and a soldier (probably the driver) at the Mercedes-Benz 770 headquarters car near the Market Square in occupied Smolensk.
In the background is a view of Cathedral Hill with the Assumption Cathedral.
wounded on Eastern Front hungarian soldier rest after dressing.
Soviet partisan executed by the Hungarian invaders in Stary Oskol. During the war, Stary Oskol was part of the Kursk region, at present it is part of the Belgorod region.
A group of Soviet prisoners of war sit on logs during a break during forced labor on the Eastern Front
Portrait of a Soviet prisoner of war in a shabby overcoat
Soviet captured soldiers at the assembly point on the Eastern Front.
Soviet soldiers with raised hands surrender in a wheat field.
German soldiers in Koenigsberg next to the MG 151/20 aircraft gun in the infantry version
destroyed by bombing history Center German city of Nuremberg
A Finnish soldier armed with a Suomi submachine gun in the battle for the village of Povenets.
Mountain rangers of the Wehrmacht against the backdrop of a hunting house.
Luftwaffe sergeant near the airfield. Presumably an anti-aircraft gunner.
Jet fighter Messerschmitt Me-262A-1a from the 3rd group of the 2nd combat training squadron of the Luftwaffe (III / EJG 2).
Finnish soldiers and German rangers are sailing in boats along the Lutto River (Lotta, Lutto-joki) in the Petsamo region (currently Pechenga, since 1944 part of the Murmansk region).
German soldiers are tuning the Torn.Fu.d2 radio station, a backpack VHF infantry radio station manufactured by Telefunken.
The crash site of the Re. 2000 Heja pilot István Horthy (István Horthy, 1904-1942, eldest son of Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy) from the 1/1 fighter squadron of the Hungarian Air Force. After takeoff, the plane lost control and crashed near the airfield near the village of Alekseevka, Kursk Region (now the Belgorod Region). The pilot is dead.
Citizens at the Annunciation Market in German-occupied Kharkov. In the foreground are artisan shoemakers repairing shoes.
Finnish troops at the parade at the monument to Swedish Marshal Thorgils Knutsson in captured Vyborg
Three Marines 1st Kriegsmarine Division (1. marine-infanterie-division) in a trench on the bridgehead in the Zeden area (currently the Polish town of Cedynia - Cedynia).
German pilots look at peasant oxen at one of the airfields in Bulgaria. A Junkers Ju-87 dive bomber is visible behind. On the right is a Bulgarian officer of the ground forces.
Technique of the 6th German Panzer Division in East Prussia before the invasion of the USSR. In the center of the picture is the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D tank. An Adler 3 Gd car is visible in the background. In the foreground, parallel to the tank, is a Horch 901 Typ 40 vehicle.
Wehrmacht officer whistle gives the command to attack.
German officer on the street of occupied Poltava
German soldiers during street fighting. Average tank Pzkpfw(Panzer Kampfwagen) III on the right
initially armed with 37s, and then with a 50-mm 1/42 cannon. However, their shots were
unable to penetrate the inclined armor protection of the Soviet T-34, as a result of which
the designers re-equipped the machine with a 50-mm KwK 39 L / 60 gun
(60 calibers versus 42) with a longer barrel, which made it possible to increase
the initial velocity of the projectile.
German staff car with a French flag on the hood, abandoned on the coast of France.
The photographs were taken on May 8, 1945 during the retreat of the 6th Wehrmacht Infantry Division in the Neustadt area near Tafelfichte in the Ore Mountains (Bohemia, modern Nové Město pod Smrkem, Czechoslovakia) and the Giant Mountains (Riesengebirge, Silesia, Czechoslovakia). Photos were taken German soldier who still had Agfa color film in his camera.
Retreating soldiers at rest. The emblem of the 6th Infantry Division is visible on the cart.
Adolf Hitler and German officers walking their dogs at Rastenburg headquarters. Winter 1942-1943.
German dive bombers Junkers Yu-87 (Ju.87B-1) in flight over the English Channel.
Soviet captured soldiers butcher a horse for meat in a village in the Kursk region.
Adolf Hitler takes the parade of German troops in Warsaw in honor of the victory over Poland. On the podium are Hitler, Colonel General Walther von Brauchitsch, Lieutenant General Friedrich von Kohenhausen, Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt, Colonel General Wilhelm Keitel, General Johannes Blaskowitz and General Albert Kesselring and others.
German Horch-830R Kfz.16/1 vehicles are passing in the foreground.
German soldiers at the wrecked Soviet T-34 tank in the village of Verkhne-Kumsky
Oberfeldwebel of the Luftwaffe gives a coin to a gypsy girl on the island of Crete.
A German soldier inspects a Polish PZL.23 Karas bomber at the Okentse airfield
Destroyed bridge across the river Seim in Lgov, Kursk region. In the background is the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Parts of the Koll tank brigade (Panzer Brigade Koll) enter the Soviet village near Vyazma. The column consists of Pz.35(t) tanks.
German soldiers parse letters - they are looking for items addressed to them.
German soldiers at their dugout listening to their comrade play the accordion during a lull during the fighting in the Belgorod region
German dive bombers Junkers Ju-87 (Ju.87D) from the 7th Squadron of the 1st Dive Bomber Squadron (7.StG1) before taking off on the Eastern Front.
A column of German vehicles of the Koll tank brigade (Panzer Brigade Koll) moves along the road near Vyazma. In the foreground is the command tank Pz.BefWg.III of the brigade commander, Colonel Richard Koll. Phänomen Granit 25H ambulances are visible behind the tank. On the side of the road, towards the column is a group of Soviet prisoners of war.
A mechanized column of the 7th German Panzer Division (7. Panzer-Division) drives past a Soviet truck burning on the side of the road. In the foreground is the Pz.38(t) tank. Three Soviet prisoners of war are walking towards the column. Vyazma region.
German artillerymen are firing from the 210-mm Mrs.18 heavy field howitzer (21 cm Mörser 18) at the positions of the Soviet troops.
Oil leak from the engine of a German fighter Messerschmitt Bf.110C-5 from the 7th Squadron of the 2nd Training Squadron (7.(F)/LG 2). The picture was taken at the Greek airfield after the return of 7. (F) / LG 2 from a sortie to cover the landing on Crete.
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, commander of Army Group South, and Panzer General Hermann Breith, commander of the 3rd tank corps at a meeting at the map of military operations before the operation "Citadel".
Destroyed Soviet tanks in a field near Stalingrad. Aerial photography from a German aircraft.
Polish prisoners of war captured during the Polish campaign of the Wehrmacht.
German soldiers at the assembly point, taken prisoner by the Allies during the Italian campaign.
German command tank Pz.BefWg.III from the Koll tank brigade (Panzer Brigade Koll) in a village near Vyazma. In the hatch of the tank turret is the brigade commander, Colonel Richard Koll.
After the end of the First World War, former opponents left each other alone. But only for a while. The experience of the war suggested that many types of weapons were very far from perfect. And in order not to repeat past mistakes, the leading world states decided to pay special attention to the development and increase of military power.
It should be noted that in the battles that have died down, relatively new types of weapons have proven themselves very well - and. In addition, the enormous importance of communication was taken into account. And hallmark military equipment that was in service various countries world on the eve of World War II, was its mobility. This meant that now it was possible to quickly change the deployment of military crews in order to obtain a decisive advantage in the conduct of maneuver warfare.
Military equipment of the USSR, USA and Great Britain
Before the war Soviet Union made the main bet on powerful tank troops. Soviet engineers managed to create such a masterpiece of tank building as the T-34. In addition, the IS-2 models, as well as the KV-1 and KV-2 models, entered production. However, these tanks were not as effective as the "thirty-four". Artillery and air support for armored vehicles was of particular importance. Moreover, since the main military force The USSR was still the infantry, special attention was paid to the development of handguns and explosives.
Tank "T-34"
The navy was the backbone of the British military. At the same time, the units of the countries of the British Commonwealth had at their disposal unified weapons, which demonstrated very high efficiency in battle. American military equipment was represented mainly by the air and naval forces. On the eve of the war, the United States had the world's largest fleet of combat aircraft - it contained about 325 thousand units of aircraft.
German and Japanese military equipment
The German army was too small for an offensive war, and most of its weapons had become obsolete. But as a result of swift and merciless attacks, the Germans still managed to capture almost half of the European continent and at the same time also lead fighting in Africa.
It should be noted that until 1942, the Wehrmacht did not have heavy tanks - the Tiger combat vehicles entered production only at the end of this year, and only 1355 of them were produced before the end of the war. And since the military power of Germany was significantly inferior to the enemy armies, the main emphasis was placed on maneuverability.
One of the allies of National Socialist Germany in World War II was Japan. The main military force of the country rising sun accounted for armored vehicles, although the importance of Japanese aviation and infantry cannot be reduced. However, due to the too remote location, the Japanese failed to prove themselves during the war, and after the American nuclear attack, they had to completely retreat into the shadows.
World War II is the largest armed conflict. The losses suffered by all the opposing sides cannot be compared with the results of the war of 1914-1918. The memory of the huge number of dead, entire armies of wounded and crippled soldiers, destroyed cities unsuitable for cultivating land and other consequences of the war haunted almost the entire world for a long time. Military equipment continued to improve further, offering more and more new ways of inflicting damage on a potential enemy.
Joint tests of Tiger (H), Tiger (P), Panther (MAN), Panther (DB) and some other tanks. The tests took place in November 1942. Although the Tiger (P) performed well overall, after testing it was decided to cancel its series production. As for the Panther (DB), by the time of testing it had already been buried for several months in favor of the MAN tank, so the crude prototype without a turret was more of a show.
French tanks are a very interesting topic, very complex, exciting and attractive in its own way. French tank building is poorly known and understandable compared even with American tank building, to say nothing of Soviet or German. Ask a simple armor history buff about French tanks and you'll get a dose of nonsense like "Char B1 is a slow defensive tank", "Somua S 35 is a World War I tank brought to perfection" or "AMX 50 is a heavy post-war tank". This sad situation, in my opinion, has developed for two main reasons.
First, France suffered a military disaster in 1940, largely due to the mediocre use of tanks created according to dead-end concepts. Of course, the tanks of the interwar period were far from ideal, almost all of them were slow-moving and with single towers. But after all, these tanks did not consist of only shortcomings, the French designers applied many interesting innovative solutions. However, due to the general negative image and labels, they simply don’t notice that they don’t add interest to the topic in any way.
After the war, Knipkamp was interrogated about the E-series.
He told from memory, because at that time even the fate of many drawings was not clear, so there are inaccuracies and errors. But in general, the interrogation makes it clear what the E-series is and in what form it was ready by the end of the war. My comments, as always, are in italics.
Germany, 1935 Only a year left until Olympic Games, and it will be necessary to impress the guests with the achievements of German science and industry. Including for these purposes, a series of three steam locomotives was produced - Borsig DRG BR05.
The idea of creating spherical tanks appeared a long time ago. Already during the First World War, ball tanks were perceived as quite adequate weapons, and the peak of interest in them came in the 30-40s of the XX century. In most cases, work on them reached the stage of creating prototypes, and sometimes it was completely limited to the construction of large-scale demonstrator models. Nevertheless, spherical combat vehicles continued to haunt the minds of engineers. And in our time, the "relatives" of Sharotanks, having lost a number of previous shortcomings, have come into use.
Before starting a conversation directly about spherical combat vehicles, it is worth making a short digression into history and understanding where they came from in general. Oddly enough, the bicycle became the progenitor of the ball tank.
"Le Redoutable" is a steel battleship that combined barbette mounts of the main caliber and a central casemate battery in its design. The ship was built according to the program of 1872 and became the first French ocean-going battleship laid down after the defeat of France in the war with Prussia in 1870-1871.
Rene Gillet armored motorcycle, 1927
A small series of photographs from a demonstration show of new models of Rene Gillet motorcycles, held in the presence of high ranks of the French army, in November 1927. The cars presented were designed specifically for the military, as you might guess.
Photos are interesting, I recommend.
I met on the Internet a seedy article about brands that made products for the needs of the armies, but it turned out to be quite "dead", it is unlikely that it will be possible to gather everyone who did what, enriched themselves, survived at the expense of the war, but I think it will be interesting to talk about this topic as always . The material itself is below, my additions are under the material. Perhaps the material turned out to be a little chaotic .. Outwardly, it resembled a cab of a Russian cab, and this similarity was by no means accidental - the partners conceived their brainchild precisely as a means of transport and in the future, in their opinion, it would replace all the cabs of the Russian Empire.
Many enthusiasts of the history of armored vehicles know about the Burstyn Motorgeschuetz project, aka "Burshtyn's Motorized Gun", aka Burshtyn's Tank. Considered back in 1911, this project of a rather strange combat vehicle was rejected, and five years later big war finally mired in trenches and positional battles, which will cause the need for armored tracked vehicles capable of breaking through a static front, like the one proposed by Burshtyn. The Hungarians are proud of him and consider him one of the first projects of what can truly be called a tank. It would seem that the Austro-Hungarian military leadership, inert and less rational compared to Germany, was cool about the ideas of such machines.
