Germans with captured weapons?

[Chris Boonzaier]

Does anyone have any Photos of Germans using enemy weapons?

Thanks

Chris

[IrishGunner]

Funny you should start this thread yesterday because I've been researching this card for a day or two...

Despite being a somewhat antiquated piece, the German artillery appreciated the range capabilities of the French de Bange Canon de 155 L Modele 1877 and turned captured guns on their former owners. This looks like a crew of Bavarian Fuss-Artillerie. Card is dated Lille June 1915.

[Chris Boonzaier]

This Landsturm Guys seems to have an SMLE ?

[IrishGunner]

How about this one... British Mk IV Tank - I read that the Germans called it "Schwerer Kampfwagen (Beute)"

[Trooper_D]

Despite being a somewhat antiquated piece, the German artillery appreciated the range capabilities of the French de Bange Canon de 155 L Modele 1877 and turned captured guns on their former owners.

De Bange - what a wonderfully appropriate (and onomatopoeic) name for an artillery piece

Edited October 27, 2013 by Trooper_D

[Tony]

This Landsturm Guys seems to have an SMLE ?

Interesting.

Weren't the standard German rounds slightly larger that the .303?

Would he have had to scrounge his rounds from the British or did the Germans have a bullet that fitted?

Tony

[Chris Boonzaier]

I suppose in sectors where there was no great chance of offensive action on either side, a SMLE with a few hundred rounds of captured ammo was worth just as much as a G98 with steady supply.

Some old landwehr guys may have fired a couple of rounds a month, if that... So a SMLE with a few boxes of ammo would have fit the bill just fine...

[IrishGunner]

The Germans really liked the French 75mm field gun as an anti-aircraft FLAK gun because of its recoil mechanism. They converted hundreds, including re-bore to 77mm, and gave them the designation 7,7cm L/35(Franz.)

[IrishGunner]

Another French gun captured and put into use by the Germans... Canon de 120 Modele 1878

[Chris Boonzaier]

2nd machine Gun Company of the RIR122

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello Chris.

Ref. # 10. It looks to me as if German M.G. personnel is trying/evaluating a French Hotchkiss gun.

Bernhard H. Holst

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hello Chris.

Ref. # 10. It looks to me as if German M.G. personnel is trying/evaluating a French Hotchkiss gun.

Bernhard H. Holst

Hi,

indeed. Captured French MG were used by the Germans, usually in quieter sectors where the units in place did not have a full dotation of German MGs.

[Kornel R.]

Chris , there are some of my photo collection .

Kornel

[drakegoodman]

A couple from my collection. I have deliberately not included Germans toting Mosin-Nagants as these are as plentiful as flies at a barbecue.

[Tony]

I really do like those pictures with the Brit stuff especially the first one. I think you've renewed my interest in postcards, I'll have to keep an eye out in future.

Where did you find them? I mean I know Melbourne's better than Brisbane for shopping but surely not that much better that you can pick up those cards there.

Tony

[drakegoodman]

Tony, you're a better man than me if you can find anything decent in Melbourne by way of postcards. My main sources are Ebay Germany (Australian Ebay is rubbish) and a small network of dealers with whom I deal direct, but before you go making room in those shelves, you should know that prices for decent cards have skyrocketed of late. Take the first card in my post for example, a photo from the same studio depicting three artillerymen with holstered C96 semi-automatic pistols went for around $240 on Ebay last week. I suspect it was the presence of the C96s that pushed the price up, but we're not talking flamethrower troops' sleeve insignia here, pictures of C96s are still quite common. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Brett

[IrishGunner]

Tony, you're a better man than me if you can find anything decent in Melbourne by way of postcards. My main sources are Ebay Germany (Australian Ebay is rubbish) and a small network of dealers with whom I deal direct, but before you go making room in those shelves, you should know that prices for decent cards have skyrocketed of late. Take the first card in my post for example, a photo from the same studio depicting three artillerymen with holstered C96 semi-automatic pistols went for around $240 on Ebay last week. I suspect it was the presence of the C96s that pushed the price up, but we're not talking flamethrower troops' sleeve insignia here, pictures of C96s are still quite common. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Brett

I suspect many of the bidders frequent these pages...

[drakegoodman]

Indubitably

[Kornel R.]

Drake , I don't even know what to say .... fansupertastic !!!! Absolutely outstanding ! comparing with my photos is like ....a space ship to a bicycle ...

my congratulations .

Kornel

[drakegoodman]

Drake , I don't even know what to say .... fansupertastic !!!! Absolutely outstanding ! comparing with my photos is like ....a space ship to a bicycle ...

my congratulations .

Kornel

Thanks for the compliment mate, but please don't underestimate your photos, they're as every bit as good as my material, the difference being I tweak mine with some digital enhancements. The originals are more often than not faded, smoke stained, coffee cup stamped, torn and drawn on. Sometimes when my "care packages" arrive from the Fatherland, I have to air out my study afterwards on account of the smell of 90-something year old cigarette smoke emanating from the cards.

[Tony]

Tony, you're a better man than me if you can find anything decent in Melbourne by way of postcards. My main sources are Ebay Germany (Australian Ebay is rubbish) and a small network of dealers with whom I deal direct, but before you go making room in those shelves, you should know that prices for decent cards have skyrocketed of late. Take the first card in my post for example, a photo from the same studio depicting three artillerymen with holstered C96 semi-automatic pistols went for around $240 on Ebay last week. I suspect it was the presence of the C96s that pushed the price up, but we're not talking flamethrower troops' sleeve insignia here, pictures of C96s are still quite common. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Brett

Brett, you've just put me off getting back into cards

Tony

[Chris Boonzaier]

I have picked up some nice C96 cards, but never more than 10EUR-15EUR max....

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/60549-mauser-c96/page-2

[IrishGunner]

The Germans really liked the French 75mm field gun as an anti-aircraft FLAK gun because of its recoil mechanism. They converted hundreds, including re-bore to 77mm, and gave them the designation 7,7cm L/35(Franz.)

Another one...

[KIR]

The Germans really liked the French 75mm field gun as an anti-aircraft FLAK gun because of its recoil mechanism. They converted hundreds, including re-bore to 77mm, and gave them the designation 7,7cm L/35(Franz.)

Hi guys,

also the French St. Etienne 1907 MG.

Best regards,

Jens

[IrishGunner]

Not my photos (from the internet), but I found these recently while doing some minor research...

Russian Obukhov 152mm Fortress Gun M77 on a siege carriage, captured by the Germans on the Eastern Front and put into use with Landwehr Fussartillerie units.

They even moved them to the Western Front...  From Britian's Imperial War Museum site...

Incorrectly, identified as "Captured 15 cm (150 mm) Ringkanone 92 German gun near Mametz Wood, 10th August 1916."

Edited August 19, 2015 by IrishGunner
Added photo