Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

Discussions on the vehicles used by the Axis forces. Hosted by Christian Ankerstjerne
TotenTiger
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Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#1

Post by TotenTiger » 04 Dec 2009, 07:36

Does anyone know of any captured Tiger I tanks that were used in combat by the Soviets? I've seen a few photos of captured Tigers that were sent off for evaluation etc., but what about any being used in combat by the Russians..

Any Tigers captured at all during Kursk? Or were all Tigers lost at Kursk destroyed?

I've seen photos of the following captured German tanks and assault guns; Stug III, Panzer III, Panzer IV, Panthers, Marders but no Tigers. Any info is appreciated! :)

SIS 5
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#2

Post by SIS 5 » 06 Dec 2009, 20:41

Hi Steve,

today I had some time to search for an answer to Your question.
On 17th January 1943 one Tiger of the 1st company sPzAbt 502 near to Leningrad was not so heavy damaged and the German tankers didn´t succeed in blowing up the tank. So this Tiger was captured by Russian troops and later transported to the range in Kubinka near to Moscow, where the Russians tested the stability of its armor and could find out the weak points of this new tank.
Another Tiger was also captured and transported to the exposition of captured technics in the Gorky Park in Moscow. I´ll post two pics of this tank in the Gorky Park from June 1943 (source: Kamufliash Germanskoj techniki" by Maksim Kolomec and Ilya Meshtshanskij).

But I could´t find anything about Tigers being used by the Russians. Sorry.

Regards

Bert
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TotenTiger
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#3

Post by TotenTiger » 07 Dec 2009, 09:34

Thanks Bert.

I find the "horse shoe" on the front of that Tiger to be interesting. I assume that was attached to the tank by its German crew.. I knew there were a few Tigers captured by the Russians, but wondered if any historical evidence exists of Russian combat usage of Tigers, like they did with Panthers. Again thanks for checking!

Steve

frcoplan
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#4

Post by frcoplan » 07 Dec 2009, 13:48

This is out of memory but captured Tigers were not supposed to be used, although it is always possible that some were used if situation demanded such measures. Some Panthers were used but were not very popular with Soviet tank crews due to mobility problems compared with T 34 and gasoline used as fuel. There must be some records about this on net, also soviet tanker memories, check battlefiels.ru it is possible that i saw this there under memories.

SIS 5
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#5

Post by SIS 5 » 09 Dec 2009, 02:03

Hi Steve,

finally I´ve found something interesting for You in the Russian www.

The first unit of the Red Army, which used a captured Tiger, was the 28th Guards Tank Brigade of the 39rd army of the Belorussian Front. 27th December 1943 during the attack of the tigers of the 507th tank batallion (sPzAbt. 507) near to the village Sinyavki one German vehicle was hit and left by the tankers. The Russian tankers of the 28th Guards Tank Brigade succeeded in pulling the vehicle to the Russian lines.

And the commander decided to use the vehicle in combat (in this time the brigade had only 7 T - 34, 5 T - 70 and 1 SU – 122). The crew were six men – commander of the tank Guards Lieutenant Revjakin, the driver-mechanic Guards Seargent Kilevnik, commander of the gun – Guards Seargent Kodikov, the gunner and radio operator – Guards Sergeant Akulov.

In 48 hours the crew could learn to take over and handle the vehicle. The crosses were overpainted, on their place they painted two stars and wrote «Тигр». The first combat was 6th January 1944, when they fought together with one T – 34 and one T – 70 in the village Sinyavki, after digging the vehicles in, holding a fortified position.

Later the 28th Guards Tank Brigade captured another Tiger, 27th July 1944. The brigade had 47 tanks: 32 T – 34,
13 T – 70, 4 SU – 122, 4 SU – 76 and two PzKpfw. VI Tiger.These vehicles took part in the operation “Bagration” to liberate Belorussia. 6th Octber 1944 the tank brigade had 65 T – 34 and 1 PzKpfw. VI Tiger .

Regards

Bert

Sean N
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#6

Post by Sean N » 09 Dec 2009, 16:35

frcoplan wrote:This is out of memory but captured Tigers were not supposed to be used...
I recently read a reference - I think it may have been on this forum somewhere - to a Soviet armed forces directive that said captured Tigers and Panthers could be used until they broke but were then not to be repaired, whereas (for example) Pz IV could be repaired and kept in use.

TotenTiger
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#7

Post by TotenTiger » 12 Dec 2009, 09:51

Thanks Bert! That Tiger captured in December 1943 must have either been an early or mid Tiger I suppose. Do you have a link to the website where you found that information?

The word "Тигр" means "Tiger". Kind of strange they would write "Tiger" on that tank, like any Russian soldier wouldn't already know what it was by looking at it. Something like Siberian Tiger (сибирский Тигр) would have been better I think lol.

Steve
SIS 5 wrote:Hi Steve,

finally I´ve found something interesting for You in the Russian www.

The first unit of the Red Army, which used a captured Tiger, was the 28th Guards Tank Brigade of the 39rd army of the Belorussian Front. 27th December 1943 during the attack of the tigers of the 507th tank batallion (sPzAbt. 507) near to the village Sinyavki one German vehicle was hit and left by the tankers. The Russian tankers of the 28th Guards Tank Brigade succeeded in pulling the vehicle to the Russian lines.

And the commander decided to use the vehicle in combat (in this time the brigade had only 7 T - 34, 5 T - 70 and 1 SU – 122). The crew were six men – commander of the tank Guards Lieutenant Revjakin, the driver-mechanic Guards Seargent Kilevnik, commander of the gun – Guards Seargent Kodikov, the gunner and radio operator – Guards Sergeant Akulov.

In 48 hours the crew could learn to take over and handle the vehicle. The crosses were overpainted, on their place they painted two stars and wrote «Тигр». The first combat was 6th January 1944, when they fought together with one T – 34 and one T – 70 in the village Sinyavki, after digging the vehicles in, holding a fortified position.

Later the 28th Guards Tank Brigade captured another Tiger, 27th July 1944. The brigade had 47 tanks: 32 T – 34,
13 T – 70, 4 SU – 122, 4 SU – 76 and two PzKpfw. VI Tiger.These vehicles took part in the operation “Bagration” to liberate Belorussia. 6th Octber 1944 the tank brigade had 65 T – 34 and 1 PzKpfw. VI Tiger .

Regards

Bert

SIS 5
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#8

Post by SIS 5 » 13 Dec 2009, 11:05


zubdakabuz
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#9

Post by zubdakabuz » 17 Dec 2009, 12:19

frcoplan wrote:This is out of memory but captured Tigers were not supposed to be used, although it is always possible that some were used if situation demanded such measures. Some Panthers were used but were not very popular with Soviet tank crews due to mobility problems compared with T 34 and gasoline used as fuel. There must be some records about this on net, also soviet tanker memories, check battlefiels.ru it is possible that i saw this there under memories.
I've read (on the Achtungpanzer.com website) that German - and Panther in particular - captured tanks were assigned to Russian units as a reward for outstanding performances:

"Since 1943, Soviets captured some number of various variants of Panther, which equipped some of their tank units such as Lieutenant Sotnikov’s Guard Company. This unit used captured Panthers as late as spring of 1945, when they had 3 Ausf As, while operating in Prague (Praga) - district of Warsaw. Soviets held Panthers in high regard and considered captured Panther to be a prize. Captured Panthers were then given to successful crews as a kind of reward. In order to keep them running captured German mechanics were pressed into service and in 1944, Panther’s manual was printed in Russian for distribution among tank crews. Captured vehicles temporarily remained in theiroriginal colors but with markings of their new owners. Later, some were repainted in dark green and were marked withlarge tactical markings and white stars for indentification purposes.

"It is suggested to the Red Army to use such German tanks as StuG III and Pz IV due to their relability and availability of spare parts. The new German Panther and Tiger can be used until they broken down without trying to repair them. They have bad engines, transmission and suspension." - Department of Weaponry of the Red Army, late 1944.

For sure the Panther's final drive system was a headache and the Achille's heel of this tank, and there are proofs that forced/prisoner labor used to build Panthers was prone to sabotage.

Best regards

Zub

Sean N
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#10

Post by Sean N » 18 Dec 2009, 14:45

zubdakabuz wrote:
"It is suggested to the Red Army to use such German tanks as StuG III and Pz IV due to their relability and availability of spare parts. The new German Panther and Tiger can be used until they broken down without trying to repair them. They have bad engines, transmission and suspension." - Department of Weaponry of the Red Army, late 1944.


Best regards

Zub

Hi Zub,

That's the quote I was thinking of above, thanks.

pz.beob.wg.
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#11

Post by pz.beob.wg. » 19 Dec 2009, 10:06

Captured tiger in well condition
and used in 1944
Image
tiger with russian markings in Kubinka poligon
Image

Panthers in Red Army service
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

laoshi
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#12

Post by laoshi » 26 May 2010, 10:03

pz.beob.wg. wrote:Captured tiger in well condition
and used in 1944
Image
U 100% sure on this?
Why? Any sources of information regarding this fact?
Picture shows nothing re your remark...

laoshi
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#13

Post by laoshi » 26 May 2010, 10:06

any links or material to prove your statement saying that that Tiger was in use in 1944?...

zubdakabuz
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Location: Milan, Italy

Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#14

Post by zubdakabuz » 26 May 2010, 15:15

As I wrote in my post (see above), the suggestions about the use of captured Panther and Tiger tanks were issued by the Department of Weaponry of the Red Army in late 1944. One can think that the Department did this because there were actually Panthers and Tigers in service... of course this is an indirect proof, or better a clue.

Regards

Zub

laoshi
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Re: Captured Tiger in Soviet Service

#15

Post by laoshi » 26 May 2010, 20:03

pz.beob.wg. wrote:
tiger with russian markings in Kubinka poligon
Image
This is nice picture and the first one I ever have come across. Thanks.

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