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Did the Allies use Captured German Aircraft?

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by DocMike15 (U3167117) on Friday, 12th May 2006

  There is a fair amount of information about the Luftwaffe using captured Allied aircraft, not just for secret missions (such as KG200), but also for analysis. But I'm interested in what German aircraft were used for when they were captured by the allies?
  
  Obviously many were used for testing, and there are several books about the post-war interest in German types, but I'm more interested in wartime use.
  I know that Churchill used a Storch when he visited Normandy after D-Day, and Ju52's were used by BEA post war (which must have been interesting!), but were any used on special ops? The 'Where Eagles Dare' idea, of using captured enemy aircraft to insert spies, etc is one I havn't heard about, and I'm wondering if it took place.
  I normally would ask on one of the specialised aircraft forums this question, but since there are already a fair number of air buffs who use this site, can anyone help?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Dirk Marinus (U1648073) on Friday, 12th May 2006

  DocMike 15,
  
  I had a look at Google and Wikipedia and both do have hits which make reference to the fact that the Allies did make use of captured German aircraft.
  
  Suggest you try Wikipedia first.Type the words Captured German Aircraft into the Search box.
  
  Otherwise try Advanced search of Google.
  
  

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• Message 3

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  Posted by stalteriisok (U3212540) on Friday, 12th May 2006

  DocMike15
  
  hi - not trying to hijack your thread - but i always wonder about captured weapons - after dunkirk what happened to the tens of thousands of british vehicles that were left there
  
  what happened to the vehicles left after the falaise gap
  
  what happened to the hundreds of thousands of rifles left after the kiev pocket etc - were they recycled or dumped ??
  
  ST
  mn

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Dirk Marinus (U1648073) on Friday, 12th May 2006

  stalteriisok,
  
  An army will always make use of captured material either as spare parts or in many cases repair defective vehicles and use them for their own purpose.
  
  Of course many a soldier may organise a few souvenirs to take home ie revolver, bayonet etc.
  
  But believe it or not there are also many cases known of complete vehicles disappearing which later landed up on the black markets in European countries ( Britain included ) and sometimes even as far away as the U.S.

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• Message 5

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  Posted by MB (U177470) on Friday, 12th May 2006

  One of the books about Fresson describes the use of JU52 in the Highlands and Islands after WWII by the newly formed BEA. They were a complete disaster as they were completely unsuitable for civil use. Before the war there had been regular daily (or more often) services to many places in the Highland and Islands. Within a few years most of these routes had been declared uneconomical and closed.
  
  MB

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by DocMike15 (U3167117) on Saturday, 13th May 2006

  Thank for your help so far, but Google hasn't turned up anything so far, and and can't find anything on Wiki either. All the data seems to be on testing.
  The BEA service problems perhaps shouldn't be entirely blamed on the Ju-52's, since they were used succesfully by Lufthansa before the war - perhaps they had servicing problems, plus the fact that British airlines are seldom known for running at a profit!
  Perhaps the Allies seldom used captured aircraft (other than as hacks or for testing) simply because they had large numbers of suitable aircraft in areas where it was more dangerous to be in a german aircraft than a British one. KG200 used Liberators because of their range, and B-17's to drop spies in France in 1944. Since it would have been suicide for most Luftwaffe type to try this by late 1944, the B17 made sense, but not for the british to use a short-ranged german bomber.
  
  As for captured equipment generally, the Germans used huge amount of Russian stuff (and no doubt visa versa), and lots of Russian small-arms ended up in Normandy with former Russian prisoners. The Western Deesert was another area where captured verhicles were used by all sides. The Germans certainly used British and American stuff. For more info, Chris Ellis's book on German combat verhicles in very useful.
  BTW - strange fact - Rolls Royce used a Hienkel for engine testing in the late 1930's, and the Me109 first flew with a RR Kestrel

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by arnaldalmaric (U1756653) on Saturday, 13th May 2006

  hi - not trying to hijack your thread - but i always wonder about captured weapons - after dunkirk what happened to the tens of thousands of british vehicles that were left there
  
  what happened to the vehicles left after the falaise gap
  
  what happened to the hundreds of thousands of rifles left after the kiev pocket etc - were they recycled or dumped ??Β 
  
  Well, most of the personnel involved in the retreat to Dunkirk did the sensible miltary thing and attempted to render the equipment unusable.
  
  Certainly the Germans used captured French and British equipment during Barbarossa. However the ability to get hold of spares meant that the use of such equipment gradually decreased. The problem with small arms was always getting hold of ammunition to fit them, great to have an MG42 but it's a bit of scrap iron without ammo.
  
  As an aside the economy of post war Libya was founded on the scrap metal business from recovering tanks and trucks etc. discarded by all the armies in the region.
  
  Cheers AA.
  
  

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• Message 8

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  Posted by MB (U177470) on Saturday, 13th May 2006

  [QUOTE]
  As an aside the economy of post war Libya was founded on the scrap metal business from recovering tanks and trucks etc. discarded by all the armies in the region.
  [QUOTE]
  
  There is a description of a visit to a workshop in Lybia in a book written by an ex British Army ATO. There were mines piles high one on top of the other by the door. The people working there had mines in vices on the benches whilst they chipped out the explosive. He asked how they removed the fuse. They didn't! he got as far away from the place as quick as possible.
  
  NB

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Backtothedarkplace (U2955180) on Monday, 15th May 2006

  British army trucks were used by the Germans in france after Dunkirk and in the western desert.
  
  Ive also read of american and british units in the advance into germany using Panther tanks, but this was stopped due to the dangers of allied ground attack fighters shooting up their own men.
  
  Although if you belive my dad it wouldnt matter what you were driving the RAF still shot at it.

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by White Camry (U2321601) on Monday, 15th May 2006

  <>
  
  Rommel used one as his moving headquarters. Once he and some officers dodged capture by a British column by parking it on the side of the road and laying down below the windows. To the troops in the column it looked like any abandoned vehicle.
  
  It also had wooden floors. Rommel wrote in his diary how he could see the desert sands through a hole on one of the planks.

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