Hi,

I would like to know,what the crew members did in WWII after their AFV get destroyed?
They did nothing till they got a new, or they fighted as infantry till they get a new?
Or maybe,they got a new education for another type of AFV?

I thanks for any informations,Nils.

As many tankers were considered 'skilled' soldiers, they would not have been deployed as infantry unless conditions became dangerous. The tankers were often returned to available AFV to keep the allied advance going forward. New vehicles were constantly brought forward to replace battle damaged/destroyed AFVs.
Ironmike

Nils: May I suggest reading some memoirs of WW2 tankers? The overall picture I get is that experienced men were in huge demand due to their high casualty rate. In most circumstances, equipment was readily available but crews were not.

Thanks Mike and Roy,

I am also interested in the way how the Germans handled it. In the early war years they got new AFV from the factories,I think. But how was it in the end phase? Mostly the factories were bombed out,so they did not produce new vehicles,which replaced the destroyed ones. So,where it was possible,they had to repair all damaged ones? In the case with personell,did also the volunteers like Holland,Belgium,France,Scandinavia... got crews of AFV`s ?

Nils

Nils: duing the final days of the European war, many armored units simply dissolved due to the loss of their equipment (due to enemy action, bogged in terrain, lack of fuel, breakdowns, abandonment, etc.). If the retreat was very fluid, many vehicles could be loss. If it was orderly, or units were able to retreat to a place of relative quiet, some repairs or new equipment could be added if found. Some larger organizations stayed intact (Kurland pocket, Norway, etc.) and were able to surrender. Others were literally obliterated (SS Panzer Division Wiking in Berlin).

As for foreign volunteers being trained in AFVs, they tended to be in SS volunteer units. Most of these units had at least some small component of armored vehicles -- usually Panzerjagers (e.g. Marders, Stugs). A few of the larger SS Panzer Divisions had some components of non-German volunteers (Wiking comes to mind).

Hope this helps

But how was it in the end phase? Mostly the factories were bombed out,,so they did not produce new vehicles,which replaced the destroyed ones

This depends on what you call the end phase Nils. As you can see below that in 43 and 44 at the height of the allied bombing, German AFV production was at an all time high.

“Allied bombing failed in one major aspect and that is being the primary instrument in winning a war by destroying the enemy's war making ability.

The Combined Allied Bombing Offensive did hinder and interfere with German production and war aims but by far the biggest dividends came from concentrated attacks on transportation centers (railroad marshaling yards, bridges, and canals) and the sustained bombing of oil facilities. It helps to realize that 60% of the tonnage of bombs dropped on Germany were dropped during the last nine months of the war “

http://www.ww2guide.com/


1943 1944 1945
Panther 1768 3777 439
Jagdpanther - 226 198
Tiger I 649 623
Tiger II 3 377 100
Jagdtiger 61 16

1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
Pz IV (long - - 870 3013 3126 385
StuG IV - - - 30 1006 105
Jagd IV - - - - - 769
Jagd IV/70 - - - - - 767 441
Sturm IV - - - - 66 215 17
Hummel - - - - 368 289 57
Hornisse - - - - 345 133 16
Mobelwagen - - - - - 205 35
Wirbelwind - - - - - 100 5
Ostwind - - - - - 15 28

http://www.battle-fleet.com/pw/his/Tank_Production_Germany_ww2.htm
put bold text here

Danm! the tables didnt come out so well

You would think that most Stuart crews loosing to Tigers in Tunisia didn't exactly just 'get out' of thier damaged vehicles to start with.

On the Allied side, assuming they were unwounded, they just got a new tank. There were usually plenty of spare vehicles held in reserve, especially in NWE. The British Operation Goodwood was launched to capitalize on the fact that there was plenty of armour available while infantry casualties had spiralled out of control.
On the German side, although the tank crews were recognised as specially skilled men, this wasn't always the case, as the vehicles weren't so readily available. For example, tank & SP crews from "Hohenstaufen" & "Frundesberg" fought "dismounted" @ Arnhem. In fact 9th SS Panzerjager Abteilung was virtually wiped out. Of course at the end of the war, the chaos on the German side precluded anything else.

Good day everybody,

yes Darren you are right. It is bizarr,that in 1944,when the allied bombing was heavy strong,that the german war machinery was able to built the highest numbers of AFVs during the war. But in other countries like Austria and Tschechoslovakia were also AFVs built. Were this factories also getting bombed?

Greetings,Nils

MInister Speer effectively dispersed much of german manufacturing to protect the steady stream of finished vehicles/planes/supplies/fuel & lubricants from the Allied bombing (any factory was subjected to Allied bombing -- Ploesti in Rumania, Renault tank works in Paris, etc.) As you noted, some industries (certain AFVs, aircraft engines and aircraft) saw the largest production numbers nearer the end of the European war. It's well established that there were many, many aircraft unused (and many brand new) due to lack of fuel for training new pilots and the high casualty rate among the pilots.