"early german army post ww2 equipment 1950ish? " Topic

guys working on a scenario involving german army post ww2 1950ish joining nato
a book I have has a picture german troops in Wehrmacht ww2 helmets ,uniforms and weapons (mg42 visible)
next pic shows them in US uniforms m1 garands ,bar assault rifles and bazooka
what I want to know is what heavy equipment did they have?
Britain gifted them 100 universal carriers
wiki m8 greyhound page says the germans used them also but can find no other online reference is wiki right?
any other equipment you know of please add

They didn't have a formed army until the very late 1950s, so M41s and M47s at first, then. Shortly thereafter, they received the M48s. IIRC, they also got some M7 Priests for artillery support, until more modern vehicles became available.

They used jeeps and M8s for patrols, just like some of our troops did.

There was also just one unit of turretless M18s, which were converted APCs, in the new Bundeswehr. The new designation was the M39 APC.

The Bundeswehr was established in 1955, though prior to about 1958 the Western allies were basically in charge of protecting West German territory from a military standpoint, since the first group of conscripts wasn't drafted until April of 1947.

There were some Bundesgrenschutz prior to that, using the jeeps, M8s, etc. for border patrols though, but they were very lightly armed, and small in numbers.

link

They got the M48 tank in 1960, and then their own Leopard tanks in 1965.

The first domestically produced vehicles were the Spz Kurz scout vehicles, and the HS-30 APCs. Can't recall their exact intro dates. In the early 1960s, they also got the M113 APCs.

For the SP artillery, I found this info, but again, don't know exact dates:

"In the 1950s and 1960s the German Artillery was dominated by Panzerhaubitzen of U.S. origin: The M7B2, M52, M44, M55 and finally, from 1964, by the M109".

A little research into the above models will probably provide the info you need.

What he said – in 1950 there simply was no German army – a small border guard force was formed in the early '50s, but no army as such until '55.

Yes, M47s, M41s, M16 MGMCs very early, then M42 dusters, M3 halftracks, M7B2 SPH. The M39 cargo carriers were used to familiarize the first batch of Pzgren troops. Training IIRC actually started in 1954, to have some troops ready for re-establishment in 1955.

Damon.

From what I've read, they used their own WWII veterans to provide the training, and much of their leadership.

They did use US TO&Es initially, from battalion level on down, e.g. tank companies have 17 vehicles – 2 in HQ and 3 platoons of 5 tanks (SS Panzer units, and some others used these too, back in WWII); for the Mech. companies, 1 x HQ vehicle, and 3 x platoons of 5 vehicles, for a total of 16, etc..

Supposedly, they have more heavy, and more permanent assets at brigade level and above.

For "German Army", the West Germans are only half the answer.

The East Germans had a Soviet-decreed People's Police as of 1948, the military aspects of which became the "Garrisoned People's Police" in 1952 under the Ministry of Interior. The "Garrisoned People's Police" actually had a Naval and Air element as well. The Garrisoned People's Police wore essentially Soviet uniform.

In 1956, the National People's Army (Nationale Volksarmee, NVA) was founded, and established. The soldiers wore what initially looked very much like Wehrmacht uniforms, to distinguish them from the Soviets.

I didn't find any details on early equipment for the Garrisoned People's Police or NVA, but we can be pretty sure it was Soviet equipment! The German Tank Museum in Munster has a BTR-152 and a T-34/85 of the NVA on display.

The following site lists the panzer, panzergrenadier, artillery and recce battalions of the Bundeswehr from the earliest days to the present. In some cases, the dates of equipment changes are included. Unfortunately, not for all battalions.

link

Avalanche Press did a short article on the early East German army. avalanchepress.com/Vopos.php