Equipment question

[sapper44]

Guys;
I have a copy of Mountain Troops of the Waffen-SS 1941-1945 by Roland Kaltenegger and had a couple of questions that I think you guys can help with.

On page 126 there is a copy of a Situation Report of the SS Division Nord dated June 30, 1941 that lists the following:

Of the available weapons, the following percentages are Czech;
Side arms 60%
rifles 40%
pistols 75%
light machine guns 95%
heavy machine guns 85%

What I need help clearing up are;
Does side arms mean bayonets? If it does mean bayonets, why have a larger % than rifles?
rifles= VZ.24?
pistols= CZ.27?
LMG= CZ.26
HMG=ZB.53?
I would think that the front line infantry units would have recieved the K98k rifles, so would this mean that the Engineers, Field Police, drivers, and other second line troops have the czech rifles?
When (if ever) would the unit have been outfitted with all German weapons?
Thanks;
Christian

[Heeresbergführer]

Grüß Di' Christian,

Both the 6th and 7th WSS Gebirgsdivisions, as well as all the other WSS Gebirgsdivisions, were all fitted with mostly foreign materiel. If Germany had not taken over Czechoslovakia, most of the Panzer Divisions would have been without tanks...over 2/3 of the Panzer Divisions were composed of Czech tanks for the first few years of the war. The Czechs were pretty advanced arms manufacturers of the period.

What I need help clearing up are;
Does side arms mean bayonets? If it does mean bayonets, why have a larger % than rifles?

Yes, everyone is issued a side arm/bayonet whether or not they are issued a rifle.

rifles= VZ.24?

The Vz.24 and Vz.33 were both Mauser action rifles and were used not only by WSS, but also by army units.

pistols= CZ.27?

Pistole vz. 22, Pistole vz. 24, ČZ vz. 27, ČZ vz. 38

LMG= CZ.26

ZB vz. 26, ZB-30

HMG=ZB.53?

ZB-50, ZB vz. 37

I would think that the front line infantry units would have recieved the K98k rifles, so would this mean that the Engineers, Field Police, drivers, and other second line troops have the czech rifles?

The Czech rifles were Mauser bolt action rifles...not much difference between them and the K98k.

When (if ever) would the unit have been outfitted with all German weapons?

Never happened.

Hope that answers your questions. I would also suggest you get the book "Gebirgsjaeger im Bild: 6. SS Gebirgsdivision Nord 1940-1945" byAlfred Steurich (ISBN: 3-921242-25-8) as a great photo reference.

Mit einem kameradschaftlichen Horrido!

Patrick

[Franz repper]

In the summer 1941 approx 40 to 95 % of the infantry weapons used by different units of SS-"Nord" were of Czech origin. This slowly changed but they were never 100% . The Finnish Suomi KP31 was a popular weapon with some even seeing service on the Western front Like papa said Nord would never be 100% German with its weapon allocation


Just take a look at this 43 dated photo there is still a nice mix of Suomi KP ,Gewehr 33/40 and K98


Gewehr 33/40, caliber 7.92x57mm. Originally a Czech weapon, the Karabina vz. 16/33 or vz.33. After the German take-over of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939, the vz.33 was kept in production for the German Army and in late 1939 and early 1940 some production changes were made to produce the Gew 33/40. Various changes were made to reduce weight and a metal plate was added to the right of the butt for use of Gebirgstruppen, who could then use the carbine as an aid when climbing mountains. Most Gew. 33/40s were issued to Gebirgstruppen, but it was also used by the Fallschirmjäger and glider troops. Like most carbines using a normal-power round, the Gew 33/40 had a powerful recoil and produced a great deal of muzzle flash.

[Enigma]

The G33/40 was based on the Czech vz.33 K98 variation manufactured for their gendarmerie and border troops/customs. The K98 was adopted for the Czech armed forces in 1924 as the vz.24.

Even Norwegian weapons were used in this outfit. Heeresbergführer’s statement that Czechoslovakia had an excellent arms industry is very true. The only complete production lines outside Germany for P38’s, MG34’s and Me262’s were in this country.

Regards