Repair of Captured German Pz.III Tank at Moscow Repair Base, April 1942

November 26, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet workers repairing a captured German Pz.Kpfw. III tank in Moscow, April 1942.

This wartime photograph shows Soviet workers inspecting and repairing a captured German medium tank Panzerkampfwagen III at Repair Base No. 82, located in the courtyard of the “Pod’yomnik” factory in Moscow in April 1942.

The tank had been seized by Red Army forces on the front line and transported to the Soviet rear for restoration. After overhaul, such vehicles were not merely studied — they were actively pressed back into service, forming part of special Soviet tank units equipped entirely with captured German armor.

The use of trophy tanks became a practical solution in the critical phase of the war, when the Red Army was rebuilding its armored forces after the catastrophic losses of 1941. German vehicles that could be repaired were repainted, re-equipped, and adapted to Soviet standards, often with modified radios, optics, and markings.

This image captures the industrial side of wartime Moscow — not parades or speeches, but oil, cold metal, and dirty hands working to turn the enemy’s steel against him. It stands as a vivid example of how the Soviet war machine recycled battlefield wreckage into new weapons of war.

Technical Photo Data:

📍 Location: Moscow, USSR
📅 Date: April 1942
📝 Subject: Repair of captured German Pz.Kpfw. III tank at Repair Base No. 82
📷 Photographer: Unknown

• Repair of enemy tanks
  
• Soviet tank workshops
• Captured Wehrmacht armor
• Tank maintenance WWII
• Red Army trophy units