[Abbott Shaull]

Originally Posted by Raellus

In WWII, the Germans captured litterally thousands of weapons and vehicles during the encirclement battles which characterized the opening months of Barbarrossa. A lot of it was completely undamaged. They used many of those captured weapons and vehicles, mounting, for example, captured 76mm DP guns on tracked vehicle chasis and using them as SP AT guns. They captured so many Mosin Nagant rifles and PPsH submachine guns that they each received official Wermacht designations when issued to Axis units. They did the same with captured 203mm howitzers and other Soviet artillery. And, of course, captured T-34s were repainted and used by some Panzer units.

So, I can see large numbers of captured Soviet/WTO gear being used by NATO forces. I haven't, however, thought about those weapons being shipped back to CONUS for use there. It seems like they'd be better put to use in the ETO. Former East German armorers and mechanics and such would be perfect for refurbishing damaged PACT gear and getting it back into circulation with the various NATO armies. But, I suppose that so much PACT gear would be captured in the opening drive towards Soviet soil that quite a few could be spared for shipment back to the States before the nukes started flying. So, what you've postulated, Wed, is completely plausible.

Here in the Tucson area, I get to see military gear routinely being shipped north and south on the I-10 Highway, mostly on flatbed trucks. It's mostly U.S. gear nowadays (lots of Humvees and MRAPs and the army's new 105mm gun) but I've seen a BTR-2, an MTLB, and a M1973 SG gun on flatbeds too. They were all heading south so I assume they were being taken to Fort Huachuca.

Yes, I see a large share of the loot at least being used to keep the former East German units equipped. With that said, I do see a trickle of vehicle leaving Europe for the purpose of resale and to help offset some of the vehicle that take from the US and Canada to help equip units at the various fronts.