[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Bill Murray
Someday I hope to write a little story here about what I have learned about beute vehicles and how they seem to have been allocated or chosen by the different branches of the German Armed Forces. There is a definite pattern and it is sort of interesting.

Bill, in that case read what Paul Hocking has to say about this subject in the thread CMP Umbau-Wagen - freely quoted from his e-mails:

One can basically split German ownership of captured vehicles into two categories. The category I and II titles that I use to describe the two main levels of German activity with captured vehicles are of my own invention. The Germans of course used their own words:
- Beute-Fahrzeuge, "booty" or "loot" vehicle, pretty much my Category I: where the vehicles have been literally picked up of the battlefield, maybe some crosses applied, are immediately reused and very likely discarded again within a short time;
- also Cat II and Umbau-Wagen, "rebuilt" vehicle, my Category II: where captured vehicles are properly incorporated into the German forces, this usually includes a full overhaul and repaint to German colours, the Notek light system added, WH, WL, WM or SS registration added with either the body left as it was, partly modified or fully modified from the scuttle rearwards. Most likely German service and parts books were issued for these vehicles. Category II work needs sufficient quantities to make it worthwhile and plenty of time to accomplish.
The only photos of Category II vehicles that I have are all in the Windscreen Magazine Issue 90, page 56, which shows Canadian C15 GS trucks, some have small body mods and some have major conversions.

Category I was very common especially in North Africa where due to the back and fore nature of the fighting many vehicles changed hands, but I have no known instances so far of Category II occurring in Africa.
The only other instance where quantities were captured is at the end of the 1941 Balkan campaign, Category II work was definitely applied to groups of identical vehicles. I have no idea of quantities of Canadian origin vehicles captured at the end of the Balkan fighting. Obviously it cannot be that many as were they newly issued vehicles about that time.
I am not aware of any other instances where the Germans managed to capture quantities of Canadian vehicles for either Category I or II applications. After all The opportunities were simply not there, you need to be advancing in most instances in order to acquire vehicles, retreating armies naturally capture very little of their opponents equipment.

Since the Windscreen article I not have acquired any more photos showing Category II Canadian vehicles, but Richard Notton has some new Category I vehicles photos, North Africa I believe.

No doubt you have the other photo of re-captured Canadian trucks in North Africa, that is in Windscreen Issue 92, page 61, all appear to be Category I vehicles, although I believe I can see a front Notek lamp on the fourth vehicle from the front. However Notek lamp sets were commonly available for retrospective fitting to any vehicle, therefore this by itself is not an indicator of a Category II vehicle.

Regarding North Africa, the deliberate sending of Cat II softskin vehicles to this area is very unlikely, as far as I can tell captured vehicles were simply issued to any unit as required, and Cat II, being now considered to be "proper" German vehicles, would have been issued via their normal German distribution depot system etc., and if their unit happened to be going to NA then the captured vehicles went there also, however as 95% of the German Army went into Russia in 1941/2, that is where most if not all these vehicles went. This is very much supported by photographic evidence from Russia.

Likewise when the Germans left Tunisia in 1943 it is very unlikely that they managed to ship over to mainland Europe any captured softskin vehicles, after all, they brought back virtually no hardware at all, mostly it was key personnel only, and airlifted back to Europe.