German Beutepanzer Modifications by J.C Von Winterbach Following on my article about German Beutepanzer Markings, I wanted to expand on the Beutepanzers with a look at some of the German modifications made to these tanks. Read about German Beutepanzer Markings here...

There are many ways these Beutepanzers where modified which I will be listing in this article. Some of the modifications ranged from Panzer III/IV Cupolas, Notek Lights, Stowage Bins (fitted to the rear of the turret or the sides of the hull), Antennas and Schürzen. These modifications can add a very unique and historic feel to your Beutepanzers to make them stand-out even more on the table.

Notek Lights All of the Notek lights were designed to be used under black-out restrictions so the indirect lighting/hooded light concept was essential for the front light when the standard/main lights couldn't be used so to avoid being spotted from ground or aerial observers. Right: An example of a front Notek light. See Casey's Beutepanzers here...

The rear Notek light had a lot more functionality, it could used as a normal rear brake light or used to maintain proper vehicle spacing at night under black-out conditions. It worked on the concept of optical convergence at different distances, which is why the rectangular shaped light had two sets of two different sized lights. The distance between vehicles dictated what patterns of the four lights were visible and provided a constant frame of reference to avoid vehicles ramming into each other in the dark. Left: An example of a rear Notek light.

An ideal distance between vehicles meant two lights were visible. If only one was visible, the distance between two vehicles was too great while four visible looks meant the distance was too close.

Examples of Beutepanzer with Notek Lights

Examples of Beutepanzer with Cupolas

Examples of Beutepanzer with Stowage Bins

Examples of Beutepanzer with Antennas

Examples of Beutepanzer with Schürzen

Recommended Site Please visit the following site: http://beute.narod.ru/ for more photos and information on Beutepanzers. And a special thank you goes out to Vasily Diounov for the photos from his site and the permission for their use as illustrations for this painting guide. I sincerely hope the photos and information help those of you with questions about Beutepanzer in German service. ~ J.C Von Winterbach.