| 4 PanzerKampfwagen 18R 730(f) assigned to Luftwaffe airfield protection on parade. These were FT modifié 31 tanks in French service, upgraded with the 7.5 millimeter (.29 caliber) Reibel machine gun in 1931. After the fall of France, the Wehrmacht captured a total of 1,704 standard and Modifie 31 Renault FT tanks, but only about 500 were serviceable. They were redesignated PanzerKampfwagen 18R 730(f) and painted in feldgrau (“field grey”). The Balkenkreuz (“Iron Cross”) was also painted on the side of the turret or sides and rear of the hull. Some later units in France were painted with dark green stripes. The Luftwaffe were given 100 unmodified PanzerKampfwagen 17R 730(f) armed with Hotchkiss Model 1914 8 millimeter (.33 caliber) machine guns and PanzerKampfwagen 18R 730(f) with the Reibel machine guns in 1941 for airfield defense from paratroopers. FTs given to the Luftwaffe were given WL license plates on the nose or the left side of the hull near the rear. Note the Balkenkreuz national Nazi insignia, Luftwaffe pilot helmets used by the tank commanders, the light on the front hull for night driving, and the tank’s license plates. They deployed their tanks throughout Europe with 45 in Western France, 30 between Northern France and Belgium, and 25 in the Netherlands. Some were unsuitable for active use when they were received and most were scrapped within a short time with only their turrets remaining as stationary emplacements. The remaining tanks that survived in France fought during the Paris uprising in August 1944. Kriegsberichter Johannes Jörgensen (???? – ????) was at Dieppe in August 1942 and covered the German landings in Kos in October 1943. He served both as a photographer and as writer with the Luftwaffe’s Propagandakompanie (“Propaganda Company”) 3. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2209.jpg |
| Image Size | 267.28 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2369 x 1096 |
| Photographer | Johannes Jörgensen |
| Photographer Title | Luftwaffe Propagandakompanie Three |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | France |
| Archive | Bundesarchiv |
| Record Number | 101I-324-2114 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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