In the heat of battle, the parties can not only suffer losses, but also acquire gains. Captured weapons and military equipment, at first glance, should have greatly facilitated the functioning of the army. But the soldiers of the Third Reich did not always agree with this statement, because they used captured Soviet tanks quite a bit during the hostilities. There were enough reasons for this decision.
German troops, especially at the first stage of the war, managed to capture a lot of captured equipment, including armored vehicles of various types. They were also used in different ways: directly on the battlefield, to collect destroyed equipment or during counter-partisan operations. However, despite the number of acquired trophies, the Wehrmacht was reluctant to use Soviet tanks.
One of the main reasons for such an attitude towards captured armored vehicles on the part of the Germans was problems with its repair and operation. Those tanks that needed to be repaired, in combat conditions, were often subjected only to replacement of faulty parts, without preliminary diagnostics. Therefore, such machines often broke down almost at the exit from the repair shop.
In addition, at the first stage of the war, Soviet tanks, which were manufactured at different factories, needed different components for high-quality repairs. And the Germans often simply did not have such resources.
But even with serviceable trophy equipment, problems arose. First, it could break at the most unexpected moment. So, for example, one of the German officers later recalled how the captured T-34, which was walking along the head of the column, suddenly stopped and never started again. Then, to clear the way for other vehicles, the tank had to be pushed into a ditch.
Interesting fact: sometimes the Germans in such situations joked that the Soviet captured tanks refused to work, "imbued with the national spirit."
After some time, German experts decided to disassemble several captured vehicles and conduct a full analysis. As a result, it turned out that in a number of cases, operational problems arose due to design problems that were laid down at the production stage. And most of the same early T-34s suffered from this "ailment".
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Another important reason for the uncommon use of captured Soviet armored vehicles was the problem of friendly fire, when German tankers fired at their own, who were in the captured cars. Most often, such situations arose in the dark, when the Balkan crosses painted on the T-26 and T-34 - the distinctive signs of the Wehrmacht - became hardly noticeable.
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In an attempt to avoid such cases, the Germans tried to apply crosses and a swastika as brightly and in large numbers as possible. So, for example, even the inner sides of the tank turret cover were painted with white paint with the Reich sign applied over it. This was done, in particular, so that on the way back, turning the weapon back and opening the hatch cover, you can was not only to demonstrate peaceful intentions in relation to their own, but also once again identify themselves.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/080120/53006/