THE STEAM ENGINES OF WWII IN EUROPE
BY the late 1930s a second war in Europe was becoming inevitable. Preparations for war in both Germany and Great Britain included the construction of new steam engines. Initially both countries adapted an existing heavy freight design for their chief war engines.
In Germany this was the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (later Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR) Class 50 2-10-0 and in GB the LMS Stanier ‘8F’ 2-8-0. Large numbers of them were soon being produced for military use in Europe. Both classes were to evolve into ‘Austerity’ engines, built from 1942 using the minimum amount of materials and labour.
The war did not, however, progress as expected by either side. Following the evacuation from Dunkirk of the British Expeditionary Force in May/June 1940, the Stanier ‘8Fs’ were not needed in Europe and were instead lent to the ‘Big Four’ railway companies, numbered in the LMS ‘8F’ sequence.
Although no ‘8Fs’ went straight from Britain to Europe, several War Department (WD) engines did and were captured and used by the Nazis. These included eight LMS ‘Jinty’ tanks, five of which were returned to the LMS/BR after the war. The ‘8Fs’ were later reclaimed by the WD, renumbered and sent to the Middle East. In all 258 ‘8Fs’ were used by the WD during the war.
The German Austerities
Following its
