List of Bulgarian military equipment of World War II

The following is a list of Bulgarian military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was under way by 1939 and ended in 1945. Bulgaria was neutral country until 1 March 1941. Then it allied with Axis Powers until 9 September 1944 and then it aligned with allies for the rest of war.

Knives and bayonets

Small arms

Pistols

9mm Parabellum P-08 (since 1912)^[1]
Walther PP

Automatic pistols and submachine guns

ZK-383 (Czechoslovakia) - standard Bulgarian SMG
MP 34 (Austria)
MP 40
PPSh-41 - since September 1944

Rifles

Grenades and grenade launchers

Bulgarian defensive hand stick grenade
Bulgarian offensive hand stick grenade (Model 24 grenade license-built in Kazanlak)^[2]
Illegally produced grenades

Recoilless rifles

Flamethrowers

Machine guns

Infantry and dual-purpose machine guns

MG 34 (Germany)
MG 08 (Germany)
MG 30 (Austria)

Vehicle and aircraft machine guns

Artillery

Infantry mortars

Heavy mortars & rocket launchers

Field artillery

SIG 33 (Germany)
Krupp 75mm field gun M.1904 (M04/12 modification)
Schneider-Canet 75mm field gun M. 1904
10 cm schwere Kanone 18 (105mm D/56 Krupp "long gun") -36
10 cm K 04 (ex-Turkish) -12 - most likely did not survive to WW2
10 cm K 14 (ex-Romanian or left in Bulgaria by Germans after WWI) -12
10.5 cm hruby kanon vz. 35 (60 captured by Germans from Yugoslavia, or directly Czech Vz.35 from Czech)
Skoda 75 mm Model 15 mountain gun
122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19) - Captured by Germans in Soviet Union
Schneider-Canet 120mm field howitzer M. 1909
Rheinmetall 105mm L/30 gun-howitzers (early development versions of 10.5 cm leFH 18)
10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzers (166 bought in 1943)

Fortress and siege guns

Anti-tank guns

Bulgarian 37mm D/70 AT gun
German 5 cm Pak 38 AT gun

Anti-tank weapons (besides anti-tank guns)

Solothurn S-18/100 - 308^[3]
Panzerschreck (Germany)
Panzerfaust (Germany)

Anti-aircraft weapons

Light anti-aircraft guns

20mm Solothurn ST-5
2cm Flak 30

Heavy anti-aircraft guns

8.8 cm Flak 18

Vehicles

Tankettes

L3/33 - 14^[4]^[5]

Tanks

Vickers Mk E - 8
Renault R35 French light infantry tank - 39
Somua S-35 French cavalry tank - 6
Hotchkiss H35 French light tank - 19
Panzer 35(t) Czechoslovakian light tank - 36^[6]
Panzer 38(t) Czechoslovakian tank - 10^[7]
Panzer I German light tank - 1 sold in 1937
Panzer IV German medium tank - 46[3] or 91[4]
T-34 Soviet Union Medium tank send after 9 September 1944

Self-propelled guns

Tank-based

Semovente 47/32 Italian tank destroyer
Jagdpanzer IV German tank destroyer
Sturmgeschütz III German assault gun - 55 ordered, 25 delivered
Sturmgeschütz IV German assault gun

Other

Armored cars

Leichter Panzerspähwagen German armoured car
SdKfz.232 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen German armoured car

Engineering and command

Trucks

Autocarro blindato Fiat 626 NM Italian truck - 100

Passenger cars

Motorcycles

Tractors & prime movers

Miscellaneous vehicles

Navy ships and war vessels

Gunboat "Dorostor"
3 of 56-ton No. 1 German-built torpedo boats, "Varna", "Rila" and unknown vessel commissioned in July 1941^[8]
6 of 97-ton Drazki-class patrol boats
2 of 77-ton French-built patrol boats, "Belomorets" and "Chernomorets"
2 of 41-ton Minyor-class US-built patrol boats, "Kapitan-leytenant K. Minkov" and "Vzriv" (from 1921)
4 of 31-ton No. 4 Dutch-built torpedo boats (6 captured by Germans)^[9]
10 of 30-ton Yugoslavia-built Granichar-class motor launches on lake Ohrid ^[10]
14 Bulgarian-built MFP-class landing ships^[11]
19 auxiliary vessels, including minesweepers, minelayers, tugs, training ships, barges and ferries
38 F-boats (June 1941)^[12]
List of ships of the Second World War

Also, Bulgaria had a 14 merchant ships, one of which ("Rodina") was sunk near Burgas 19 September 1941^[13]

Aircraft

Bulgarian DAR 10 bomber/reconnaissance aircraft (prototypes only)
Czechoslovakia Avia B-534 fighters - 78^[14]
Czechoslovakia Avia B-135 fighters - 12^[15]
Poland PZL P.24B fighters — 14
Poland PZL.43 light bombers
France Dewoitine D.520 fighter -100
Bulgarian Kaproni Bulgarski KB3/KB4 Chuchuliga II reconnaissance aircraft
Bulgarian Kaproni Bulgarski KB5 Chuchuliga III reconnaissance aircraft
Bulgarian Kaproni Bulgarski KB6 Papagal bomber
Bulgarian Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan army liaison monoplane
German Arado Ar 65 biplane fighter - 12
German Heinkel He-51 fighters - 12
German Messerschmitt Bf 108 communications aircraft
German Dornier Do 17 bombers - 35 (11 Do 17P + 11 Do-17Kb1 + several Do-17 and Do-17M)^[16]
German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter - 19 E-3s and 145 G-2/6/10s
German Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" - 12 Ju 87 R-2 and R-4s and 40 Ju 87 D-5s.[6]
Czechoslovakian Avia B-71 bombers (Czech-built Tupolev SB-2s) - 32
Bloch MB.200 - 12 purchased from Germany in 1939
Aero A.304
Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 attack aircraft - after 9 September 1944
Soviet Tupolev Tu-2 - after 9 September 1944

Radars

Missiles & bombs

Nercter 54^{[citation needed]}

Cartridges and shells

Tuplolev 32 shells-334455 of them

External links

References

^ А. Б. Жук. Энциклопедия стрелкового оружия: револьверы, пистолеты, винтовки, пистолеты-пулемёты, автоматы. М., АСТ — Воениздат, 2002. стр.297
^ Original WWII German model Hand Stick Grenade INERT, 1943
^ Агоп Казазян. Противотанковите пушки в българската войска // "Военноисторически сборник", кн. 2, 2005, с. 52-53
^ История на Българите: Военна история на българите от древността до наши дни. София, Знание, 2007. page 507
^ М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.46
^ М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.146
^ М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.158-159
^ NO1 motor torpedo boats (1939, 1939/1941-1945)
^ NO1 motor torpedo boats (1940/1941, 1943)
^ GRANICHAR river motor launches (1930/1944)
^ MFP type landing self-propelled barges (1941-1944/1944)
^ "World War II Sea War, Vol 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies" by John Smillie, p. 20
^ Some Wrecks of Note Rodina Shipwreck
^ Avia B.534 // Бипланы, трипланы и гидропланы / гл. ред. Джим Винчестер. М., "АСТ", "Астрель", 2006. стр.28-29
^ М. Козырев, В. Козырев. Авиация стран оси во Второй мировой войне. М., ЗАО «Центрполиграф», 2007. стр.386
^ А.И. Харук. Ударная авиация Второй Мировой – штурмовики, бомбардировщики, торпедоносцы. М., «Яуза» - ЭКСМО, 2012. стр.76-79

[1] А. Б. Жук. Энциклопедия стрелкового оружия: револьверы, пистолеты, винтовки, пистолеты-пулемёты, автоматы. М., АСТ — Воениздат, 2002. стр.297

[2] Original WWII German model Hand Stick Grenade INERT, 1943

[3] Агоп Казазян. Противотанковите пушки в българската войска // "Военноисторически сборник", кн. 2, 2005, с. 52-53

[4] История на Българите: Военна история на българите от древността до наши дни. София, Знание, 2007. page 507

[5] М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.46

[6] М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.146

[7] М.Б. Барятинский. Лёгкие танки Второй Мировой. М., «Коллекция» - «Яуза», 2007. стр.158-159

[8] NO1 motor torpedo boats (1939, 1939/1941-1945)

[9] NO1 motor torpedo boats (1940/1941, 1943)

[10] GRANICHAR river motor launches (1930/1944)

[11] MFP type landing self-propelled barges (1941-1944/1944)

[12] "World War II Sea War, Vol 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies" by John Smillie, p. 20

[13] Some Wrecks of Note Rodina Shipwreck

[14] Avia B.534 // Бипланы, трипланы и гидропланы / гл. ред. Джим Винчестер. М., "АСТ", "Астрель", 2006. стр.28-29

[15] М. Козырев, В. Козырев. Авиация стран оси во Второй мировой войне. М., ЗАО «Центрполиграф», 2007. стр.386

[16] А.И. Харук. Ударная авиация Второй Мировой – штурмовики, бомбардировщики, торпедоносцы. М., «Яуза» - ЭКСМО, 2012. стр.76-79

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