WDuring World War II, losses of major items of equipment were substantial in many battles all throughout the war, with no exception on the Eastern Front. Due to the expense of producing such equipment as replacements, many armies made an effort to recover and re-use enemy equipment that fell into their hands, applicable to both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
WThe Discriminant Book shortened to K-Book (K. Buch), and also known as the indicator group book or identification group book was a secret distribution list in booklet form, which listed trigraphs in random order. The Kenngruppenbuch was introduced in May 1937, and used by the Kriegsmarine during World War II as part of the Naval Enigma message encipherment procedure, to ensure secret and confidential communication between Karl Dönitz, Commander of Submarines (BdU) in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean operating German submarines. The Kenngruppenbuch was used in the generation of the Enigma message Key that was transmitted within the message Indicator. The Kenngruppenbuch was used from 5 October 1941, for the Enigma Model M3, and from 1 February 1942 exclusively for the Enigma M4. It must not be confused with the Kenngruppenheft which was used with the Short Signal Book.
WThe Enigma machine is an encryption device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the German military.
WFish was the UK's GC&CS Bletchley Park codename for any of several German teleprinter stream ciphers used during World War II. Enciphered teleprinter traffic was used between German High Command and Army Group commanders in the field, so its intelligence value (Ultra) was of the highest strategic value to the Allies. This traffic normally passed over landlines, but as German forces extended their geographic reach beyond western Europe, they had to resort to wireless transmission.
WThe Hindenburg light or Hindenburglicht, was a source of lighting used in the trenches of the First World War, named after the Commander-in-Chief of the German army in World War I, Paul von Hindenburg. It was also used in World War II in air raid shelters (Luftschutzkeller) or during power cuts, and mandated black outs as emergency lighting. It was a flat bowl approximately 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) diameter and 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in) deep. It resembles the cover of Mason jar lid (Schraubglasdeckel) and was made from pasteboard. This flat bowl was filled with a wax-like fat (tallow). A short wick (Docht) in the center was lit and burned for some hours. A later model of the Hindenburglicht was a "tin can (Dosenlicht) lamp." Here, a wax-filled tin can have two wicks in a holder. If both wicks are lit, a common, broad flame results.
WThe Lorenz SZ40, SZ42a and SZ42b were German rotor stream cipher machines used by the German Army during World War II. They were developed by C. Lorenz AG in Berlin. The model name SZ was derived from Schlüssel-Zusatz, meaning cipher attachment. The instruments implemented a Vernam stream cipher.
WThe Schlüsselgerät 41, also known as the SG-41 or Hitler mill, was a rotor cipher machine, first produced in 1941 in Nazi Germany, that was designed as a potential successor for the Enigma machine. It saw limited use by the Abwehr towards the end of World War II.
WThe Siemens & Halske T52, also known as the Geheimschreiber, or Schlüsselfernschreibmaschine (SFM), was a World War II German cipher machine and teleprinter produced by the electrical engineering firm Siemens & Halske. The instrument and its traffic were codenamed Sturgeon by British cryptanalysts.
WThe Stahlhelm is a specific type of German military headgear made of steel, which is primarily intended to provide protection against shrapnel and fragments of grenades. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive German military design.