Recovery Inspection

When a tank is knocked out on the battlefield, odds are it's not a complete loss. A little welding here, some swapped parts there, and it will be as good as new! Foreign Tank Evacuation Instructions (1944) contains a handy table for figuring out if a tank you just came across is worth evacuating or not.

"VIII. Defect Identification

1. Defect identification involves an external inspection to determine the technical condition of a tank and the possibility of using it further.
2. Tanks are separated into three groups:
1. Worthy: may be used after a technical inspection or field repairs.
2. Requiring factory repairs.
3. Unworthy: burnt out or completely broken.
3. When determining the condition of a tank, inspect the main parts of the hull: the side, front, rear armour plates, as well as the bottom of the hull.
4. Main characteristics of tank technical conditions:

Worthy	Requiring repairs	Unworthy
In working order, may be used in combat without repairs.	Tanks with a number of penetrations no more than in appendix 16.	Burnt out.
With damage to individual armour elements.	The hull of the tank passes technical requirements for repair. The suspension, armament, and internal mechanisms may be damaged or absent.	Main armour plates have breaches as a result of high caliber shells or bombs.
With penetrations that can be sealed with armoured plugs.	Tanks missing turrets, removable parts of the hull (crew hatches, engine grille), as well as tanks where those parts are damaged.	Heavily damaged armour (chunks are torn out) as a result of mines.
		Clustered penetrations on main armour plates, greater in number than the limit in appendix 16.
		Deep dents, inhibiting normal operation of mechanisms.
		Damage to an area 1/3rd the size of the armour plate.
		Cracks 2/3rds of the way through the armour plate, and cracks reaching plate edges.
		Bent or burst armour plates that inhibit the operation of mechanisms.

After completing inspection, every vehicle must have a document composed (appendix 17), containing:

• The type and hull number of the tank.
• Completeness of parts.
• Technical condition of the tank (list of damages, if the tank can be repaired, list of salvageable components if it cannot, worthy/needs repairs/unworthy)."

Here is appendix 16, "Maximum acceptable number of breaches for reparable tanks".

Medium Tank

Part name	Penetrations with diameter up to 55 mm, with 450 mm between breaches	Penetrations with diameter 55-105 mm, with 500 mm between breaches
Hull side	5	3
Lower rear plate	3	2
Upper front plate	2	2
Lower front plate	3	3
Turret side	3	2
Turret rear	2	One penetration up to 75 mm is acceptable
Turret front	2	0

Additionally, up to three penetrations up to 30 mm in diameter are acceptable.

Heavy Tank

Part name	Penetrations with diameter up to 55 mm, with 450 mm between penetrations	Penetrations with diameter 55-105 mm, with 500 mm between penetrations
Hull side	6	4
Lower rear plate	4	2
Upper front plate	2	0
Lower front plate	3	1
Turret side	4	1
Turret rear	2	1
Turret front	2	1

Additionally, up to five penetrations up to 30 mm in diameter are acceptable.