This Deutsche Reichsbahn’s (DRB) Class 52 locomotive nr. 52 3109 is a German wartime steam locomotive. This type of locomotive was built in large numbers and the most produced type of the so-called “Kriegslokomotiven” during the Second World War. Derived from the pre-war Class 50, the Class 52 locs were faster to produce and needed fewer parts and expensive materials. Starting from 1942 to May 1945 more than 6,300 of these Class 52 locomotives were built.
After the war many of these locomotives passed into Russian ownership and were re-designated TE (TЭ). Other known operators of the DRB Class 52 were Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Norway and Turkey.
One side of this locomotive is painted in a camouflage pattern in the museum, the other side is plain black. The locomotive was photographed in Technik Museum Sinsheim Germany.
During WW2 the Kreigslocomotive was black in color to avoid detection