ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 1974 24 October 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 1217) 20 October 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | LEE, Kun Min (李璩珉) (이근민) |
| RANK: | Jr Lt (少尉) |
| AGE: | 28 |
| DUTY: | Battery Repairman (Auto; Tank) |
| UNIT: | 105th Armored Div, 1st Armored Regt (Code No 107), Tank Maintenance Co |
| EDUCATION: | Primary School (6 yrs) |
| OCCUPATION: | Battery Repairman (Auto) |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | UNSONG (陰城) (1060 - 1560) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 5 Oct 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | HAMGYONG NAMDO, PUKCH’ONG-GUN, SOKHU-MYON, OMAE-RI #250 (咸鏡南道北青郡俗原面格梅里二五0番地) |
| HOME ADDRESS: | Same as above |
| INTERROGATOR: | TAKESAKO (FEAF) |
PW of average intelligence and cooperative. Reliability - fair.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Chronology:
2 Jul 50 - Inducted as Jr Lt into Tank Maintenance Co, 1st Armored Regt, 105th Armament Div at P’YONGYANG.
5 Jul - Departed P’YONGYANG for front.
17 Jul - Arrived SEOUL in CH’ORWON. Did battery repair work.
15 Aug - Arrived SUWON.
20 Aug - Arrived CH’ONAN. Remained five days repairing batteries.
2 Sep - Arrived CHOCH’IWON.
30 Sep - Began withdrawal. Had intended to follow tanks to INCH’ON. Heard INCH’ON was occupied, changed course.
5 Oct - Captured at UMSONG by ROK troops.
Breakdown of NK Tanks Due to Mechanical Failure:
Chief cause of breakdown of tanks was the failure of boogie wheel bearings to hold up even during routine operation. Obviously poor servicing had considerable effect but hearsay was that even if servicing was up to par, the bearings would have burned out, because of their inferior quality.
Another poorly constructed section in the tanks was the cooling fan which was made of brittle metal. If a small hard object got within its obit which was not uncommon, it snapped the blades causing the air cooling system to break down.
Functions of Battery Section, Tank Maintenance Co, and Tank Maintenance Bn.
The 12-volt batteries of the tanks (T-34) held up on the average of one month. Most of the batteries required a little cleaning and recharging which was done at Tank Maintenance Co but there were a good number of cases where the lead was corroded and eaten away by the acid. In such cases, such batteries were sent to Tank Maintenance Bn.
Duties of the battery repairman (PW) were limited to the repair (nailing together) of battery boxes, repairing (with some-solution which resembled asphalt) the ebonite plates on the 6 cells.
Other more intricate work was left up to Tank Maintenance Bn.
According to hearsay, the Tank Maintenance Bn assembled new batteries as well as rebuilding parts.
For the Commanding Officer:
WEELDREYER
Executive
