"Who were the best paid soldiers in WW2?" Topic
15 Posts
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Tango01 | 09 Jan 2012 9:26 p.m. PST |
I guess that any Army in WW2 paid an important salary to their soldiers, but reading about the Italian soldiers pay in 1943 it was
Maresciallo d'Italia : Lit. 6019,77 Generale di Corpo d'Armata designato d'Armata : Lit. 4642,27 Generale di Corpo d'Armata : Lit.4088,04 Generale di Divisione : Lit. 3613,61 Generale di Brigata : Lit. 2935,50 Colonnello : Lit. 2329,02 Tenente Colonnello : Lit. 2151,75 Maggiore : Lit. 1835,21 Capitano : Lit. 1662,50 Tenente : Lit. 1387,00 Sottotenente : Lit. 1106,75 Maresciallo Maggiore : Lit. 560,69 Maresciallo Capo : Lit. 546,25 Maresciallo Ordinario : Lit. 531,81 Sergente Maggiore : Lit. 488,49 Sergente : lit. 360,81 Caporale Maggiore : Lit. 41,99 Caporale : Lit. 35,34 Soldato : Lit. 28,62 So, anybody knows about which was the monthly pay of other Armies and which was the highest? I guess that it was the US Army? Thanks in advance for your guidance. Amicalement Armand |
Kaoschallenged | 09 Jan 2012 9:52 p.m. PST |
And here you go for the US . Found this information a few years ago. Robert Army-Navy Pay Tops Most Civilians' Unmarried Private's Income Equivalent to $3,600 USD Salary Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly, April 24, 1944 By Malvern Hall Tillitt usmm.org/barrons.html US Navy Enlisted Pay Grades link And for the Germans in Africa, "Pay of German Army Personnel in Africa" from Tactical and Technical Trends The following report on German military pay for troops serving in North Africa is from Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 20, March 11, 1943. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.] PAY OF GERMAN ARMY PERSONNEL IN AFRICA For purposes of factual information, a report on the conditions and scales of pay in the German Army personnel in Africa is furnished in the following statement, received from German sources. The pay is made up of four elements: (1) Wehrsold Army pay (2) Frontzulage Active service allowance (3) Afrikazulage Africa allowance (4) Kriegsbesoldung (or) War emoluments Friedensgebuehrnisse Peace emoluments
a. Army Pay Army pay is disbursed on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of every month, officers and other ranks getting their pay from the same pay clerk, and through the same channels. The following table gives the scales: Pay group--rank Pay in lire every 10 days 16 Pvt 96 15 Pfc115 14 Cpl134 13 Lance Sgt153 12 Sgt172 11 1st Sgt191 10 2d Lt230 9 Lt258 8 Capt306 b. Active Service Allowances Active service allowance amounts to 1 RM (1 Reichsmark = 7.7 lire) per day for each soldier irrespective of rank and is paid out with the Army pay. It must be noted that, although the last period of every month varies from 8 to 11 days, the pay is constant, but the active-service allowance does vary between 61 and 85 lire. c. Africa Allowances Africa allowances are reckoned from the date of arrival in Africa, but the money is built up as a credit. When the soldier goes back to Germany on leave or on posting, he takes with him a sort of check which can be cashed at any Pay Office and must be drawn in on payment. The scale is as follows: privates, 2 RM per day; noncommissioned officers, 3 RM; officers, 4 RM. d. War Emoluments and Peace Emoluments The difference between these is slight. The former is drawn by noncommissioned officers and officers who in peacetime are civilians; the latter by regular noncommissioned officers and officers of the standing army. In both cases a certain fixed pay is paid in to the banking account of the individual. A lance corporal received between 70 and 90 RM per month, the amount depending on where he lives. He gets more if his home is in a town, because rents are higher than the country. The soldier in Africa, therefore, amasses quite a large amount of Italian lire. There is not much he can do with them, and little value is attached to them. It is a common thing for high-stake gambling to cause 8,000 lire to change hands without arousing any feeling on either side. For the thriftier, opportunity is given once a month to send money home. It is handed to the Pay Clerk, who gives a stamped receipt to the soldier and remits to the desired banking account in the Fatherland. Comment: By converting these pay and allowance rates into United States money of current exchange values, we find the total monthly sums received by German Army personnel in Africa, in the grades of private to captain inclusive, are approximately equivalent to: Pay group--rank 16 Pvt$ 51.45 15 Pfc 94.78 14 Cpl 97.78 13 Lance Sgt 100.77 12 Sgt 103.76 11 1st Sgt 106.77 10 2d Lt 125.02 9 Lt 129.44 8 Capt 136.92 The above computation is based on 1 Lire = 5.26 cents and 1 Reichsmark = 40.33 cents, rates of exchange published in U.S. Treasury Dept. Circular No. 1, July 1, 1942. Attention is called to the fact that the pay of German Army personnel in Africa, as shown in this report, is lower than that of American troops in this theater. link |
number4 | 09 Jan 2012 11:16 p.m. PST |
US Army pay in WWII link British Army, pre WWII
And RAF PDF link The exchange rate was $6 USD to the British pound
Irish Army, 1940 link The Red Army private receives a total of 600 rubles per year, which is very difficult to access in U.S. dollars, since purchasing power of the ruble to the average Soviet citizen is almost nil. Pay scales range from that of the private to that of a General of the Army, which is 60,000 rubles per year. The equivalent of a private first class receives 1,000 rubles per year; a corporal, 2,000 rubles; a sergeant, 3,000 rubles; a first sergeant, 4,200 rubles. The discrepancy between officer and enlisted pay is great. The first lieutenant receives 12.5 times the pay of a private, or 7,700 rubles per year. link The base pay of Red Army personnel is computed according to the position held, as well as the rank. For instance, a captain's base pay may vary from 8,700 rubles to 9,600 rubles depending upon whether he is an infantry company commander or a mortar company commander. Extra pay is given for long service. |
number4 | 09 Jan 2012 11:24 p.m. PST |
I couldn't find anything on Japanese rates, but one soldier must have become quite wealthy after finally surrendering in 1975 and claiming 29 years back pay! link |
Griefbringer | 10 Jan 2012 4:13 a.m. PST |
Caporale Maggiore : Lit. 41,99 Caporale : Lit. 35,34 Soldato : Lit. 28,62 Salary like this does not really look like a great mechanism for motivating the lower ranks
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starkadder | 10 Jan 2012 5:23 a.m. PST |
The Australians were very envious of the American pay. They even had a phrase for it: "Overpaid, oversexed, over here," |
nazrat | 10 Jan 2012 6:46 a.m. PST |
That was the British that said that, wasn't it? |
Sundance | 10 Jan 2012 7:12 a.m. PST |
As a US Marine, my dad got $35 USD a month. |
ScottWashburn | 10 Jan 2012 7:19 a.m. PST |
I thought a WWII US Army private was paid $50 USD a month. I was interested to learn that in World War I a private's pay was $13 USD a month--exactly what a private was paid during the Civil War! I guess inflation wasn't a problem back then. :) |
thomalley | 10 Jan 2012 9:39 a.m. PST |
Gotta be careful with military pay, at least since the 1960s. I don't know about WWII. You might be reading 'base pay". In the US that's adjusted by housing allowance (if living off base) and food. Combat or hazardous duty pay, flight pay
.. And a lot of guys don't see this as pay. |
Jemima Fawr | 10 Jan 2012 12:15 p.m. PST |
Going by Number4's table above, a Private soldier averaging roughly 4s per day, would have roughly £6.00 GBP per month, roughly equating to $36. USD |
donlowry | 10 Jan 2012 2:27 p.m. PST |
U.S. military pay, when I was in, back in the '60s, also depended on how long you had been in service. It went up every 4 years, in addition to any promotion(s). Thus a sergeant with 20 years of service probably made more than a 2d Lt. with less than 4 years, even though the Lt. might be the sergeant's boss. |
Kaoschallenged | 10 Jan 2012 2:36 p.m. PST |
Comparison of Income After Taxes-- Navy vs Merchant Marine "Navy personnel were exempt from income taxes, while merchant mariners paid income taxes and "Victory" taxes. Every man serving aboard a merchant vessel, with the possible exception of the master and chief engineer, could earn more money ashore in a shipyard or defense plant without taking the chance of being killed by bombs or torpedoes. The following study was done in 1943 by the War Shipping Administration based on actual payrolls in answer to a letter from the American Legion. "Mr. Arren H. Atherton, National Commander of the American Legion, 'Your cooperation in dispelling the misconception in regard to merchant seaman's pay will be greatly appreciated.' Admiral Telfair Knight" usmm.org/salary.html |
number4 | 10 Jan 2012 6:59 p.m. PST |
British Merchant Seamen were only paid while actually at sea – and their pay stopped immediately if the ship was reported sunk. As if being adrift in an open life raft a thousand miles from land wasn't bad enough
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Tacitus | 10 Jan 2012 10:29 p.m. PST |
I think it was someone's dissertation, but I read that the Italian officers lives were in every conceivable way seemingly designed to alienate and demoralize the lower ranks. That pay difference is crazy! |
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