The Deutsche Reichsbahn's Class 52 was a German steam locomotive built in large numbers during the Second World War. It was the most produced type of the so-called Kriegslokomotiven or Kriegsloks (war locomotives). The Class 52 was a wartime development of the pre-war DRG Class 50, using fewer parts and less expensive materials to speed production. They were designed by Wagner who was Chief Engineer of the Central Design Office at the Locomotive Standards Bureau of the DRG. About a dozen classes of locomotive were referred to as Kriegslokomotiven, however the three main classes were the Class 52, 50 and 42.
Many locomotives passed into Russian ownership after the Second World War. In the USSR. the class were designated TE (TЭ). Other operators of the type included Poland (as class Ty2) and Romania, Bulgaria, Norway and Turkey. In Yugoslavia locomotives of the type were classified JŽ 33.
