Flakpanzer 38
Contents
Description
The Flakpanzer 38(t) auf Selbstfahrlafette 38(t) Ausführung M (Sd.Kfz. Index: Sd.Kfz. 140) is a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun used in World War II. It is occasionally referred to incorrectly as the Gepard, which may cause confusion with the unrelated Flakpanzer Gepard. The Flakpanzer 38(t) was based on the chassis of the KD LT vz. 38 light tank, a pre-war Czech design that was produced for the Wehrmacht as the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) light tank after the German occupation until it was no longer effective on the battlefield. From November 1943 to February 1944, a total of 141 units were built, including the single prototype, and entered service in 1944.
Introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns", the Flakpanzer 38(t) provides an extremely diverse playing experience. Players can use armour-piercing ammunition belts to engage enemy ground targets or high-explosive ammunition belts to engage enemy aircraft. Given that most tanks in its rank are lightly armoured, players will have no trouble engaging most enemies they encounter. However, the gunner is completely exposed without protection, so it is critical to be constantly on the move and remain in cover.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 10 mm (65°) Front glacis 20 mm (14°) Lower glacis |
15 mm | 10-15 mm (40°) | 8 mm |
| Gun shield | 7 mm Turret front 7 mm Gun mantlet |
The Flakpanzer 38(t) has thin but highly sloped front armour that resists small-calibre machine gun bullets and even 12.7 mm machine gun rounds at a distance. The gun shield will shrug off smaller rifle-calibre rounds but not 12.7 mm bullets and larger. Like its predecessor, the Flakpanzer I, it maintains a limited crew of two and is also easily destroyed by overpressure. Common threats include HE shells, artillery strikes, air-dropped bombs, HEAT projectiles, strafing planes and HMG fire.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 46 | 7 | 9.8 | 213 | 286 | 21.73 | 29.18 |
| Realistic | 43 | 7 | 133 | 150 | 13.57 | 15.31 | |
Top speed and power-to-weight ratio are much higher than the Flakpanzer I, topping out at 46 km/h forward, -6 km/h backwards, and a power-to-weight ratio in realistic and simulator battles of 15.31 hp/ton.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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For this vehicle, two very important modifications to keep an eye out for are the Sprgr. and PzGr.40 ammo belts. The first provides a boost to the vehicle's anti-air capabilities, being completely filled with high explosive shells, and the second turns the Flakpanzer into a deadly anti-tank machine with high-penetration HVAP rounds.
Armaments
Main armament
The gun has sufficient HE shells for planes, 37 mm penetration AP-I, and 48 mm penetration HVAP. The belt size is identical. Reload between clips is long. The gun can penetrate most enemies the tank encounters, barring Valentines, Matildas, B1 bis, B1 ter, and T-28E.
| 20 mm FlaK38 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 1,080 (20) | 480 | -10°/+90° | ±180° | N/A | 30.82 | 42.66 | 51.79 | 57.28 | 60.94 | 3.90 | 3.45 | 3.18 | 3.00 |
| Realistic | 20.83 | 24.50 | 29.75 | 32.90 | 35.00 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: API-T · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T*
- Sprgr.: HEFI-T*
- PzGr.: API-T
- PzGr.40: HVAP-T · API-T
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEFI-T* | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| API-T | 37 | 34 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 6 | |
| HVAP-T | 48 | 45 | 31 | 20 | 13 | 8 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEFI-T* | 900 | 0.12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| API-T | 800 | 0.15 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
| HVAP-T | 1,050 | 0.1 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | 1 (+53) | Yes |
Usage in battles
At the start of the match, you can camp around the spawn point and wait until the enemy planes show up, this is the safest way, but it's passive and not efficient in terms of getting kills. So if you are brave / skilled enough, use it as a light tank as it has 42 km/h top speed. The 20 mm cannon is very deadly against any light and fast vehicles, it can finish up their crew easily when penetrated. However you must be very careful as the Flakpanzer 38 only has 2 crew, and losing one means death. Unfortunately, the gunner is the most exposed and unprotected crew and is extremely vulnerable to everything: artillery, MG fire, planes, small bombs, rockets, etc. Do whatever you can to stay alive, as this vehicle has more potential as the match progresses. Pick on those soft targets and avoid heavily armoured ones to ensure effective penetration and killing.
When shooting planes, avoid opening fire when the plane is far away from you. This will only waste your ammo and give your position away to both the plane and the tanks. Instead you have two tactics: one is to passively wait until the plane flies close and is unaware of you, then suddenly open fire. The other tactic is a bit risky. First find a good cover so you are not likely to get shot from tanks. Then regardless of the plane's distance from you, fire some random shells at it to get their attention. Once they know you're there, a lot of pilots will turn towards you and try to kill you, knowing that SPAAs usually have weak protection. When they're flying head-on towards you, use the fast fire rate and spray a stream of shells in their path and wait for them to crash into your shells, then quickly move away to dodge the bullets. Tip: aim slightly above the plane to compensate for the shell drop, as the distance between you and the plane is usually greater than you think.
In the late stages of the match you should be even more careful, as at this time most people will take out their SPAAs, and those fast-firing guns are your biggest threat. Try and be more aware of the surrounding situations, avoid running into anyone. Use the mobility to flank and the small profile to ambush.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great firepower: wonderful combination of rapid firerate, adequate velocity, 20 round mag and various belt types: The Sprgr. belt is destructive against low-tier aircraft, while the belt containing the PzGr.40 is very deadly against armoured targets (e.g. M3A3, T-60 or even the B1 bis)
- Fast turret traverse allows it to keep up with close/fast targets easily, while the great gun elevation and depression means it can fight in any terrain
- Small frontal profile allows it to hide behind cover or bushes easily, which mitigates against its lack of protection
- Decent top speed of 42 km/h means it can get to certain positions alongside light tanks, which is great for ambushing
- Thin turret armour can make some shells over-penetrate, dealing little damage
- Hull armour can resist 12.7 mm bullets, commonly used on US tanks like M13 MGMC and M8 Greyhound
Cons:
- Extremely poor survivability: only two crew protected by thin armour makes it easily to get destroyed by overpressure
- Rather long reload time requires strict trigger control
- The PzGr.40 belt is mixed with low-penetrating belts, reducing its anti-tank capability as half of the shells sometimes won't be able to penetrate
- Slow reverse speed of only -6 km/h can get the player killed due to not being able to retreat from danger quickly
History
| Archive of the in-game description | |
|---|---|
|
The Flakpanzer 38(t) self-propelled anti-air mount was a temporary transitional version that was used until the development of a real anti-air tank on the chassis of the Panzer IV was completed. The vehicle was produced from November 1943 to February 1944. The first 87 Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles appeared at the front in January 1944 and made up Flugabwehrzüge (AA platoons) in tank divisions and tank grenadier divisions (sometimes in Waffen-SS divisions, such as the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" in Normandy 1944). In 1944-1945, Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles were used actively on the Italian and Western Fronts, where they were effective against low-flying aircraft. A total of 141 Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles were released. | |
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Germany anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Wheeled | Sd.Kfz.222 |
| Half-track | Sd.Kfz.251/21 · Sd.Kfz. 6/2 |
| Flakpanzer IV | Wirbelwind · Ostwind · Ostwind II · Kugelblitz · Zerstörer 45 |
| Other Flakpanzers | Flakpanzer I · Flakpanzer 38 · Flakpanzer 341 |
| Wiesel AWC | Wiesel 1A4 · Ozelot |
| Radar SPAAG | Gepard · Gepard 1A2 |
| Missile SPAA | FlaRakPz 1 · FlaRakRad |
