Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer I

Sd.Kfz.222

Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer I

Sd.Kfz.222

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	1.7	1.7

Class:

SPAA

Research:2 000

Purchase:2 100

Description

The Flakpanzer 38, 2 cm, Pz.Fgst.38 (t) Sf. is a rank I German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns".

General info

Survivability and armour

The Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard has thin but highly sloped front armour that resists 7-8 mm machine guns and even 12.7 mm machine guns. The gun shield will shrug off rifle-calibres but not 12.7 mms. Like its predecessor, the Flakpanzer I, it maintains a crew of two and is also hull-breakable.

Mobility

Top speed and power-to-weight ratio are much higher than the Flakpanzer I, topping out at 45 kph forward, 6 kph backward, and a power-to-weight ratio in realistic and simulator battles 15.31 hp/ton, higher in arcade battles.

Armaments

Main armament

The gun is the same as its predecessor, the FlaK 38. It has sufficient HE shells for planes, 46 mm penetration AP-I, and 64 mm penetration APCR. The belt size is identical. Reload between clips is long. The gun can pen most things the tank encounters, barring Valentines, Matildas, B1 bis, B1 ter, and T-28E.

Usage in battles

The Flakpanzer 38 is an even better flanker and support unit than the Flakpanzer I, and should be used in the same way. Flank around, engage tanks mainly, shoot planes when they aren't aware of you.

Just like the Flakpanzer I, avoid heavily armoured opposition, especially frontally. You can barely pen B1 bis, M3 Lee variations, and T-28Es on the side, but cannot pen Valentines, Matildas, or B1 ters from much of any side.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great penetrating cannon with PzGr 40 belt
• Fast fire rate
• Fast turret traverse
• Great mobility
• Hull shrugs off up to 12.7 mm machine gun rounds

Cons:

• Low-survivability due to two crew and hull-breakability
• Long reload between clips is very punishing if you spray too much.
• Open-topped and vulnerable to planes using any weapon
• Best penetrating PzGr 40 belt is mixed with standard PzGr ammunition

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
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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