Flakpanzer 341
Contents
Description
The 3,7 cm Flakzwilling auf Panther Fahrgestell, Flakpanzer 341, also known as Flakpanzer V Coelian, is a rank IV German SPAA with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB) and 6.3 (RB/SB). This vehicle was originally introduced as a main tree vehicle, however, as of Update 1.91 "Night Vision" it was shifted to become a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Flakpanzer 341 is in practice an anti-aircraft turret put on top of a Panther G chassis. The frontal glacis can deflect some hasty shots, but most enemies will aim at the turret, which is poorly armoured with 60 mm angled at 40 degrees to give about 75 mm of effective armour. As with the other Panthers, side armour is practically nonexistent, a flat 50 mm, while the rear armour is 40 mm angled at 25 degrees for 45 mm effective armour. The rest of the turret, sides and rear, is armoured with a flat 40 mm of armour.
One interesting thing is that even though the entire tank is filled to the brim with ammunition, it is not eliminated from it exploding too often, but rather from the quite usual "Crew knocked out" factor. The tank has the same crew as a standard Panther, a driver, gunner, commander, loader and radio operator. The turret houses the gunner, commander and loader while the driver and radio operator both sit in the front hull section.
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 | 50 | 4 | 44.8 | 852 | 1,145 | 19.02 | 25.56 |
| Realistic | 46 | 4 | 531 | 600 | 11.85 | 13.39 | |
As the tank is built on a Panther G chassis, it retains most of the mobility. As with the Panther G, the engine is a downgrade from the Panther A and Panther D, with 600hp rather than 700hp. This means that it has somewhat sluggish acceleration, but better top speed than other anti-aircraft vehicles due to its torsion bar suspension. A negative point is the extremely poor reverse speed: only -3 km/h (AB & RB).
Armaments
Main armament
The Flakpanzer 341 is armed with 2 37mm FlaK 44 cannons side by side in the turret. These guns have enough damage potential to down a single-engine aircraft with a single M.Gr. 18 shot, with 2 or 3 needed to down larger aircraft. The guns have a fire rate of 250 shots per minute each, which gives a shot per second value of about 4 per gun. This should be enough to shoot down the planes that usually populate the air in battles in 6.7 like A2Ds, Su6s and the like. Furthermore, the turret traverse speed, clocking in on 49,7 deg/sec when spaded, is incredible for its BR, and the fastest of the non-radar SPAA.
Usage in battles
The Flakpanzer 341 should be used as a vehicle of its class. It has the armament and fire rate to take out aircraft but lacks the penetration rates to effectively combat heavier tanks. Remember that the lead on the Flakpanzer 341 is less than on the Bofors due to its higher velocity (914m/s vs 874m/s) while having better damage. The Flakpanzer 341 can also go hunt light tanks, which rarely have the armour to stand up against the 49 mm penetration, but make sure that the Flakpanzer 341's firepower destroy them before they get a chance to shoot the Flakpanzer 341. Here is a list of some of the vehicles the Flakpanzer 341 can take on:
- AMX-13 series: Shoot at the side armour. If that is not present, shoot their tracks to bits and then their barrel. For the SS.11 version, just fire the 37 mm autocannons directly at the front missile rack.
- M56 and M50 Ontos: Anywhere, preferably with AP to maximise damage as the Flakpanzer 341's 37 mm has explosive filler.
- T92: Shoot it until it stops, then shoot the mini turrets.
- M42 Duster: Anywhere. Preferably the tracks so that it stops, then the turret crew.
- BMP-1: Turret or side armour, as the autocannon won't get through the front.
- SU-100P: Due to the thin armour, shooting anywhere should cause sufficient damage.
- Fv4005: Just fire at its turrets with as many armour-piercing shells as possible, and the problem should sort itself out.
- R3 T106 FA, Fiat 6614 and R3 T20 FA-HS: Shooting these vehicles anywhere will be sufficient, as long as they are hit before they get a shot off (except the T20 FA-HS, as its 20 mm armament)
But remember, aircraft will still be the Flakpanzer 341's primary targets as an SPAA.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good armour for an anti-aircraft vehicle
- Incredible turret traverse speed to track down fast-flying aircraft
- 3.7 cm guns are devastating to enemy aircraft
- Has smoke grenades
Cons:
- Slow reverse speed
- Very high repair cost at Arcade Battle
- Low penetration power on AP shell
- Smoke grenades are single shot and uses a while to hit the ground
History
The 3,7 cm Flakzwilling auf Panther Fahrgestell, Flakpanzer 341, also known as the Flakpanzer V Coelian, was a concept for a Flakpanzer first proposed in early 1944. Reacting to the increased threat posed by fighter-bombers and low altitude attackers, a proposal was made for a Flakpanzer based on the hull of a Panzer V Panther. This would have a fully enclosed turret to protect the crews from enemy fire, unlike the turrets of vehicles that were already in use such as the Flakpanzer 38 or the Flakpanzer IV Möbelwagen. In response to this tender, Rheinmetall developed the "Coelian", originally envisaging a number of the turret and armament variants such as the 2cm Flak-Vierling 151 armed with four 20 mm MG 151/20 guns. However, the German Army High Command's requirements kept on changing, demanding for ever-heavier armaments and armour, and eventually, two different designs were settled upon in May of 1944, one armed with a twinned 3.7 cm Flakzwilling 44, and one with a newly designed 5.5 cm Flak gun.
However, by the time the design had been finalised, external factors had already more or less decided its fate. The impact of the Allied strategic bombing campaign on the German arms manufacturing industry, the lack of raw materials, and the need for ever-increasing quantities of Panther tanks meant that no Panther hulls could be released for the Coelian project. Work on the design was given a lower priority, and by February of 1945, only a single wooden mock-up model of the 3.7 cm twin-gun tower on the hull of a Panther D had been completed. The war ended before an actual prototype could be constructed.
In-game description
A planned self-propelled anti-air installation based on a Panther tank from which the turret was removed and replaced with a special, newly-designed turret with paired 37mm FlaK 44 guns. The project never existed as a fully-constructed model. The project was cancelled due to Germany's defeat. It had reached the phase of having a tank chassis with a wooden model of the planned turret installed on it.
In December, 1943 a wooden mock-up of the turret was built and installed on the chassis of a remodeled Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.D Panther. Since the Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.G Panther modification was already being produced, the AA vehicle was supposed to be built on the chassis of this modification with the option to install full-metal rollers with internal amortization. The number of serially produced vehicles has not been determined. Whether or not it was ever used in combat conditions is also unknown.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- 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 |
