Kugelblitz
Contents
Description
The Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz is a rank IV German Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft (SPAA)
with a battle rating of 7.3 (AB) and 7.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.43.
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
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 | 43 | 8 | 25 | 426 | 572 | 17.04 | 22.88 |
| Realistic | 39 | 8 | 265 | 300 | 10.6 | 12 | |
Armaments
Main armament
| 30 mm MK103/38 (x2) | 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 | 1,200 (100) | 450 | -7°/+80° | ±180° | N/A | 22.02 | 30.47 | __.__ | __.__ | 43.53 | 13.0 | _.__ | _.__ | 10.0 |
| Realistic | 14.88 | 17.05 | __.__ | __.__ | 25.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-I · HEI-T
- M.Gr.: HEI-T · HEI-T · HEI-T · AP-I
- Pz.Gr.: AP-I · AP-I · AP-I · HEI-T
- Pz.Gr. H: HVAP-T · HEI-T · HEI-T
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| Default | 58 | 55 | 47 | 38 | 30 | 24 | |
| M.Gr. | 58 | 55 | 47 | 38 | 30 | 24 | |
| Pz.Gr. | 58 | 55 | 47 | 38 | 30 | 24 | |
| Pz.Gr. H | 95 | 93 | 85 | 60 | 45 | 30 | |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Usage in battles
The Kugelblitz can perform well in a number of roles. It excels as an SPAA, thanks to the potent 30 mm cannons with decent rate of fire that will annihilate just about any aircraft on contact. It can also be used to support teammates on the ground, particularly in protecting against flanking light tanks with the high-penetration HVAP belt and reasonable turret traverse.
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | M.Gr. | Horizontal Drive | |
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | Pz.Gr. | Adjustment of Fire |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Elevation Mechanism | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Pz.Gr. H | Artillery Support | |
The Kugelblitz has a comparatively low gun traverse speed when not upgraded, so the Horizontal Drive and Elevation Mechanism modules are quite important. Another very useful modification is the M.Gr. ammo belt, which almost completely composed of high-explosive shells and helps to increase damage dealt to enemy aircraft. The two Pz.Gr. modules allow the vehicle to better engage enemy ground forces. These belts contain more high-penetration rounds than high-explosive ones, and increase the vehicle's effectiveness against armoured targets. Still, they will not be able to penetrate most tanks frontally at this tier, and are better suited for engaging lightly-armoured vehicles.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High rate of fire for a 30 mm cannon
- Fast turret rotation speed
- Very good at taking out other SPAA or lightly armoured vehicles
- Average movement speed
- Access to many unlockable ammo belts
- HVAP ammo belt can pen 95 mm, improving efficacy against other tanks
Cons:
- Although having thick armour for a SPAA, its still not enough to stop any kind of tank shell at its rank
- Long reload time
- HVAP belt still contains some HE rounds, reducing effectiveness
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
In-game description
A continuation of the line of German AA vehicles based on the Pz.IV tank. It was the first AA vehicle to have a fully enclosed turret. Only two were ever built, and they may not have been used in combat. Both of the AA vehicles that were released ended up in the anti-air artillery training battalion stationed at the Ordurf training ground in Thuringia.
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.
- [Devblog] Flakpanzerkampfwagen IV "Kugelblitz"
| 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 |
