Ostwind
Contents
Description
The Flakpanzer IV Ostwind is a rank III German Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft (SPAA) vehicle with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB) and 3.3 (RB/SB).
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
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
Additional armament
Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
Usage in the battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".
Pros:
- Never need to reload
- Very little lead required to hit enemy aircraft
- Reasonable rate of fire for the calibre (37 mm)
- A single hit often cripples or completely destroys an enemy aircraft
- An M18's worst nightmare
- Rather difficult to kill with one shot
- Turret is better armoured than the Wirbelwind
Cons:
- Based on the chassis of a 4.0 tank; here the armour lacking and is slow moving
- A viewing port in the turret allows enemies to kill the gunner with machine gun fire
- Open turret; susceptible to aerial gunfire or bomb blast shrapnel
- Significantly harder to hit and kill an enemy aircraft when compared to the Wirbelwind
- Pz. Gr. belt no longer has 65 mm of penetration; combat ability is debatably worse than the Wirbelwind
History
Amount
A single prototype was built by Ostbau in January-February 1945, but the Ostwind II never entered production.
Name origin
There are several names given to this vehicle, which include Flakpanzerkampfwagen IV 3.7 cm Flak 43, Leichte Flakpanzer mit 3.7 cm Flak 43 auf Panzerkampfwagen IV or, much simpler, Flakpanzer IV/3.7 cm. It is most well-known today under its Ostwind nickname and this is very common in many sources. The origin or even if it was an original German designation is not clear, as none of the sources give a specific explanation of the origin of this name. This article will use the Ostwind name mostly for simplicity but also because of its common use in the literature.
requirements given
- The turret should be fully traversable (360°)
- The new turret should have three or four crew members
- The crew operating the anti-aircraft gun should be well protected and it should be open-topped so as to give the crew a better view of the skies and because of the smoke produced by the guns
- The turret traverse mechanism should be simple
- The main weapon should have a minimum effective range of 2000 m, with enough ammunition to operate efficiently in a combat situation
- The height must be lower than 3 m
- Radio equipment
In-game description
A development of the Wirbelwind project. The goal of the Ostwind project was to increase the unit’s firepower, protection, and effective range. For this purpose, a 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-air gun was installed on it, and its turret’s armor was increased to 25 mm. The first prototype was completed in September, 1944. In the same month, on the 23rd, it was used in combat operations on the Eastern Front. Between 1944 and 1945 Ostbau-Sagan released 43 mounts. They were more effective than their predecessors had been.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read 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.
ETC.
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
- https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=714
