Flak weapons

Anti-aircraft protection for Panzer Divisions had been part of German thinking from the earliest days of the war but never to the extent necessary to provide the full protection that they would so desperately need as the war inexorably turned against Germany and the air forces of the Allied nations had free rein in the skies over their heads.

Pre-war and early wartime production shortages delayed the introduction of the 20mm dual purpose weapons into the service of anti-tank battalions to all but a few of the Panzer, Motorised Infantry, Light as well as Infantry Divisions for which the weapon was intended. When available the gun was employed against both aerial and ground targets with 12 guns being allocated to each Flak Company. Steps to improve matters brought Army Flak Battalions into the Panzer Divisions re-equipped for the 1942 summer offensive. By 1943 Flak Battalions equipped with eight 88’s and fifteen 20mm weapons were intended for all Panzer and certain Panzer Grenadier Divisions. At the same time a 20mm weapons company was introduced into Panzer Grenadier Regiments serving both Panzer and Panzer Grenadier Divisions. But when SPW’s similarly armed were distributed throughout the regiment, seven guns each were allocated to individual Panzer Grenadier companies, the need for this weapons company became less pronounced.

As the war progressed the need for protection of the Panzers from the predatory airforces of the Allied nations became more pronounced as Panzer columns were hammered unmercifully often reducing them to blackened hulks and negating the ability of the Panzerwaffe to produce swift concentrations of armour to provide counter-attacks. To this end the German’s turned to Flak mounted on tracked chassis with power driven turrets, the Flakpanzer. Not until mid-1944 did the establishment of a Panzer Division provide a Panzer Regiment with a flak section of eight ‘Wirbelwind’ (Whirlwind) , 20mm x 4 FlaK cannon mounted on a Panzer IV chassis and later the 37mm equipped ‘Ostwind’ (East wind) similarly mounted on the Panzer IV chassis but both equipped with powered revolving turrets to enable them to track and deal with high-speed, low-flying aerial attacks.

From the selection of Flakpanzer and Flak weapons that the Germans used during the war our group is proud to display the 20mm FlaK 38 cannon, this is a genuine wartime, decommissioned weapon and is a great crowd puller at all the events that we attend.

The specifications of this weapon is as follows: 

Weight	450 kg (992 lbs)
Length	4.08 m (13.38 ft)
Barrel Length	1.3 m (4.26 ft)
Width	1.81 m (6 ft)
Height	1.6 m (5.24 ft)
Crew	7
Shell	20 x 138B
Calibre	20 mm (.78 in)
Elevation	-12° - +90°
Traverse	360°
Rate of Fire	280 - 450 RPM (Cyclic) 120 - 180 RPM (Practical)
Muzzle Velocity	900 m/s (2,953 fps)
Effective range	2,200 m (2,406 yds)
Feed system	20 round box magazine

Until the advent of Army flak battalions in 1942, reliance for anti-aircraft protection was placed largely upon anti-aircraft units allotted to the panzer formations by the Luftwaffe; whilst tactically under Army control they remained Luftwaffe property. Luftwaffe units of this type equipped either with the 20mm Flak 38 standard light anti-aircarft gun, or the heavy 88mm gun first produced in 1934 and first used during the Spanish Civil war by the Condor Legion.

Both these guns quickly proved their effectiveness, in the role for which they were intended and in action against ground targets. The 88mm gun in particular produced devastating effects against tanks and fortified positions and was exploited to the maximum by crews firing over open ranges. The '88' evolved as probably the most effective weapon of the war, playing a crucial role in defeating tank attacks and building up a reputation as a deadly killer that lasts until this day! 

Thanks to the Muckleburgh Collection for allowing us to take the above shots using their museum piece which has actually been used in an episode of the TV series 'band of Brothers'.

"We were always wary of American fighters seeking tell-tale signs of radio antenna, so we always put up some speculative anti-aircraft fire to keep them from getting too cheeky! At Aachen, a Party Official ordered us to stop doing this in case it attracted likely retribution and he then told us to move our armoured vehicles to Oberhausen which had already been destroyed. I told him to get lost; we were fine were we where. When the complaints intensified we lined up our vehicles in front of this official's residence and kept our engines running. When the American planes came, we drove off quickly, but not before that house had been destroyed!"
                                                                                    Unteroffizier Karl Drescher, Aufkl Abt 116, Aachen, September 1944