Kugelblitz

Kugelblitz

Zerstörer 45

Wiesel 1A4

Kugelblitz

Zerstörer 45

Wiesel 1A4

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.3	7.0	7.0

Class:

SPAA

Research:71 000

Purchase:210 000

Show in game

Description

The Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz is a rank IV German self-propelled anti-aircraft (SPAA) vehicle 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

Armourfront / side / back

Hull80 / 30 / 20

Turret50 / 30 / 30

Crew5 people

Visibility83 %

The X-Ray view of the Kugelblitz in the hangar, the 5 crew members locations inside the vehicle are visible, giving a visual understanding of the vehicle's survivability.

The Kugelblitz has high armour values compared to most SPAA, but the armour will not protect it against the main calibre guns of tanks at the battle rating. The survivability is quite good, the crew is well spaced and numerous, and the ammunition is unlikely to detonate. The Kugelblitz has excellent protection against strafing runs from enemy aircraft, although some aircraft cannons may penetrate the 10 mm hull armour and cause an engine fire.

Since the ball turret is enclosed and separated from the hull, the Kugelblitz can still operate its cannons after a successful penetration of the hull.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	80 mm	30 mm	20 mm	10 mm
Turret	30 mm Turret housing 20 mm Turret ball	30 mm Turret housing 20 mm Turret ball	30 mm Turret housing 20 mm Turret ball	20 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB43 / 8 km/h

RB and SB39 / 8 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

1 back

Weight25.0 t

Engine power

AB572 hp

RB and SB300 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB22.9 hp/t

RB and SB12.0 hp/t

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

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 519 → 4 528

RB3 348 → 4 308

SB5 066 → 6 519

Total cost of modifications61 700

103 000

Talisman cost1 800

Crew training61 000

Experts210 000

Aces890

Research Aces570 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

140 / 170 / 240 %

178 / 178 / 178 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 160 Suspension Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Brake System Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Filters Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 500 260 Transmission Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260 Engine Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260	Improved Parts Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 160 Improved FPE Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Crew Replenishment Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 500 260	30mm_mk_103_38_HE_ammo_pack Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 160 Horizontal Drive Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 160 30mm_mk_103_38_AP_ammo_pack Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Adjustment of Fire Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Elevation Mechanism Research: 5 100 Cost: 8 500 260 30mm_mk_103_38_APCR_ammo_pack Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260 Artillery Support Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260

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.

Armaments

Main armament

2 x 30 mm MK103/38 cannon

Ammunition1 200 rounds

Belt capacity100 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

13.0 → 10.0 s

Fire rate450 shots/min

Vertical guidance-7° / 80°

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	52.8	73.1	88.8	98.2	104.5	13.00	11.50	10.60	10.00
Realistic						35.7	42.0	51.0	56.4	60.0

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
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEI-T	7	6	4	4	4	4
AP-I	58	55	44	33	25	19
HVAP-T	77	74	61	47	37	29

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEI-T	920	0.33	0.1	0.1	84	79°	80°	81°
AP-I	800	0.5	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
HVAP-T	960	0.36	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Kugelblitz

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
12	6 (+6)	0 (+12)	No

Note:

• Ammunition is modeled as 12 magazines of 100 rounds.

Usage in battles

Overview:

The Kugelblitz is a dedicated AA, however the guns do have decent penetration and the Kugelblitz has some armour and survivability, so targeting enemy ground vehicles is a possibility. However, air targets should still be the main focus of the Kugelblitz. Due to the survivability and firepower, the Kugelblitz is best placed near the frontlines in case it needs to support a teammate against an enemy ground vehicle, but it should not be directly in view of enemy tanks.

Tips:

The Kugelblitz is best used as a second or third spawn, because aircraft will not spawn at the beginning of the match. Do not engage aircraft too early, as you will only expose yourself. Begin firing at no more than 1-1.5 km range for the best effect. Always watch out for multiple aircraft, as one may hit you with bombs or rockets while you are distracted. The fast firing 30 mm guns are extremely potent, and will quickly dispatch most air targets after a few hits, even against heavy fighters and bombers. It is a good idea to learn the weak spots of enemy ground vehicles you will commonly face near the Kugelblitz's BR, as knowing these will allow the Kugelblitz to deal maximum damage.

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
• Is closed-top unlike other open-top SPAAs, protecting it from lots of strafing that could otherwise be fatal
• HVAP round can penetrate 77 mm, improving efficacy against other tanks

Cons:

• Although having thick armour for an SPAA, it's still only a Panzer IV hull and not enough to stop any kind of tank shell at its rank, or even fire from other SPAA vehicles.
• Long reload time
• HVAP belt is 2/3 HE rounds, reducing effectiveness

History

Design

In 1943, the Luftwaffe lost the control of the sky on the Eastern front. This made German armoured divisions become the target of enemy attackers and fighter-bombers. The German Army already had plenty of SPAA vehicles developed as interim solution at its disposal to protect ground forces. But these vehicles suffered from major weaknesses: they were almost all very lightly armoured and open-top, exposing the crew to enemy fire, they had very tall silhouettes as they were improvised vehicles and they relied on a 20 mm calibre that starts being to ineffective at taking down enemy aircraft. The need for an enclosed crew compartment and a superior calibre were core requirements of the design.

Development

The development of the Kugelblitz relies on a previous project, a spherical Flak turret, designed to provide German submarines with adequate anti-aircraft defence capability. The oblate turret featured twin 30 mm cannons and was originally developed in early 1944 by the firm Alkett also responsible for the construction of SPAA vehicles. The turret was however never adopted by the German navy. This led the engineers of the firm to reuse the same type of design it for the needs of the new SPAA project. Development started of the Kugelblitz in late 1944. The chassis chosen to integrate the turret remained a Panzer IV. The main difference was that a Tiger I turret ring was fitted on the Pz.IV to accommodate the large turret. Five prototypes were built but never tested. Mass production was even planned but never happened due to the intense Allied bombings of German factories from 1944 to 1945.

Combat usage

The Kugelblitz was never approved for service, as its development was not yet completed when the war ended in Europe. Several prototypes briefly saw combat during the Battle of Berlin or in engagements throughout Germany.

Archive of the 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 Ohrdruf training ground in Thuringia.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Kugelblitz from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

German SPAAs discusses the Kugelblitz at 4:32 - War Thunder Official Channel

Best experimental vehicles discusses the Kugelblitz at 7:28 - War Thunder Official Channel

A Successful Dead End? - Kugelblitz - Military History Visualized

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• Flakpanzer IV

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Flakpanzer 341

External links

• [Devblog] Flakpanzerkampfwagen IV "Kugelblitz"
• [Wikipedia] Kugelblitz
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Leichte Flakpanzer IV 3 cm "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