Sd.Kfz. 6/2

Sd.Kfz. 6/2

Sd.Kfz.222

Sd.Kfz. 6/2

Sd.Kfz.222

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	1.7	1.7

Class:

SPAA

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

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Description

The 3.7-cm Flak 36 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz. 6/2 is a rank I German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

The 3.7-cm Flak 36 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz 6/2 with its 3.7 cm cannon can easily dispatch any aircraft given the circumstances. However, its gun (with APHE ammo) can also make it a very good improvised anti-tank vehicle if push comes to shove against an enemy tank.

Because it is based on a simple truck, it has no armour anywhere and even machine guns can knock out the driver inside, and crew manning the turret is completely exposed. However, it can be surprisingly durable at times, mostly because of inexperienced players attacking it with AP/APCR ammo, and often targeting all the wrong places, like the Engine, Driver sitting inside, or edges of the turret armour. However, these attacks are a hit-or-miss as the hull-break mechanics mean that even a passing through AP round has the potential of utterly destroying the vehicle. The chances are worse if the enemy decides to sling over a chemical round for the explosion to do its deed. The mobility however is comparable to somewhere between a light and medium tank, and the chassis produces a favorable cross-country performance, so use this to get out of an area if spotted or being pursued.

Being an SPAA, this vehicle is designed to shoot down aeroplanes. It was originally designed to follow alongside convoys, so to be used with other vehicles of the type. Its gun has a relatively low rate of fire for an SPAA, however, its shells pack quite the punch. Being a 37mm cannon, should it get a good hit, it will likely down the plane. It also gets access to AP belts, which can be used against tanks. It can penetrate any medium or light tank of its rank (from the side/rear usually), but will flat out be out of luck against heavier opponents like the KV-1. However, hunting tanks are not its job which is why it is not the best at that.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Structural Steel
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Gun shield)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	3 mm (3-9°) Grille 3 mm (83-84°) Front hood	3 mm	3 mm	3 mm
Gun Shield	7 mm (25-33°)	10 mm	N/A	N/A

Notes:

• There is simply no armour anywhere, as it is basically a simple truck with AA gun mounted on its back
• Only "armour" is on the front of the turret, which can protect from some light machine gun fire and shrapnel from nearby explosions

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	55	10	10.4	163	248	15.67	23.85
Realistic	50	9		102	130	9.81	12.5

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm FlaK 36
Capacity (Belt capacity each)			Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
318 (6)			160	-8°/+85°	±180°
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	30.82	42.66	51.80	57.28	60.94
Realistic	20.83	24.50	29.75	32.9	35.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
0.49	0.43	0.40	0.38

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
PzGr	APHE	46	43	31	21	14	9
Sprgr. 18	FI-T	3	3	3	3	3	3
M.Gr.18	FI-T	4	4	4	4	4	4

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
PzGr	APHE	740	0.69	1.3	15	22.1	-1°	47°	60°	65°
Sprgr. 18	FI-T	820	0.62	0.3	0.1	49.3	+0°	79°	80°	81°
M.Gr.18	FI-T	914	0.55	0.3	0.1	108	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Belt types

Belts	Shell composition	Combat usage
Default	APHE / FI-T (Armour Piercing High Explosive –Fragmentation Incendiary tracer) shell	This belt is useful against lightly armoured open-topped tank destroyers, or bombers. Against other SPAA this belt can reliably take out crew, armament, ammo and engine.
Sprgr. 18	FI-T (Fragmentation Incendiary Tracer) shell	Versus planes and open combat compartment vehicles. Lighter aircraft will often go down by a single hit.
PzGr	APHE (Armour Piercing High Explosive) shell	Ammo against tanks. It has comparable power to regular Rank I tanks, but combined with the Insane RoF, can be very deadly. It even has the HE filler, 3-4 well aimed penetrating hits can disable any tank.
M.Gr.18	FI-T (Fragmentation Incendiary Tracer) shell	Versus planes and open combat compartment vehicles. Lighter aircraft will often go down by a single hit.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
53	50 (+3)	46 (+7)	43 (+10)	39 (+14)	36 (+17)	29 (+24)	18 (+35)	0 (+53)	Yes

Ammo racks of the Sd.Kfz. 6/2.

There are 15 ammunition boxes strung about the bed of the truck. Two under the loader, three sitting on the tailgate, and the rest under the benches behind the driver. Most tankers won't bother trying to ammo rack you thanks to your exposed crew members, so bring as much as you want. However, near misses from aircraft and tanks alike could set off a box since they are kind of everywhere if you do take a full load, so follow alternate recommendation if one has concerns for this.

Notes:

• Recommended ammo load: 53.
• Alternate recommended ammo load: 36. Keeps all ammo under the bed bench.

Usage in battles

To use this machine to its fullest capabilities it is recommended to stay from areas of heavy combat, as you can be taken out very easily, especially by machine gun fire and HE shells. You should always stay behind friendly troops, but don't stay at spawn as it is most likely the first place enemy planes will go to drop bombs.

If you want to fight with the tanks, you'll definitely need to research APHE-only belts. However, the APHE's lacklustre penetration means this option is extremely limited and highly discouraged for a Sd.Kfz. 6/2 user. This is a tactic that should only be used as a last-stand measure against a flanking enemy that is unaware of the Sd.Kfz. 6/2's position. Avoid any open terrain, watch the battlefield situation carefully and wait, or use your speed to get out of any unfavourable battle condition. When the suitable target is spotted and in-range, it is a good idea is to reverse around the corner turned sideways, with your gun aiming at the expected enemy direction. This manoeuvre exposes only half of your turret and makes it possible to very quickly hide again behind the corner when needed. Your driver, engine and more than half of the vehicle remain hidden the whole time, meaning the chances of hull-break by kinetic shell would be reduced, but chemical shells would still finish off the tank upon contact. This kind of positioning also significantly shortening the exposure time and lowering the chance of being immobilised. When targeting tanks, aim at side armour of the hull and/or turret, or just hit any weak spots. Make sure the enemy is close by, generally less than 400 meters, as the aim dispersion and massive recoil of the gun can cause the shells to spray everywhere, a bad idea if wanting to take out the enemy as quick and precise as possible.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 37 mm capable of dealing heavy damage to planes upon contact
• Deadly against light tanks and light-skinned tank destroyers
• Decently fast (50 km/h top speed)
• Insane reloading rate
• Losing 1 or 2 crew members have no noticeable effect on vehicle performance (Apart from temporal immobilisation for example)
• Having no armour is also an advantage - AP/APCR Rounds that most players use often just harmlessly pass through the vehicle without doing any damage
• Difficult to destroy in one shot unless using pure HE rounds as APHE rounds will often just pass through without detonation
• Some players don't recognize this vehicle as any kind of threat, and carelessly show their sides that just might be able to be penetrated with the 37 mm AP
• Friendly tanks around you often have higher priority for all enemies, meaning you can often escape from combat unharmed, or surprise unsuspecting enemies

Cons:

• Slow rate of fire can make shooting down faster planes difficult
• No armour - single HE shell from anything will usually knock out the vehicle
• Very vulnerable to Artillery calls; even being 20 m away from it does not prevent the crew from being injured, or even incapacitated
• Gun goes up when it is traversing over the driver, preventing you from firing ahead of your vehicle
• Entire crew vulnerable to being strafed by planes and tank machine gun fire
• Ammo can run out if not careful
• Gun recoil is ridiculous, making continuous fire useless against any decently armoured target
• Knocked out easily if rammed by an aeroplane (no longer an issue in AB)
• Hull break can happen from with a well-placed shot
• AP shell has less penetration than predecessors' 20 mm APCR

History

The gun

The 3.7 cm FlaK cannon was an anti-aircraft gun capable of fully automatic fire at a rate of 150 rounds per minute and is able to fire onto Allied aircraft up to four kilometres away. Multiple variants were made for the FlaK cannon from the 3.7 cm FlaK 18/36/37/43. The FlaK 18 was the initial variant with a dual-axle mount. The Flak 36 was a simplified variant with a lighter single-axle mount, the FlaK 37 has a simplified sighting system, and the FlaK 42 was the variant made for the German Kriegsmarine for their surface ships and U-boats. Of the variants, the FlaK 36 and 37 were the most produced guns

The vehicle

The Sd.Kfz.6 was a half-track designed in 1934 for the purpose of towing the 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer or 11 men in the back of the half-track, which could be covered by a canvas structure to protect the crew from the elements of nature. The vehicle was powered by a Maybach HL 54TUKRM 6-cylinder engine with 115 hp. Along with its use as a tractor for the 10.5 leFH 18 howitzer and other artillery pieces, the vehicle was to be used to tow heavy equipment for engineer units. Production was carried out by both Büssing-NAG and Daimler-Benz corporations. About 750 units were made during its production life until 1942.

Anti-aircraft mount

As World War II progressed, the need for a mobile air defence capable of engaging low flying targets became urgent. German engineers attempted to fill this need by modifying vehicles to fit an anti-aircraft gun. The Sd.kfz.6 half-track was modified with a new superstructure on the back, removing the backseats where the passengers would be. The superstructure allows the installation of a traversable anti-aircraft gun. The gun of choice for the Sd.kfz.6 was the 3.7 cm FlaK 36, the conversion for the vehicle was designated the 3.7 cm Flak 36 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz.6/2.

The Sd.Kfz.6/2 has the FlaK cannon mounted on the back, however, there is no gun shield for the crew to provide small arms protection from the ground. Thus, the ground support role for the vehicle was not a recommended role and is more best against flying targets. However, a modification on the vehicle by the crew to give protection against small arms and shrapnel. Ammunition for the gun was towed on a separate trailer towed by the half-track.

Modifications on the Sd.Kfz.6 into the Sd.Kfz.6/2 was carried out from 1941 to 1943, whereof the 750 of the Sd.Kfz.6, 339 were converted into the anti-aircraft variant. As the war progressed, the Sd.Kfz.6/2 were supplemented with the more numerous Sd.Kfz.7 half-track.

In-game description

To fight against enemy aircraft, German designers developed a new AA gun based on the 5-ton Sd.Kfz. 6 produced by the company Bussing-NAG. The new AA vehicle had a 37 mm 3,7 cm FlaK 36 L/98 anti-aircraft gun with a 98-caliber long barrel placed on a rotating carriage. The vehicle carried 120 shells, towed by a Sonderanhanger Sd.Ah. 57 trailer. The anti-aircraft gun traveled with spare barrels. The 10.4 ton setup supported a crew of 5 to calculate the gun's trajectory.

The anti-aircraft gun's effective rate of fire was 120 rounds per minute. The gun could fire at targets up to an altitude of 4,800 meters. In stowed position, the sides of the towing vehicle were raised, and in combat situations they were reclined to facilitate a circular range of fire. The vehicle could reach a speed of 50 kph and had a maximum range of 317 km.

The AA vehicle was produced by the companies Bussing-Nag, Daimler Benz, Böhmisch-Mährischen Maschinenfabrik, and Praga from 1941 to 1943. A total of 339 were built. During production, the gun was fitted with a shield to protect those performing the calculations from bullets and shrapnel. Shield construction varied.

At least 200 Sd.Kfz. 6/2 anti-aircraft guns entered the service of the Luftwaffe, and the rest joined the Wehrmacht's anti-aircraft divisions. An anti-aircraft division consisted of 9 AA vehicles. This vehicle was used in combat on all fronts.

Media

37 mm of Pain [The Iron Armenian]

See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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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