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 II German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 3.0. It was introduced in during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

The 3.7-cm Flak 36 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz 6/2 is a halftrack-based anti-aircraft vehicle. With its 3.7 cm cannon, it 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. It has enough penetration to go through front armour of most tanks at its rank, and reliably cuts through side/rear armour and weakspots (even at some range), causing impressive damage.

Because it is based on a simple truck, it has no armour anywhere, and even machineguns can kill 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. It has mobility comparable to a lighter medium tank, and very good cross-country performance, because of its combined wheel/track chassis.

Being an SPAA, this vehicle is designed to shoot down airplanes. 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 kill 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 struggle against heavier opponents like the KV-1. However, hunting tanks is 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

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
11.1	N/A	54 (AB)
		50 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	163	201
Realistic/Simulator	102	115
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	14.68	18.11
Realistic/Simulator	9.19	10.36

Armaments

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	20.8	28.8	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	20.8	24.5	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
0.3	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
PzGr	APHE	46	43	31	20	12	9
Sprgr. 18	FI-T	2	2	2	2	2	2
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

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

Full ammo	1st rack empty	Recommendations	Visual discrepancy
53	53 (+0)	Keep full	Yes

Usage in the 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. Go forward with your teammates, but ALWAYS stay some distance behind them, avoid any open terrain, watch the battlefield situation carefully and wait. Use your speed to get out of any unfavorable battle condition. When you find a suitable target (No KV-1...), one good idea is to reverse around the corner turned sideways, with your gun aiming at the expected enemy direction. This maneuver 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, significantly shortening the expose time and lowering the chance of being immobilised. Aim at sides of the turret, hull, or any other weak areas.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 37mm capable of dealing heavy damage to both planes and tanks (if aimed at weakspots).
• Deadly against light tanks and tank destroyers.
• Can kill T34s (Pre T34-85) if you aim at the turret cheeks.
• Will kill most planes in one or two hits. It does a lot more damage than the 20mm on previous SPAA.
• Decently fast (50 km/h top speed).
• Insane reloading rate.
• Loosing 1 or 2 crewmembers have no noticable effect on vehicle performance (Apart from temporal immobilisation for example).
• Having no armour is also advantage - AP/APCR Rounds that most players use often just harmlessly pass through the vehicle without doing any damage.
• Difficult to kill in one shot unless using pure HE rounds. 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 or entire tanks, only to be easily destroyed afterwards.
• Friendly tanks around you often have higher priority for all enemies, meaning you can often escape from combat unharmed, or surprise unsuspecting enemies with your powerful gun.

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 crew from being injured, or even killed.
• 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.
• Knocked out easily if rammed by an airplane.
• Hull break, Can be hull broken with a well placed shot.

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 kilometers 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 the World War II progressed, the need for a mobile air defense 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 halftrack was modified with a new superstructure on the back, removing the backseats where the passengers would be. The superstructure allow the installation of a traversible 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, 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 were carried out from 1941 to 1943, where of 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.

Media

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Read also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
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ETC.

Sources

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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