Wirbelwind

Wirbelwind

Ostwind

Ostwind II

Wirbelwind

Ostwind

Ostwind II

Germany

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

SPAA

Research:26 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

Description

The Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind is a rank III German Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft (SPAA) vehicle with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB) and 3.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.43.

The Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind is a anti-aircraft platform on a Panzer IV chassis. Armed with quad 20 mm FlaK38 cannons, this machine will absolutely obliterate any enemy plane that's unfortunate enough to cross paths with it. Due to the high fire rate, this machine effectively spews out a river of high explosives. Any airplane unfortunate enough to even touch that stream will at least burst into flames, if not more severe damage. However, they are incredibly easy to spot because of the tracers. While an individual 20 mm shell does not do much damage, it is very hard when using the Wirbelwind to hit an aircraft with only one shell. The sheer number of shells will overwhelm the aircraft, and act like a laser, cutting off pieces and burning others.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour surrounding the turret can provide a small amount of protection against plane machine guns, but the amount of armour on its turret is still low and it has an open top so it's best to destroy the attacking plane quickly or move out of the way.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	80 mm (11°) Front plate 20 mm (72°) Front glacis 80 mm (11-12°) Lower glacis	30 mm	30 mm (4-15°)	10 mm
Turret	16 mm (19-24°)	16 mm (21-27°)	16 mm (17-22°)	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Some track links are placed on the front glacis, adding 15 mm armour at their area.
• Belly armour is 10 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
25.0	N/A	42 (AB)
		39 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	426	525
Realistic/Simulator	265	300
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	17.04	21.00
Realistic/Simulator	10.60	12.00

Armaments

20 mm FlaK 38 (x4)
Capacity (Belt capacity each)			Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
480 (20)			480	-10°/+90°	±180°
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	35.7	49.4	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	35.7	42.0	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
5.2	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
PzGr	API-T	46	45	33	23	15	11
PzGr 40	HVAP-T	64	63	33	23	15	11
Sprgr.	HEFI-T	2	2	2	2	2	2

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	API-T	780	0.15	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	47°	60°	65°
PzGr 40	HVAP-T	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sprgr.	HEFI-T	900	0.12	0.3	0.1	10.2	+0°	62°	69°	73°

Belt types

Belts	Shell composition	Combat usage
Default	API-T, HEFI-T (Armour Piercing Incendiary tracer – High Explosive Fragmentation Incendiary tracer) shell	50% of this belt are useless against tanks or planes. However against other SPAA this belt can reliably take out crew, armament, ammo and engine. Having one belt in reserve does not hurt.
Sprgr.	HEFI-T (High Explosive Fragmentation Incendiary tracer) shell	Versus planes and open combat compartment vehicles. Aircraft will usually take three to six hits. Heavy armoured attackers and bombers may require more though.
PzGr	API-T (Armour Piercing Incendiary tracer) shell	Intermediate usage until the better PzGr 40 can be used. Decent enough versus light tanks and other vehicles from the rear. Due the lack of HE filler underwhelming damage, yet still better than the PzGr 40.
PzGr 40	HVAP-T, API-T (High Velocity Armour Piercing tracer - Armour Piercing Incendiary tracer) shell	Best penetrating shell of this vehicle. However, the damage effects are very poor. In close combat snipe for modules and crewmember for increased survival rate. Nothing is more annoying than emptying a clip and then to get destroyed in the reload because the enemy gunner survived. Against angled armoured it is not very effective like any other ACPR shell, this is offset by the very high base penetration though.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks for the Wirbelwind.

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
160	36 (+128)	32 (+128)	24 (+136)	20 (+140)	16 (+144)	12 (+148)	8 (+152)	0 (+160)	Yes

Clips with 20 rounds each (3,200 rounds max)

*Ammunition clips in turret do not empty

Usage in the battles

Being the first anti-aircraft of a modified Panzer IV, it is superior to the previous vehicle, the 3.7-cm Flak 36 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd.Kfz. 6/2 in many areas and has little to none disadvantages. One notable disadvantage would be the lack of penetration of API-T rounds compared to the prior 3,7 cm cannon. It is recommended to stay away from areas of combat as your quad 20's will do practically nothing against the front plates of heavier armoured enemies at its rank, against which its only defence is to blind enemy vehicles with a barrage of fire and hope allies will neutralize the threat. However, firing a stream of HVAP-T rounds into an enemy's side plates can lead to a very fast elimination.

In terms of advantages with the 20 mm autocannons, the quad-mount gives the Wirbelwind the ability to fire a lethal stream of explosive round at any pilot who wanders into your sights.

Anti-Aircraft:
While in tank guns, dispersion (the MOA cone that is used to determine accuracy) is something that is ideally kept to a minimum, this vehicle benefits from it by having shots spread out in a sort of "shotgun" effect, rather than having four separate beams of projectiles. This means that if you can get your lead point right, your odds of shredding aircraft with even a momentary burst is exceptional compared to other types of AA present at the ranks that you will be operating this vehicle. Unfortunately, this rapid-fire ability is hindered by the 20 round magazine capacity for each cannon (for a total of 80 rounds), meaning that it is best to fire 3-5 round bursts to make effective use of what ammunition you have and your magazine size. This is one of the few areas the Wirbelwind is caught lacking, the others being an open crew compartment roof and the fact that your SPAA houses most of its crew in a thinly armoured turret.

Some of these disadvantages with the Wirbelwind can be mitigated by working with another SPAA. Two Wirbelwinds about 30m apart prove a daunting combination to enemy aircraft as their crossed streams maximize their ability to hit and it is very hard to neutralise both in one go. Besides doubling their spotting ability — when one sees the other firing, he or she will be quick to acquire the same target and proceed to severely worsen the aeroplane's day. For this reason, as a matter of etiquette, do not fire into the air if you do not see anyone, so as not to mislead your teammates.

Attack:
It is highly discouraged to use the Wirbelwind aggressively since it can be hard to always get such a favourable engagement (and also it is not the SPAA's job to do so). However, should a player choose such an attack plan, they should consider either being supported by friendly tanks as an additional gun or cover, or flanking wide and make effective use of cover and concealment against thin-skinned vehicles. Use roads less-traveled to remain hidden. No matter which manoeuvre that is used, stay vigilant for enemy aircraft to avoid them spotting and pouncing on the Wirbelwind. Even if equipped with the PzGr 40 belt for anti-tank purposes, eighty 20 mm shells from the Wirbelwind can still mess up an aircraft's flight time.

Once the question of manoeuvring to an advantageous position is answered, the next concern is seeing if the 20 mm have enough firepower to be of any threat to the enemy downrange. While the PzGr 40 APCR belt can be a threat to enemy light tank, lightly armoured tank destroyers like the M18 Hellcat, and also enemy anti-air vehicle, the shell's penetration decreases drastically at range and it's not enough to deal with more heavily armoured vehicles, with the side armour of some medium tanks even being a questionable option. The Wirbelwind's armour is only enough to reduce the damage done by aeroplanes, which makes engaging any sort of tank very dangerous. As such, pick targets wisely and make sure to either take them out within one belt's worth of shells or hold fire to avoid drawing any attention at all.

Modules

Tier 1: Spr.Gr. (new HE belts) -> Parts (for repairs) -> Turet drive (faster turn rate)
Tier 2: FPE (fire extinguisher) -> plus something of desire Adjustment of fire is not recommended with 1800rpm. Spray a minefield!
Tier 3: Elevation mechanism (faster barrel raise) -> Anything else
Everything else can be researched at leisure.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High rate of fire (1,800 rounds per minute combined!)
• Impressive ammo capacity of 3,200 rounds / 2 minutes of fire
• Will devastate planes at close range
• Excellent turret traverse makes it possible to stay on aircraft
• Extreme fire rate, compared to other SPAA
• Excellent armour for an AA vehicle
• High driving speed able to move from cover to cover with little to no problem.

Cons:

• Open top design makes vehicle vulnerable to strafing runs by enemy aircraft
• Hexagonal turret susceptible to HE rounds
• Less effective at firing at distant aircraft
• Reloading rate sub-par compared to other SPAAs at 5.6 seconds
• With continuous firing, a magazine is emptied very fast
• 20 mm shells have difficulty dealing with bombers due to both durability and an average altitude of targets
• Weak-side armour, where an ammo rack is located

History

Development

Development of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns that could keep up with the Panzer formations were not taken into consideration in the early years of World War II due to the Luftwaffe's superiority over the air, but gradual losses in the Luftwaffe and inability to support their flights gave the Allies the upper hand in the air, granting them air superiority. The growing air power of the Allies forced the Germans to develop methods to protect their tank formations from strafing from Allied aircraft, one early design to protect the front line tanks was the Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagen, an interim design as Flakpanzer designs underwent development. SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Wilhelm Krause of the 12th SS Panzer Division came up with the concept of the Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind in the summer of 1944. The commander of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment, SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche, received this and presented it to Hitler, to which he approved for its development.

The design called for use of the proven Panzer IV design. The Wirbelwind uses the Panzer IV hull, but the original Panzer IV turret was removed and replaced with an open-topped nine-sided turret that mounted the anti-aircraft armament. The anti-aircraft armament chosen for the vehicle was a quadruple mounted 2 cm FlaK 38. Though a closed-top turret design was desired, the number of gasses given out by the gun made this impossible for the crew. The production of the Wirbelwind commenced at the Ostbau Werke at Sagan, Silesia. Between 87 to 105 Wirbelwinds were manufactured from May to November 1944, with the discrepancies due to differences in the Wehrmacht service records and Ostbau Werke's production records.

Combat usage

The troops nicknamed the Wirbelwind the "Keksdose" (Biscuit Tin) due to its unique turret shape. The Wirbelwind was equipped with Panzer formations to protect them against low-flying aircraft. During the Battle of Normandy in 1944, flak units in the 12th SS Panzer Division were credited with shooting down 45 allied planes. However, there weren't enough to go around in the front-lines so many Panzer formations were left vulnerable to enemy aircraft due to lack of availability of the Flakpanzers. Not only did their small numbers made their effect on the front minimal, but the 20 mm cannon was also determined to insufficient against the more armoured aircraft that the Allies are fielding. Thus, the design was changed to not use the quadruple 2 cm Flak 38, but instead the 3.7 cm FlaK 43 in the new designation Flakpanzer IV Ostwind. Aside from that the Wirbelwind also served as a ground support role, which it proved very well at with its rapid firing 20 mm cannons.

It was determined that the Flakpanzer IV in the Wirbelwind and Ostwind configurations were to be replaced by the Kugelblitz by early 1945, in an attempt to yet again increase the firepower of the anti-aircraft guns. But this never happened due to the war ending before the Kugelblitz could be deployed.

In-game description

After losing air superiority, the Wehrmacht needed to improve the AA weapons of its armored tank divisions. The Wirbelwind AA vehicle was built on the chassis of the Pz.IV tank. It was the first specialized, self-sufficient means of defending armored tank divisions against enemy aircraft. The Flakvierling 38 installation was placed in an open turret protected by 16 mm of armor plating. Unlike various other self-propelled AA systems, this AA weapon struck a balance between protection, deployment time, and firepower. Between July, 1944 and March, 1945 105 of these mounts were built. They were used on the Western and Eastern Fronts. The first prototype was built on the basis of a remodeled Pz.IV by Krupp-Druckenmuller GmbH Berlin-Mariendorf in May, 1944.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the Wirbelwind.

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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