Ostwind II

Ostwind II

Wirbelwind

Zerstörer 45

Ostwind II

Wirbelwind

Zerstörer 45

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.3	5.3

Class:

SPAA

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

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Description

The Flakpanzer IV Ostwind II is a rank IV German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB) and 5.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision", replacing the Flakpanzer 341 in the German tech tree.

The Ostwind II is an average SPAAG which definitely has nothing to look for on the front line, however, there is a great advantage with its double cannon which becomes extremely dangerous for enemy aircraft which fly within range.

The Ostwind II has sufficient penetrating power to destroy M18s or other light armoured vehicles, however, one should rather concentrate on enemy aircraft. The reasoning behind this is because the turret is open from above and weakly armoured on the sides, so is vulnerable to enemy aircraft fire and vehicles that carry .50 calibre machine guns.

General info

Survivability and armour

The frontal hull armour (80 mm) is quite well protected against small-calibre weapons and .50 caliber BMGs, the sides (30 mm) and rear (20 mm) are not as well protected.

The turret is open at the top and has a rectangular recess in the right, frontal turret armour, because of the optics.

In addition, the steel of the turret (25 mm) is very weakly armoured, as well as the hull roof (10-12 mm).

Since the vehicle has a crew of five, it usually survives the first attack from enemy aircraft (because of the driver and the machine gunner/radio operator in the hull), as well as a shot into the turret.

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	43	8	25	426	572	17.04	22.88
Realistic	39	8		265	300	10.6	12

The Ostwind II does not have that great average speed, which means that the 39 km/h will be rare on the battlefield. Forget about trying to turn on the spot as this vehicle does not have neutral steering. Even worse is attempting to use the reverse gear (-7 km/h) which is extremely insufficient presenting an easy target if having to back out of a tight situation.

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm FlaK44 (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	992 (8)	250	-10°/+87°	±180°	N/A	30.82	42.66	51.80	57.28	60.94	0.31	0.27	0.25	0.24
Realistic						20.83	24.50	29.75	32.90	35.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 90° (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Sprgr. 18	FI-T	3	3	3	3	3	3
PzGr	APHE	49	46	33	22	14	10
M.Gr.18	FI-T	4	4	4	4	4	4

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Normalisation at 30° from horizontal	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
Sprgr. 18	FI-T	820	0.62	0.3	0.1	49.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
PzGr	APHE	770	0.69	1.2	9.0	22.1	-1.0°	47°	60°	65°
M.Gr.18	FI-T	914	0.55	0.3	0.1	108	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ostwind II

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
125	75 (+50)	55 (+70)	25 (+100)	5 (+120)	0 (+125)	No

Machine guns

7.92 mm MG34
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Hull	1,800 (150)	900	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Realistic Battles

The Ostwind II should be held in reserve towards the end of the game when there tends to be a significant amount of enemy aircraft flying. It is best to avoid the front lines or beating feet toward the enemy tanks as the Ostwind II tends to be an easy target for a majority of the other tanks in the game.

If your own team is about to lose or it gets very exciting towards the end and there are no many enemies left alive, you can place your Ostwind II inside an allied capture-point to defend it from enemy light tanks. Due to the location, it is more central to the battlefield and presents a difficult challenge for enemy aircraft to attempt to fly over.

It should also be kept in mind that if impenetrable heavily armoured enemies are encountered and you are left with no other option but to engage them, firing in a sustained manner at their cannon barrel is a semi-viable idea. This is because it is entirely possible that it will result in a damaged cannon barrel for the enemy and a chance to escape for you. Furthermore, you can target the tank tracks as well to leave the enemy both harmless and immobile which may possibly net you a kill assist if a teammate with enough firepower is nearby.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Sprgr. 18	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	PzGr	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	M.Gr.18	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 2 x 3.7 cm FlaK 44 cannons
• Does not need to reload until it is completely out of ammunition
• Enough penetration to destroy enemy light armoured vehicles

Cons:

• Built on Panzer IV chassis and is a contemporary of it
• Quite slow average speed
• Inadequate penetration against many enemy vehicles (best against aircraft)

History

The Ostwind II was a development of the Ostwind. First conceived as early as October 1943, the Ostwind II saw the single 3.7 cm FLaK 43 replaced by a twinned 3.7 cm FLaK Zwilling 44 built by the Gustloff-Werke in Suhl. One single prototype was delivered to the Panzerflak-Ersatz und Ausbildungsabteilung Ohrsdurf/Thühringen in January of 1945 for evaluation purposes, but due to the rapid events of the war it was never taken into production.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• Ostwind - Predecessor with a single 37 mm FlaK 43 autocannon.
• Flakpanzer 341 - Gift vehicle that the Ostwind II substituted in the main tech tree.

External links

• [Development] Changes and optimization in the German tech-tree

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