Flakpanzer 38
Contents
| This page is about the German SPAA Flakpanzer 38. For other uses, see LT-38 (Family). |
Description
The Flakpanzer 38, 2 cm, Pz.Fgst.38 (t) Sf., officially named Flakpanzer 38(t) auf Selbstfahrlafette 38(t) Ausf M (Sd.Kfz. 140), is a rank I German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It is sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as the Gepard, which may lead to confusion with the unrelated Flakpanzer Gepard. It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Flakpanzer 38(t) has thin but highly sloped front armour that resists 7-8 mm machine bullets and even 12.7 mm machine gun rounds. The gun shield will shrug off smaller rifle-calibre rounds but not 12.7 mm bullets and larger. Like its predecessor, the Flakpanzer I, it maintains a crew of two and is also hull-breakable.
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 | 46 | 7 | 9.8 | 213 | 286 | 21.73 | 29.18 |
| Realistic | 43 | 7 | 133 | 150 | 13.57 | 15.31 | |
Top speed and power-to-weight ratio are much higher than the Flakpanzer I, topping out at 46 km/h forward, -6 km/h backwards, and a power-to-weight ratio in realistic and simulator battles of 15.31 hp/ton.
Armaments
Main armament
The gun is the same as its predecessor, the FlaK 38. It has sufficient HE shells for planes, 46 mm penetration AP-I, and 64 mm penetration APCR. The belt size is identical. Reload between clips is long. The gun can pen most things the tank encounters, barring Valentines, Matildas, B1 bis, B1 ter, and T-28E.
| 20 mm FlaK38 | 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 | 1,080 (20) | 480 | -10°/+90° | ±180° | N/A | 30.82 | 42.66 | 51.79 | 57.28 | 60.94 | 3.90 | 3.45 | 3.18 | 3.00 |
| Realistic | 20.83 | 24.50 | 29.75 | 32.90 | 35.00 | |||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | |
| Default | 36 | 34 | 26 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| Sprgr. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PzGr | 36 | 34 | 26 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| PzGr 40 | 64 | 63 | 26 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,080 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Usage in battles
The Flakpanzer 38 is an even better flanker and support unit than the Flakpanzer I and should be used in the same way. Flank around, engage tanks mainly, shoot planes when they aren't aware of you.
Just like the Flakpanzer I, avoid heavily armoured opposition, especially frontally. You can barely pen B1 bis, M3 Lee variations, and T-28Es on the side, but cannot pen Valentines, Matildas, or B1 ters from much of any side.
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | Horizontal Drive | Sprgr. | |
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | Adjustment of Fire | PzGr |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Elevation Mechanism | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Artillery Support | PzGr 40 | |
For this vehicle, two very important modifications to keep an eye out for are the Sprgr. and PzGr 40 ammo belts. The first provides a boost to the vehicle's anti-air capabilities, being completely filled with high explosive shells, and the second turns the Flakpanzer into a deadly anti-tank machine with high-penetration HVAP rounds.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great penetrating cannon with PzGr 40 belt
- Fast fire rate
- Fast turret traverse
- Great mobility
- Hull shrugs off up to 12.7 mm machine gun rounds
Cons:
- Low-survivability due to two crew and hull-breakability
- Long reload between clips is very punishing if you spray too much
- Open-topped and vulnerable to planes using any weapon
- Best penetrating PzGr 40 belt is mixed with standard PzGr ammunition
- Not a long-range SPAA
History
In-game description
The Flakpanzer 38(t) self-propelled anti-air mount was a temporary transitional version that was used until the development of a real anti-air tank on the chassis of the Panzer IV was completed. The vehicle was produced from November, 1943 to February, 1944. The first 87Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles appeared at the front in January, 1944 and made up Flugabwehrzug (AA platoons) in tank divisions and tank grenadier divisions (sometimes in Waffen SS divisions such as the Hitlerjugend 12th Waffen SS division in Norway in 1944).
In 1944-1945 Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles were used actively on the Italian and Western Fronts, where they were effective against low-flying aircraft.
A total of 141 Flakpanzer 38(t) AA vehicles were released.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| 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 |
