Kugelblitz
Contents
Description
The Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz is a rank IV German Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft (SPAA) vehicle
with a battle rating of 7.3 (AB) and 7.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.43.
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?
If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
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 reverse speed is not a strong suit with a mere -7km/h (AB & RB).
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
Additional armament
Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | M.Gr. | Horizontal Drive | |
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | Pz.Gr. | Adjustment of Fire |
| III | Filters | Crew Replrenishment | Elevation Mechanism | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Pz.Gr. H | Artillery Support | |
The Kugelblitz has a comparatively low gun traverse speed when not upgraded, so the Horizontal Drive and Elevation Mechanism modules are quite important. Another very useful modification is the M.Gr. ammo belt, which almost completely composed of high-explosive shells and helps to increase damage dealt to enemy aircraft. The two Pz.Gr. modules allow the vehicle to better engage enemy ground forces. These belts contain more high-penetration rounds than high-explosive ones, and increase the vehicle's effectiveness against armoured targets. Still, they will not be able to penetrate most tanks frontally at this tier, and are better suited for engaging lightly-armoured vehicles.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High rate of fire for a 30mm cannon
- Fast turret rotation speed
- Very good at taking out other SPAA or lightly armoured vehicles
- Average movement speed
- Access to many unlockable ammo belts
Cons:
- Although having thick armour for a SPAA, its still not enough to stop any kind of tank shell at its rank
- Long reload time
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's devblog entry (if applicable) and the ingame encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).
In-game description
A continuation of the line of German AA vehicles based on the Pz.IV tank. It was the first AA vehicle to have a fully enclosed turret. Only two were ever built, and they may not have been used in combat. Both of the AA vehicles that were released ended up in the anti-air artillery training battalion stationed at the Ordurf training ground in Thuringia.
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 |
