Flakpanzer 38(t)
Contents
Description
The Flakpanzer 38, 2 cm, Pz.Fgst.38 (t) Sf. is a rank I German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard has thin but highly sloped front armour that resists 7-8 mm machine guns and even 12.7 mm machine guns. The gun shield will shrug off rifle-calibres but not 12.7 mms. Like it's predecessor, the Flakpanzer I it maintains a crew of two and is also hull-breakable.
Mobility
Top speed and power-to-weight ratio are much higher than the Flakpanzer I, topping out at 45 kph forward, 6 kph backward, and a power-to-weight ratio in realistic and simulator battles 15.31 hp/ton, higher in arcade battles.
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.
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.
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
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 If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: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).
Media
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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 |