Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer I

Sd.Kfz.222

Flakpanzer 38

Flakpanzer I

Sd.Kfz.222

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	1.7	1.7

Class:

SPAA

Research:2 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

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

Design and development

The Flakpanzer 38(t) was designed around the chassis of the LT-38, a pre-war Czech design, which following the German occupation was produced for the Wehrmacht as the Panzer 38(t) until it was no longer effective.

As the vehicle used the Ausf M chassis, the engine was located near the middle of the vehicle, and the armament was placed at the rear in a specially designed armoured section. The superstructure could fold down to allow 360-degree traverse at low elevation.

Including the single prototype, 141 Flakpanzer 38(t)s were built from November 1943 to February 1944, entering service in 1944.

Combat use

The Flakpanzer 38(t) was intended to be issued to the anti-aircraft platoon of each tank battalion (Panzer Abteilung) in a Panzer division.

Most of the Flakpanzer 38(t)s were issued to Panzer Divisions on the Western Front, the remainder served on the Eastern Front. An example user being the 12th SS Panzer Division.

At this late stage in the war, the single 2 cm FlaK main armament was no longer sufficient to ward off enemy aircraft, and the Flakpanzer 38(t) became easy prey for Allied fighter-bombers.

As its folding superstructure allowed a very low (-5°) elevation the Flakpanzer 38(t) was often used against enemy infantry and unarmoured or lightly armoured vehicles.

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