3.7 cm FlaK 43

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3.7 cm FlaK 43


3.7 cm FlaK 36 on a truck during use in the Soviet Union

General Information
Military designation: 3.7 cm Flak 43
Manufacturer designation: Device 338
Manufacturer country: German Empire
Developer / Manufacturer: Rheinmetall / Dürkopp , Weserhütte
Production time: 1943 to 1945
Weapon Category: Anti-aircraft gun
Technical specifications
Pipe length: 2.13 m
Caliber :

3.7 cm

Caliber length : L / 57
Cadence : 230 to 250 rounds / min
Elevation range: −8 ° 30 ′ to + 90 ° degrees
Side straightening area: 360 °

The 3.7 cm Flak 43 was an anti -aircraft gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II .

history

The original 3.7 cm cannon was developed by Rheinmetall in 1935 under the name 3.7 cm Flak 18 . It was basically an enlarged version of the 2 cm Flak 30 . The rate of fire was 160 rounds / min. The complete gun, including the wheel mount, weighed 1750 kilograms.

3.7 cm Flak 43

The Flak 18 was prepared only in small quantities and the production in 1936 in favor of the known 2-cm-Flakvierlings 38 , a vierläufigen further development of the 2-cm-Flak 38 , set. However, it was still used for some time in a special gondola as armament for the special version G of the Ju 87 for fighting tanks.

However, development continued and resulted in a two-wheeled configuration that weighed only 1544 kilograms and went into production as the 3.7 cm Flak 36 . With the introduction of a new sighting device in the following year, the name changed to 3.7 cm Flak 37 . Much of the existing Flak 36 were upgraded to the new standard. From 1942 only the Flak 37 was produced instead of the Flak 36 . In Finland the gun was designated as 37 ITK 37 .

When the Allied air superiority increased dramatically towards the middle of the war, the 2 cm quadruplet proved to be insufficiently powerful and was replaced by 3.7 cm models. However, since the Wehrmacht was not satisfied with the available versions, Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp were asked to produce a new and, above all, cheaper version.

Rheinmetall-Borsig won the order because Krupp's development showed weaknesses at the last moment. Through the use of techniques such as those used in the manufacture of submachine guns, especially the use of stamped parts, welded joints and simple components, the production time for a gun could be reduced to a quarter. It was built by Eisenwerk Weserhütte GmbH in Bad Oeynhausen and Dürkoppwerke AG in Bielefeld .

The new weapon proved to be a dramatic improvement over its predecessors. A new gas-operated shutter increased the rate of fire to 250 rounds / min, while at the same time reducing the weight to 1,247 kilograms. At the same time, a twin configuration with barrels lying one above the other was manufactured under the designation 3.7 cm Flak-Zwilling 43 , although this model was assessed as bulky and top-heavy.

Compared to its Allied counterpart, the 40 mm Bofors , the Flak 43 achieved twice the rate of fire and could be set up in a much more cramped area. In addition, the gun and mount were significantly lighter together. Although development was fully completed in 1942, production did not begin until 1944. In total, 928 single guns and 185 twin flak guns had been manufactured for the army by the end of the war. The navy obtained around 780 guns. The Luftwaffe began using the Flak 43 , primarily to defend airfields, as early as 1943 and received a total of 5,918 weapons by the end of the war. (Air force numbers refer to barrels, as most weapons were used as a multi-barrel configuration on a mount).

mobilization

The Flak 37 was used in large numbers on the ubiquitous Sd.Kfz. 7 or mounted on the heavy Wehrmacht tractor from Büssing . It was also the main armament of the Ju 87 G "Kanonenvogel" . The new Flak 43 was used almost exclusively in a movable configuration. The best known were the Panzer IV converted into anti- aircraft tanks , especially the so-called moving van due to its shape and later the Ostwind .

ammunition

Operating teams with ammunition for 3.7 cm Flakzwilling 43

As ammunition various types were available:
3.7-cm-explosive cartridge 18 Tracer
3.7-cm-fire explosive cartridge 18 Tracer
3.7-cm mine garnet cartridge 18 Tracer
3.7-cm-tank grenade -Cartridge 18 tracer
3.7 cm anti-tank shell 40 Flak

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
caliber 37 mm
Pipe length 3293 mm
Trains 20th
Weight driving position 1247 kg
Weight firing position 1392 kg
Firing range 6500 m
Shot height 4800 m
Side straightening area 360 °
Elevation range −7.5 ° to + 90 °
Rate of fire theoretically 250 rounds / min
" practically 150 rounds
Vo HE shell 840 m / s
Weight of HE shells 640 g
Ammunition supply Frame with 8 cartridges

literature

  • Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Weapons of the Third Reich. An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. Doubleday, New York 1979, ISBN 0-385-15090-3 .
  • Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Special edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
  • Ian V. Hogg : German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsville PA 1997, ISBN 1-85367-480-X .

Web links

Commons : 3.7 cm Flak 43  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Chris Bishop, p. 168 in the Google book search