The 3.7 cm Flakzwilling auf Panther Fahrgestell or Flakpanzer 341 was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

self-propelled anti-aircraft gun An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability. Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was intended to be armed with two 3.7 cm Flak 341 gun in a fully enclosed, rotating turret on the hull of a

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

medium tank. In the end, only a wooden mock-up of the turret on a Panther chassis was built.

Development

In the first years of the war, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

had less interest in developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, but as the

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achieved

air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

, the need for more mobile and better-armed self-propelled anti-aircraft guns increased. The

had adapted a variety of wheeled and

half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the Car handl ...

vehicles to serve as mobile forward air defence positions to protect armour and infantry units in the field as well as for temporary forward area positions such as mobile

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

and logistic points. As Allied

fighter bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

s and other ground attack aircraft moved from machine gun armament and bombing to air-to-ground rockets, the air defence positions were even more vulnerable. The answer was to create tank-based Flakpanzers with armour that would protect the gun crews while they fired upon approaching Allied aircraft. Rheinmetall had developed a design for a Panther armed with four 2 cm

MG 151/20 The ''Maschinengewehr'' (MG) 151 is a belt-fed autocannon for aircraft use, developed in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1940 and produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. It was originally produced in 15.1 mm caliber from 1940, with a ...

guns in May 1943. However, the 2 cm guns were considered too weak already, and in December 1943 a tank committee decided that all future self-propelled anti-aircraft guns based on the Panther would be armed with two 3.7 cm guns, and later two 5.5 cm guns. Both

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and Rheinmetall were chosen to design a turret armed with twin 3.7 cm guns for the Panther, with the latter finishing their design in May 1944. A wooden mock-up of the turret was created and mounted on the chassis of a Panther Ausf. D. However, it soon became clear that no chassis would be available for Flakpanzers for a variety of reasons, including the Allies' landing in Normandy, the increasing Allied strategic bombing offensive, and raw material shortages. Work on the Flakpanzer 341 continued throughout 1944, but in January 1945 all work on 3.7 cm armed Flakpanzer on the Panther chassis was stopped due to the 3.7 cm guns being considered inadequate.

Notes

References

* *

External links

3.7 cm Flakzwilling auf Panther Fahrgestell “341”
at Tanks Encyclopedia

(German language) at Lexikon-der-Wehrmacht.de

at Panzerbaer.de * ''Свирин М.'
Пантера Pz.Kpfw V.
( () — М.: М-хобби, 1996. — 48 с. — Армада, вып. № 5 World War II self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons of Germany Flakpanzer 341 {{DEFAULTSORT:Flakpanzer 341