The 2 cm ''Flak 38 auf Panzer'' I ''Ausführung'' A, commonly known as the ''Flakpanzer'' I, was a rare self-propelled anti-aircraft gun conversion of the

Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 101 ...

in use by the military of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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 ...

Development

The ''Flakpanzer'' I was developed during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

when it was recognized that the motorised Flak was insufficiently armoured. The German ''

Heereswaffenamt (WaA) was the German Army Weapons Agency. It was the centre for research and development of the Weimar Republic and later the Third Reich for weapons, ammunition and army equipment to the German Reichswehr and then Wehrmacht The ''Wehr ...

'' decided to combine light anti-aircraft guns with tank chassis. The chassis of the

was used for these conversions, simply because it was available. The conversions were done by

Stoewer Stoewer was a German automobile manufacturer before World War II whose headquarters were in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland). History The first company was founded by the Stoewer brothers, Emil (lived 1873 – 1942) and Bernhard (1875 – 1937) i ...

. In total, 24 of these vehicles were built. During the conversion, parts of the frontal superstructure and the complete cover of the engine compartment were removed to gain more flat space to stand on. To achieve a better centre of gravity the frontal armour of the superstructure was moved about 18mm forward. The flaps on the side were made from simple sheet metal and did not offer real protection. When in action they were folded down and used to stand on. To gain more space (the Panzer I was a very small armoured vehicle) the radio was dismounted; communication was done with hand signals. The vehicles were armed with the Flak 38; additionally, the crew was armed with small arms, like the

Karabiner 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; ), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartri ...

. To make it easier for the driver to enter the vehicle, the main gun was mounted not centrally, but slightly to the right. The ammunition was stored under the driver's seat and behind the loader. Due to insufficient space inside the vehicle, a coupling for the ''Sonderanhänger 51'' trailer was added, with additional ammunition and replacement barrels for the gun transported in the trailer. The conversion led to the chassis being overloaded. This, combined with worn engines, gave overall poor performance.

Service

Only one unit, the Fla.-Btl.(mot) 614 (Motorized Flak Battalion 614) was equipped with the Flakpanzer I. The unit was assembled in 1941 and in the same year was stationed in Romania. From there they moved into the southern part of the eastern front. In service the underarmed vehicles were of limited use against aircraft, but were mostly used against ground targets. Due to the insufficient protection of the crew in this sort of deployment, they suffered high losses. The companies of the battalion were assigned to other units for this. The whole battalion was wiped out in 1943 during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

, even though most of the vehicles had probably been abandoned or destroyed already.

References

{{WWIIGermanAFVs Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons World War II self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons of Germany Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944