Panzerkampfwagen 38 fuer 2 cm Flak 38 (Flakpanzer 38 (t) - German ZSU (self-propelled anti-aircraft gun) during the Second World War. The official name of the installation - "2 cm Flak auf Selbstfahrlafette 38 (t)" or Sd. Kfz.140, code designation - "313". The official name "Cheetah" was rarely used (under this name the modern anti-aircraft self-propelled gun, which was in service with the Bundeswehr), was used as a chassis. index Sd. Kfz.140 The ZSU developed by BMM was produced from November 1943 to February 1944. During the period of serial production, 141 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns of this type were produced. and in Italy, showing good results against low-flying aircraft.
The Flakpanzer 38 (t) anti-aircraft tank is the latest installation developed on the basis of the Pz. Kpfw tank chassis. 38 (t) modification M. The chassis and armored hull of the vehicle remained the same as in the Sd. Kfz. 138 and 138/1 Ausf. M, however, the self-propelled gun was assembled on rivets, even despite the fact that the BMM plant by the end of 1943 tried to use more welding. The driver's armored hood was made by casting, as on early self-propelled guns and tank destroyers. The cockpit of the anti-aircraft gun compared to the wheelhouse of a tank destroyer or self-propelled gun was shifted back and had a much lower height. The open top of the cabin was formed by 10-mm armor plates. The stern and side walls of the cabin were folded back to a horizontal position. This configuration of the fighting compartment made it possible to fire at ground targets from the 20 mm Flak 38 automatic anti-aircraft gun at a maximum descent angle of -5 degrees. Directly in front of the gun, two frames were installed, which limited the angle of descent when firing forward. This was done to exclude the possibility of hitting the front of the installation's hull with shells. The rear deckhouse makes it possible to extend the removable over-engine panels for easier maintenance. At the same time, access to the radiator became more complicated, now, in order to get to it, several panels had to be removed in the lower part of the cabin.
According to those. mission, the shelling of the anti-aircraft gun was supposed to be circular. A rotating cannon, mounted on a round pedestal, was mounted in front of the fighting compartment. The gun mount was equipped with a shield, gunner's seat and sleeve receiver. The armor of the wheelhouse provided protection against shrapnel and bullets for a crew of four: gunner, commander / radio operator, two loaders. At the same time, the crew remained unprotected from air attacks. Radio equipment - one Fu 5 radio station. The original plan called for the construction of 150 anti-aircraft tanks, equipped with one 20-mm automatic cannon, but even before the design was completed, the order was reduced to 140 units. Ten units were built as 150mm self-propelled guns. One was stitched and 140 ZSU was built as the machines of the tenth series Ausf. M. In November 1943, the first installation came out of the factory shop, and by the end of the year, 101 anti-aircraft self-propelled guns were handed over to the customer. The remaining 40 pieces of equipment were delivered in January-February 1944.
The anti-aircraft tank was the lightest among the installations created on the basis of the 38 (t) tank, its weight was 9.7 tons, due to which the vehicle had the best cross-country ability and developed the highest maximum speed. However, a single cannon was unable to provide sufficient density of fire during firing at air targets, even in cases where a group of vehicles was used. However, it must be borne in mind that the Flakpanzer 38 (t) is an intermediate option. Vehicles of this type were in service with units of several divisions for a relatively short time. In addition to the Sd. Kfz.140, there was another anti-aircraft tank on the 38 (t) chassis, but the circumstances of its creation are not known. According to the factory documentation from 1944, it was envisaged to re-equip 2 vehicles of an unspecified type into self-propelled anti-aircraft installations.
The evidence that this work was done is the photographs taken in May 1945 in Prague. These photographs show Sd. Kfz camouflage installations. 138/1 "Grille", equipped not with 150mm guns, but with automatic 30mm Mk 103 cannons. The Mk 103 cannon, which has a rate of fire of 460 rounds per minute, was developed by Rheinmetall for installation on aircraft. There was also an anti-aircraft version of the gun. The installation of these guns on SPGs was an improvisation and was not intended for mass production. Self-propelled guns in the last months of the war were in service with the unit, the number of which could not be established. In post-war Czechoslovak documents, both Grille self-propelled guns, equipped with 30-mm Mk 103 cannons, were referred to as “German captured equipment”.
Deliveries of the ZSU Flakpanzer 38 (t) began in November 1943. One installation on December 16 was examined by Hitler, who gave the order to immediately accept anti-aircraft tanks into service with tank divisions as soon as possible. They began to form anti-aircraft platoons in February 1944, 10 days were allotted for the formation of a platoon. According to the plans, two platoons of twelve anti-aircraft tanks were to be formed every ten days. Each platoon had three squads of four vehicles each. As a rule, two groups were at the disposal of the division headquarters, the rest of the anti-aircraft tanks were intended for air defense of the headquarters of tank regiments. Most of the ZSU Flakpanzer 38 (t) ended up in the newly formed Second Panzer Division in France, Training and Twenty-first Panzer Divisions. In addition, anti-aircraft tanks entered service with the elite SS Panzer Divisions such as the First Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, the Second Das Reich, the Twelfth Hitler Youth and the Seventeenth Goetz von Berlichingen. Platoon Sd. Kfz.140 received the Ninth "Hohenstaufen" and the tenth "Frundsberg" SS Panzer Divisions who fought on the Eastern Front. In service with the Tenth Divisions in April 1944, there were vehicles with chassis No. 2894, No. 2897, No. 2898, No. 2908, No. 2910, No. No. 2920-2923, No. No. 2927-2929 - the only vehicle numbers of a particular subdivision documented. In July 1944, the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions were transferred to France, however, there is no data on the transfer of anti-aircraft installations with them. Simultaneously with the divisions that were on the Eastern Front and in France, that is, in the spring of 1944, anti-aircraft tanks also received four divisions located in Italy. These were the Twenty-sixth Panzer Division, the Twenty-ninth and Ninety Panzergrenadier Divisions, and the Hermann Goering Aviation Field Division.
On the first day of the Allied troops landing in Normandy, June 6, 1944, some anti-aircraft platoons came under a massive air attack. For the next two months, the anti-aircraft tankers tried to repel the attacks of the allied aviation, which dominated the skies over France. By the end of July 1944, according to reports, all divisions had lost a total of 12 vehicles. These losses were small considering the intensity and scale of the battle. With an increase in the supply of more efficient air defense vehicles based on the Pz. Kpfw. IV tanks equipped with one 37 mm automatic cannon or four 20 mm cannons, the Sd. Kfz.140 tanks began to be removed from the armament of the first line combat units. Despite this, in some divisions the ZSU Sd. Kfz.140 remained in service until the end of 1944. So, for example, in the Second Panzer Division there were three, and in the Seventeenth Panzergrenadier Division - six ZSU. In the first half of 1944, fighting intensified in Italy. As a result of air strikes, anti-aircraft tanks suffered significant losses that were not replenished.
Technical characteristics of the anti-aircraft self-propelled gun Sd. Kfz.140 (Flakpanzer 38 (t)):
Combat weight - 9800 kg;
The layout diagram - in the front, the control compartment and the transmission compartment, in the center, the control compartment, behind the fighting compartment;
Crew - 4 people;
Dimensions:
Body length - 4610 mm;
Case width - 2135 mm;
Height - 2252 mm;
Clearance - 400 mm;
Reservation:
Armor type - surface hardened rolled steel;
Body forehead (top) - 20 mm / 20 degrees.;
Body forehead (middle) - 10 mm / 65 degrees;
Body forehead (bottom) - 20 mm / 15 degrees.;
Hull side - 15 mm / 0 deg.;
Hull feed - 10 mm / 45 degrees;
Bottom - 8 mm;
Hull roof - 8 mm;
Cutting forehead - 10 mm / 20 degrees;
Cutting board - 10 mm / 17-25 degrees;
Cutting feed - 10 mm / 25 degrees;
The roof of the cabin is open;
Armament:
The brand and caliber of the gun - Flak 38, 20 mm;
Gun type - automatic, rifled;
Gun ammunition - 1040 rounds;
Vertical guidance angles - from -10 to +90 degrees;
Sights - Schwebekreis-Visier Erdzielfernrohr 3 × 8
Mobility:
Engine type - carburetor, 6-cylinder, in-line, liquid-cooled;
Engine power - 150 hp with.;
Highway speed - 42 km / h;
In store down the highway - 185 km;
Cross country speed - 20 km / h;
Cruising in store for rough terrain - 140 km
Suspension type - on leaf springs, interlocked in pairs;
Specific power - 15, 3 liters. s / t;
Specific ground pressure - 0, 64 kg / cm²;
Overcoming obstacles:
Ascent - 30 degrees.;
Wall - 0.75 m;
Moat - 1, 8 m;
Brod - 0, 90 m.
