The Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" was an anti-aircraft, self propelled gun that was used by Germany during World War II. It had anti-aircraft guns mounted on a Panzer IV chassis and it had a crew of 5. The Wirbelwind also had 4 FlaK 38 guns on the top which were protected all around and it had an MG 34 mounted in the hull as well.^[1]

It was powered by a water-cooled Maybach HL 120 TR engine and it had a top speed of about 38.6 km/h (24 mph). The weight of the Wirbelwind was about 21,772 kg and the length was 5.92m. It had a 6 speed forward, 1 speed reverse transmission and it was also capable of storing up to about 3,200 rounds for the main AA guns.^[2] The armor varied between 7.6 cm in the front to 2.5 cm in the sides.

The Wirbelwind had no other

variants besides the main production model. However, there was an attempt to put the Wirbelwind turret or the Ostwind turret on a Panzer III body, but the war ended in Europe before this could happen.

HistoryEdit

The Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind's first prototype appeared in 1944 and mainly all Wirbelwinds were then assaigned to Flugabwehrzüge units which were meant to be Anti-Aircraft. By the time WWII ended in Europe, around 105-110 Wirbelwinds had been produced.^[3] They were produced by Ostbau and in 1945 Soviet troops forced the Ostbau factory to move from Silesia to Teplitz which is northwest of Berlin.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ http://www.wwiivehicles.com/germany/flak-panzers/wirbelwind.asp
2. ↑ http://www.achtungpanzer.com/flak4.htm
3. ↑ http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_wirbelwind.html

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