flak 43 – Catalog of Enemy Ordnance

Pz. Kpfw. IV (3.7 cm Flak 43): Self-Propelled Antiaircraft Gun

This equipment consists of the standard Pz. Kpfw. IV chassis adapted to mount the 3.7 cm Flak 43. It is essentially an antiaircraft weapon, although the gun may be depressed for use against ground targets.

The superstructure is especially designed for the second purpose. The side and rear walls of the structure are two spaced 15 mm armor plates nine feet long, eight feet, eight inches wide, and four feet high. The sides can be pushed outwards and downwards to a horizontal position to permit fire against ground targets or to extend the area of the loading platform.

The 3.7 cm Flak 43, which has a 360° traverse and 90° elevation, is centrally mounted on a pedestal. It is hung from a single trunnion on the right through which passes the feed and ejection aperture. The monobloc barrel is fitted with a combination muzzle brake and flash hider. Both elevating and traversing handwheels are located to the right of the gun. A hydromatic-spring buffer with variable recoil is situated below the barrel, and two return springs lie side by side above the barrel. A tri-sectional gun shield sloped at 30° to the vertical is provided. The center section is 9 mm thick and two side sections each 6 mm thick. The height of the shield, measured up the slope, is four feet, 3 1/2 inches. The gun is fed horizontally from the left by clips of eight rounds each which are placed on a fixed loading tray.

The muzzle velocity of the 3.7 cm Flak 43 is reported as 2,750 f/s, and its theoretical rate of fire 250 rounds per minute. The ammunition issue laid down per equipment is reported as 1,600 rounds, 1,280 high explosive and 320 armor piercing.

An official German document states that the standard sight for this gun will be the Schwebedornvisier.

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight		26 tons (est.)
Length		19 ft., 4 ins.
Width		9 ft., 7 ins.
Height
Ground clearance		15 ins.
Tread centers		7 ft., 11 ins.
Ground contact		11 ft., 6 ins.
Width of track		15 ins.
Pitch of track		4 3/4 ins.
Track links		98
Fording depth		3 ft.
Theoretical radius of action
Roads		130 miles
Cross-country		80 miles
Speed
Roads		25 m.p.h.
Cross-country		15 m.p.h.
Armor
Front plate		50 mm
Sides		30 mm
Armament		3.7 cm Flak 43
Ammunition (Rds.)		1,600
Engine		Maybach HL 120 TRM, 320 hp.
Transmission		Synchromesh—6 speeds forward, 1 reverse.
Steering		Epicyclic, clutch brake
Crew		7

German: p. 32.2 (April 1, 1945)

The 3.7 cm Flak 43, a light, fully-automatic, gas-operated antiaircraft weapon, may be statically emplaced, transported on a mobile mounting, or mounted on a self-propelled chassis. The gun consists of a removable, monobloc barrel fitted with a muzzle brake with six elongated ports and multi-perforated flash eliminator, and a breech casing which houses the breech mechanism. The gun is fed horizontally from the left in clips of eight rounds from a fixed loading tray, and is operated by the recoil of the gun itself. A hydro-spring buffer with variable recoil is located below the barrel, and two return springs lie side by side above the barrel.

Mounting is of the pedestal type, the gun being hung from a single-ring type trunnion on the right. The feed to the gun is mounted through the ring and on the axis of the trunnion, making unnecessary any alteration in the position of the center of gravity of the gun and other elevating parts with variation in the quantity of ammunition in the clips and feed mechanism. Elevating and traversing handwheels are both on the right of the gun, the former being vertical and the latter horizontal.

The equipment, which is of low build, is fitted with a shield varying in thickness from 9 mm at the center to 6 mm at the outer edges. The shield slopes backward at a 30° angle and is 4.2 feet high. In the middle is a space through which the mantlet elevates and depresses. A twin version of the 3.7 cm Flak 43 also exists. It is known as the 3.7 cm Flakzwilling 43.

The weapon fires only the single rotating band projectiles.

SPECIFICATIONS

Caliber		37 mm (1.45 ins.)
Weight (traveling position)		4,180 lbs.
Weight (firing position)		2,750 lbs.
Length (traveling position)
Length (firing position)
Height (traveling position)
Height of trunnion		29.9 ins.
Length of piece (excluding muzzle brake)		9.68 ft.
Length of muzzle brake		14.96 ins.
Length of bore		7 ft.
No. of grooves		20
Width of grooves
Depth of grooves
Width of lands
Muzzle velocity (HE shell)		2,750 f/s
Max. range (horizontal)		7,200 yds. (approx.)
Effective range (vertical)		9,000 ft. (approx.)
Rate of fire (theoretical)		250 rds./min.
(practical)		150 rds./min.
Traverse		360°
Elevation		90°
Depression		-6°
Type of recoil		Variable
Ammunition		AP/HE; H.E.; HE/T-HE/I/T; HE/I and HE/I/short T

German: p. 130.2 (August 1, 1945)

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