|
20mm Flak 38 Anti-Aircraft Gun |
|
The 20mm Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun was designed to destroy low-flying aircraft and lightly armored ground targets. It replaced the earlier 20mm Flak 30, which had a poor rate of fire. Roughly 18,000 Flak 38s were produced from 1939 to 1944.
The Flak 38 was mounted on a wheeled base for towing, and when used in the ground target mode could have an armor shield fitted. The weapon had a full 360-degree traverse, with an elevation of –20 to +90 degrees. The gunner fired the weapon using a foot pedal, and could choose either single-round or automatic fire modes. The gun had a rate of fire of 220 rounds per minute, and was fed from a magazine that held 20 rounds.
The Flak 38 was small enough that it could be towed by horses, vehicles, or manhandled by the crew. It served with various Army air-defense artillery units, as well as other branches of the services. A modified version suited for use by airborne and mountain infantry units was also introduced.
|
Site Home 
= Ad with Photo
