Nice adition FlameT, is that Rommel in the center ? If is he doesnt look very convinced.
A profile of the rocket armed Chenillete
As mentioned this weapon was quite effective when used in large numbers.
When mounted on the tankette salvos of 4 rockets could be fired (6 on the Sd.Kfz. 251/1). Additionally a lot of vehicles were needed to assure the ammo supply. One Wurfkörper 28cm (wooden frame included) had a total weight of app. 112 kg (247 lbs).
Right, photo was taken during Rommel’s inspection of 21st Panzer-Division at Rouen/France on May 18, 1944…and yes, he does look sceptically.
Jawhol, that face say it all.
3,7 cm Flak 43 on Heavy Wehrmacht Tractor.
This heavy tractor was armored and equiped with the powerful flak 43 to create an aditional AAA mobile ( rather slow) plataform for the motorized units.
Why was the 3.7 Flak never developed as a tank canon?
the Flak 37 was a version with a better aiming system but a team of 7 servants was necessary, which was a big problem in 1944.
In 1942, we considered for example that the destruction of a bombe required an average of 4 057 shells. But one needed more than 33 000 at the end of 1944. Also, the consumption of shells, estimated at 500 000 a month in 1941/42 was crossed in more than 3 millions a month. In 1944, more than two million of soldiers and civilians were bound directly or indirectly to the antiaircraft artillery, which absorbed 30 % of all the artillery and 20 % of all the shells produced during year.
Seems logical.
Yet I wonder why the gun wasn’t used on Tanks instead of the 37 Pak.
The 20mm Flak also demanded a lot of shells and crew, yet it served on a 3-man tank (Pz II).
Sorry,I mean that it needs too many average human beings, money and required a relatively long time of implementation regard to Pak 37, without speaking about a necessary Famo to tow it.
I gather the 37mm gun mounted on the Stuka and other ground attack planes was the flak 37 gun. So in a sence it was used against armor.
Why was the 3.7 Flak never developed as a tank canon
No, why they would ?, the AP performances of it were marginal. 36mm at 150 meters and 28 mm at 600 meters ( plate sloped 30º)
The only real use was with hard core tugsten ammunition in the BK 3,7 used by Sutkas and Hs-129.
If you are thinking in a fully auromatic weapon for use in recce tanks …I dont think the Flak 43 would be very easy to fit inside a normal panzer turret.
the Flak 37 was a version with a better aiming system but a team of 7 servants was necessary, which was a big problem in 1944.
In 1942, we considered for example that the destruction of a bombe required an average of 4 057 shells. But one needed more than 33 000 at the end of 1944. Also, the consumption of shells, estimated at 500 000 a month in 1941/42 was crossed in more than 3 millions a month. In 1944, more than two million of soldiers and civilians were bound directly or indirectly to the antiaircraft artillery, which absorbed 30 % of all the artillery and 20 % of all the shells produced during year.
I think you are talking about the 8,8cm gun variant. We are talking about the 3,7cm Flak 43.
The 20 mm canon was used till the end though(penetration = 20mm @ 150m)… as was the single shot 37mm KwK/Pak (which has same performance as the 37 Flak)
If you are thinking in a fully auromatic weapon for use in recce tanks …
Yes i was thinking of just that. 
I dont think the Flak 43 would be very easy to fit inside a normal panzer turret.
Maybe so. What about the Puma?
Yes the Kwk 20mm was used till the end because it was afully automatic , relative light and uncomplicated weapon. But no because it was perfect. there were plans to replace the Kwk 38 with a special hiper-velocity (1280 mps) 2,8cm MK. This Mauser design had the advantage to be belft feed ( 10 round magazines in the 2c kwk 38) had a rate of fire of 350 rpm and penetrated 40 % more armor up to 1000 meters range. However the MK 2,8cm didnt entered in service, its panzergranate needed a tusgsten core ammo for correct performance and Germany simply havent enough suppply of it to arm light caliber weapons.
The 2,8 cm MK did fit in two man turret ( as the Leopard and Luchs) perfectly. Actually wa sproposed to be the main weapon of the Luchs in 1941. A photo of it first and second prototipe.
Maybe so. What about the Puma?
dont think so, the Puma armored car used the same turret of the Leopard with some small modification in its turret ring. Again it was a 2 man turret, the flak 43 37mm was manually loaded with 8 rounds clips…by 2 loaders, complicated. Look the size of the turret in the only fully tracked panzer armed with this, the Ostwind.
Yet they placed the 50/L60 canon in the Puma no?
I find it hard to understand why - if not a 37mm - a 50mm canon with 3 meter barrel indeed can be fit without to much problems.
Tungsten: true, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. The Germans couldn’t afford small bore technicals on a large scale because of this. Even the long used 20mm was at it best with tungsten. Long barreled high velocity guns and even APFS helped a lot more.
The “Light” Czech T35/T38 with their 37mm canon where quite the relief as early as on the western Blitzkrieg in which they gave the light tank platoons needed firepower.
It is astonishing to see how easy the Germans could have (but didn’t) adopted Allied concepts to make the effort less hard. The Russians and Americans main tank was for a long while a sturdy box of metal with a relative low velocity, big bore gun. Both had small lighter tanks/AFV with or the same gun (think of M8) or with a somewhat smaller gun (37, 40 , 47mm). As soon as the 20mm on light and 37 mm gun on medium tanks became obsolete, the Germans should have upgunned ALL vehicles with a simple design to shoot plain APC. The Panzer II could have had a 75mm/L24 with minor mods. The Panzer III version N could have been earlier.
Well the kwk 39 is loaded from the breech, that is from the rear of the gun. As you can see the 3,7 Flak is loaded form the sides with a qyuite large clip. In order to fit and operated in a enclosed turret the 43 would need a redisigned feed system like belt feed, there was a projekt for a 37mm belt feed ( flak 44) but usual never come.
Tugsten was always problematic, all production of the tugsten core ( usually denominated PzG 40 ) ammo with caliber below 37mm was terminated in 1943.
Afrika Korps Special PanzerJäger
Unique antitank halftrack. Extracted from"Rommel Funnies" Panzer Tracts series.
always liked the looks of that one
have you found any pictures of the first 3 prototypes?
3 protos was the full production, if you mean prototypes in the factory, well I have not.
Hello,
seems to be a Pz. I Brückenleger.
Interessting mechanics though.
Best regards 
It was kind of a extreme measure to put a bridge on that small chassis. The bridge hardly can bear 7 tons.
Panzerbeobachtungswagen III
In november 1942 the German High attempted to obtain Panthers for the devoted task of fordward artillery observation. The proposed vehicle was a very specialiced variant of the Panzer V, with a turret designed by Rheinmetall in collaboration with Krupp and Anschütz. The Panzerbeobachstung Panther could provide precise observation up to 12000 meters, accurate range reading up to 7000 meters and could even to draw useful topographic maps when there were not artillery charts available.
Despite the pleas the production the Pzbcht Panther was not allowed to continue , mainly because the refusal of Guderian, appointed inspector of the armored corps in early 1943, to “waste” precious panther Chassis for the artillery brach. The Artilley High Command had to content with a cheaper vehicle based on the trusty pz III.
The Sd.Kfz.143 had a crew of five and was equipped with powerful Fu 3 and Fu 8 radio equipment. The Fu 8 withthe characteristic star antenna had an 20 km range. It could be used for liason with observation aircrafts like the Hs 126, Fi-156 and FW-189 in order to obtain a better panorama of the battlefield.
Panzerbeobachtungswagen III had a dummy gun mounted and in the place of original gun, Kugelblende (ballmount) for a 7.92mm MG34 machine gun was installed. The armament was only an MG 34 pzl 2 MP 40s and some grenades. 2 observation periscopes ,TSR 1 and TBF 1 with 6x magnification and a “mules deer” rangefinder were provided for the crew. Both the TSR and TBF could be used with the turret fully “buttoned up”.
From February of 1942 to April of 1944, 262 Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf E/F/Gs were up-armored and converted into Artillerie Panzerbeobachtungswagen III (Sd.Kfz.143) - observation vehicles which served with Wespe and Hummel batteries until the end of the war. The main contractor of this special panzer was Deutsche Eisenwerke of Duisberg.
