Tankers and gunners!!
Let's see about the 12.8 cm FlaK 40/1, a German World War II anti-aircraft gun. Although it was not produced in great numbers, it was one of the most effective heavy AA guns of its era.
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12,8cm Flak 40/1 - towed version - captured by the British
Germany - 1945. |
History:
Development of the gun began in 1936, with the contract being awarded to
Rheinmetall Borsig. The first prototype gun was delivered for testing in late 1937 and completed testing successfully. The gun weighed nearly 12 tonnes in its firing position, with the result that its barrel had to be removed for transport. Limited service testing showed this was impractical, so in 1938 other solutions were considered.
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| Flak 40 in early method of transport... Not practical, at all!! |
While the FlaK 40 was typically utilized on its static carriage system, production was already under way of six "mobile" versions, these mounted atop multiple-axle transport carriages to help content with the massive weapons weight over distances. Despite their mobile classification, these examples still proved heavy and cumbersome to maneuver with any great haste. It came to be that the weapon was eventually dismantled between two loads for transport but even this method was equally time consuming and impractical, forcing the Germans to revert back to the original single-load process for transporting the weapon.
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A very effective final type of the 12.8 cm Flak 40/1 with the box-shaped carriage
center section and four swivel arms on the corners.
Notice the kill markings and cammo...
A lethal weapon, no doubt! |
Due to the heavy nature of the weapon system as a whole, the FlaK 40 was eventually settled as a static gun emplacement along few - though critical -airspace routes throughout the Reich. Berlin and Vienna were two such locales protected FlaK 40 guns and even then some of these weapons had specially constructed towers designed to manage their weight and take on even greater vantage points.
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Flak 40/2 twin version in a flak tower in Berlin
Notice the color of the cammo |
To compensate for the FlaK 40s limited tactical value, engineers eventually managed a railcar variant that supplied only limited additional mobility.
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| 12,8cm Flak 40 railcar prototype |
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| Drawing of railcar for 12,8cm Flak 40 |
As the Allied bombing campaign (day and night) was taking an ever increasing toll on German war-making capacities, a twin-gun variant was also developed and these were designated as "12.8cm FlaK 40 Zwilling". These were essentially the same class of weapon though completed with two side-by-side 128mm gun barrels, appropriate fire control systems and dual loading facilities all fitted to the original mount. Production of this form also began in 1942 to which some 34 examples were available by February of 1945. Again, the sheer weight and complexity of these systems made their availability limited and, thusly, they were utilized strictly around key Reich centers.
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12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40/2, the most commonly known variant of the Flak 40.
These guns were used in the AA defenses of Berlin and Vienna |
The eventual solution was to simplify the firing platform, based on the assumption it would always be securely bolted into concrete. The total weight of the Flakzwilling twin-gun mount system reached 26.5 tonnes, making it practically impossible to tow cross-country. In the end, this mattered little since by the time the gun entered production in 1942, it was used in primarily static, defensive applications. There were four twin mounts on the fortified anti-aircraft
Zoo Tower, and they were also on other
flak towers protecting Berlin, Hamburg, and Vienna.
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| 12,8cm Flakzwilling 40/2 in the Zoo AA tower - Berlin |
It is claimed that during the Battle of Berlin the guns on the Zoo Tower were used successfully to support ground forces, "where the heavy 128 mm shells obliterated Soviet armor, especially when hit from the side". The rush to capture the Reichstag led to dozens of tanks being destroyed. Approximately 200 were mounted on railcars, providing limited mobility.
The gun fired a 27.9 kg shell at 880 m/s to a maximum ceiling of 14,800 m. Compared with the
88 mm Flak 18 & 36, the FlaK 40 used a powder charge four times as great.
Variants:
- 12.8 cm Flak 40 - static version: most commonly used version, on a static pedestal stand.
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12,8cm Flak 40 with full crew in a flak tower.
Notice the static pedestal stand - right view
Reich area - Germany - December, 1943. |
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12,8cm Flak 40 with full crew in a flak tower - left view
Reich area - Germany - December, 1943. |
- 12.8 cm Flak 40/1 - towed version: With the four-axle special trailer 220 (Sd. Ah. 220), the 12.8cm Flak 40/1 could be moved in one load in the pulling force. The Sd. Ah. 220 consisted of two identical two-axle trailers, between which the anti-aircraft gun was suspended. The set had a total weight of 27t.
- 12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40/2: The 12.8 cm Flak 40 ordnance on a static dual mounting with a total weight of 26 tonnes, capable of firing 20 rounds per minute. Used mainly on flak towers. Production started in 1942 with 10 twin sets produced, another eight in 1943, and in February 1945 a total of 34 were available.
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| 12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling mount on the Flakturm Tiergarten - Berlin 1945 |
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| 12,8 cm VK30.01 Selbstfahrlafette auf (H) "Sturer Emil" |
Specs:
| 12.8 cm Flak 40 (static version) |
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| Type | Anti-aircraft gun |
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| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
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| Service history |
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| In service | 1942–45 |
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| Used by | Nazi Germany |
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| Wars | World War II |
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| Production history |
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| Designer | Rheinmetall-Borsig |
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| Designed | 1936 |
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| Manufacturer | Rheinmetall-Borsig |
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| Produced | 1942 |
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| No. built | 1,125 |
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| Variants | 12.8 cm FlaK 40
12.8 cm FlaK 40/1
12.8 cm FlaK 40 Zwilling
12.8 cm PaK 40 |
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| Specifications |
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| Mass | 17,000 kg |
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| Length | 7.835 m |
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| Barrel length | 7.8 m - 61 calibers |
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| Shell | 128 x 958mm R |
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| Shell weight | 26 kg |
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| Caliber | 128 mm |
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| Breech |
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| Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic |
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| Carriage |
Static, towed or railcar mounted.
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| Elevation | -3 to +88 degrees |
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| Traverse | 360 degrees |
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| Muzzle velocity | 880 m/s |
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| Maximum firing range | 14,800 m |
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| Feed system | Power rammer |
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The project and kits: For this project, I'll put togheter two kits: The towed version of 12.8 cm gun, the
12.8 cm Flak 40/1 from
Hobby Boss (#84545) and as tractor, the late and armoured version of SdKfz 8, the huge
SdKfz 8 DB10 Gepanzerte 12t heavy tractor, from
Trumpeter (#01584).
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| Kojak in his workbench, with two huge girls... |
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| Hobby Boss art box kit |
Starting by the booklet: the base of the gun, with its articulated arms...
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| The gun's base and lots of clamps... |
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| The base is ready. Notice the size of the base....huge!! |
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| Gun's base: other side... |
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| The gun barrel and the breech... Fits perfectly... |
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| The breech, in close, 98% assembled... |
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| Kojak with the gun barrel with breech... Wow!! |
My idea in terms of painting would be the gun with the colors of the end of WWII, but the trailer with the colors of the rear area vehicles, which was the characteristic of this weapon. Their displacements generally made by roads and were positioned in the vicinity of large cities, which were being razed by the Allied carpet bomb. Therefore, the Flak 40/1 will be in dark yellow, camouflaged with green and brown and the four-axle special trailer 220 (Sd. Ah. 220) in panzer-gray.
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| Something like this... |
Starting by the yellow:
And the cammo, now!!
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| The gun in his base... |
Weird is the trailer 220 (Sd. Ah. 220) do not show the towing eyes. Let's do it in scratch, for the future coupling with Sd.Kfz 8.
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| Towing eyes in scratch: metal and Plastruct |
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| Towing eye in close view |
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Meet ANNE, the "A" gun for a not known AA battery...
Notice the trailer in panzer-gray...
Anne is dangerous: 5 kils and counting... |
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Installing the telephony and telemetry wires. Too bad the kit does not have these items.
I used a scrap of a disabled computer mouse ... Recycling is necessary !! |
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Do not worry about the bright red ... It will be aged ...
and do not forget that these guns were on the outskirts of cities, to the rear ... |
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| A little touch of color!! |
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| Done!! |
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| Starting the weathering... |
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| Anne is very big!! |
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| The gun in the trailer...Soo huge!! |
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| Weathering... |
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| Adding details... |
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And ANNE with shoes...
Notice the red cables...much better!!
Right side... |
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| ANNE in the left side... |
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| 12,8 cm Flak 40/1 |
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| An awesome artillery piece!! |
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| Note a size comparison between the Flak 40/1 of 128mm and the famous Flak 36 of 88mm .... |
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| The lioness and the little lion ... |
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ANNE - 12,8cm Flak 40/1 in the Sonderanhänger 220 (Sd. Ah. 220) special trailer.
Berlin, April, 1945. |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 - left side |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 - right side |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 and Kojak... |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 , Kojak and Rover, the dog.... |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 with Kojak stand in the left platform... |
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| 12,8cm Flak 40/1 with left plarform folded... |
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Two legends in the German WWII Anti-Aircraft Warfare: the 12,8cm Flak 40/1
and the 8,8cm Flak 36. |
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| The Flak 40/1 is sooo huge!!! |
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| Two beautiful German girls!!! |
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| Cheers!! |
Thanks for watching, Gunners!!!
