Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: 3 cm Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz - 1/35

Tankers!!

Let´s build the 3 cm Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz German AA tank.

But first of all, let's know a little more about this handsome vehicle...

History:

The 3 cm Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz ("ball lightning") was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed during World War II. By the end of the war, only a pilot production of five units had been completed.

Kugelblitz mockup

Unlike earlier self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, it had a fully enclosed, rotating turret.

The need for a specialised self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, capable of keeping up with the armoured divisions, had become increasingly urgent for the German Armed Forces, as from 1943 on the German Air Force was less and less able to protect against enemy fighter bombers.

Kugelblitz in evening action.
font: Devianart

Therefore a multitude of improvised and specially designed self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were built, many on the Panzer IV chassis, starting with the Flakpanzer IV Möbelwagen...

Flakpanzer IV "Mobelwagen" with Flakvierling 38 - 20mm quad AA Gun
(prototype)

Flakpanzer IV Möbelwagen with Flak 43 37mm

...and progressing through the Wirbelwind and Ostwind models. The Kugelblitz was the final development of the Flakpanzer IV.

Wirbelwind Flakvierling 38 - 20mm quad AA Gun

Flakpanzer IV Ostwin with Flak 43 37mm

The first proposal for the Kugelblitz envisioned mounting a modified anti-aircraft turret developed for U-boats on the Panzer IV chassis, which was armed with dual 30 mm MK 303 Brunn guns (a configuration known as Doppelflak, "dual flak"). This was however abandoned as impractical, as development of this gun had not yet been completed, and in any case the entire production run of this gun turret was reserved for the German Navy.

Instead, the 30 mm Zwillingsflak ("twin flak") 103/38 twin gun, a twinned-mount version of the MK 103 cannon, was used, which had also been fitted to such planes as the Henschel Hs 129 and Dornier Do 335. The rate of fire of the twin 30 mm guns was 450 rounds a minute per gun.

The 30 mm Zwillingsflak ("twin flak") 103/38 twin gun
in the Kugelblitz turret

The Kugelblitz had the chassis and basic superstructure of the Panzer IV tank, on which a newly designed turret was mounted. This turret was fully enclosed, with overhead protection and 360° traverse.

Kugelblitz was operated by the crew of 5, protected by the armor thickness varying from 10mm to 80mm. The turret housed 3 men crew consisting of two gun operator (each sitting alongside the gun) and commander (sitting in the middle).

Kugelblitz crew. The right gun
operator is not shown.

The 3500kg turret had one entry/exit hatch (commander was last to enter and first to exit) and two smaller hatches for observation. It had manual traverse by hand of 14 degrees per second. Armored protection of the turret was only 20mm. The size and weight of the turret demanded that hulls were fitted with larger 1900mm rings from Tiger I.

With its low silhouette, high mobility (with maximum speed of 38km/h), great rate of fire (400 to 650 rounds per minute) and gun range (up to 5700 meters), Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz would prove deadly to any enemy plane. Both guns were coupled together, but could be fired independently. The ammunition, known as Minengeschoss was belt-fed and more powerful than standard 30mm round, only three to four rounds were needed to shotdown any enemy plane. Its main drawback was its small ammunition storage allowing it to continue firing for only 90 seconds, while afterwards more ammunition was to be supplied by other vehicles.

As production of the Panzer IV was about to be terminated further work was underway to change to the Jadgpanzer 38(t) chassis which was in turn based on the Panzer 38(t). No prototypes based on Hetzer hulls were completed.

The Kugelblitz was not yet out of development when the war ended. Several evaluation vehicles had been built, but it is unclear how many. It is also unclear what happened to the few Kugelblitzes which were built; some sources say that they ended up being used in the Battle of Berlin.

Kugelblitz complete turret
Tank Museum

Founded in the factory backyard

One Kugelblitz was also involved in the fights near the town of Spichra, where it was destroyed and remained buried in the Spatenberg hill until its excavation in 1999.

Specs:

3 cm Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz

Type	Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Production history
Produced	1945
No. built	5
Specifications
Weight	23 tonnes
Length	5.92 m
Width	2.95 m
Height	2.4 m
Crew	5 (commander, two gunners, radio operator, driver)

Armor	80 mm maximum
Main armament	Zwillingsflak 30mm MK 103 twin anti-aircraft gun
Secondary armament	7.92 mm MG34
Engine	12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM gasoline 300 PS (296 hp, 221 kW)
Power/weight	13 PS/tonne
Fuel capacity	470 l
Operational range	200 km
Speed	38 km/h