(above) 2cm FlakVierling 38
The German Armed Forces had the most highly developed light anti-aircraft artillery capabilities of any of the major powers during WW2. Whilst it was the Luftwaffe who had responsibility for anti-aircraft defences at static military and industrial locations in the homeland and overseas, both the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS had their own light and medium AA batteries to provide local air defence in forward combat areas. The mainstay of the German light AA armoury was their 2cm (20mm) automatic cannon which was variously configured as a single barrel, twin-barrel (Zwilling) and four-barrel (Vierling) weapon. Originally a Rheinmetall design developed at Solothurn during the late 1920s and early 1930s, production of the 2cm FlakVierling started in 1940 and its success in action was such that it remained in service throughout the war. It was a quadruple mounted Flak 38, recoil operated, each of the four cannon fed by a 20-round magazine, and could be fired either fully- or semi-automatic. Two triggers were used; the left trigger gave fully automatic fire and the right gave semi-automatic single shots. The 4 barrels gave it tremendous firepower combined with the lethal punch of high-explosive warhead shells. In addition to its primary function as a static light anti-aircraft weapon, the FlakVierling 38 was also extensively employed in the shipboard AA role, and was used very effectively by the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS as a towed support weapon against soft-skinned and lightly-armoured vehicles. The FlakVierling 38 was mounted on a strengthened Flak 30/38 carriage called the Sonderhanger 52 which consisted of an undercarriage levelled by three adjustable feet, and a top carriage supported on ball bearings. The sights of the FlakVierling 38 were modified many times during the war, and at one stage, it even had its own radar mounted between the barrels. However, the more commonly used sights were the highly-accurate reflector-type Flakvisier 35, the cruder open-sight Linealvisier 21 and the 'cartwheel'-type Schwebekreisvisier 30/38 mechanical sighting systems. The basic specifications of the FlakVierling are as follows: Caliber - 20 mm Length of tube - 56.6 inches Weight in action 1,064 pounds Effective ceiling 3,500 feet Maximum horizontal range - 5,230 yards Rate of fire (practical) - 120 rounds/minutes Muzzle velocity (HE) - 2,950 feet/second Muzzle velocity (AP) - 2,625 feet/second Muzzle velocity (AP30) - 3,250 feet/second Traverse - 360° Elevation - -12° to +90° Projectile weights - HE: 4.2 ounces; AP: 5.2 ounces and AP40: 3.6 ounces The FlakVierling 38 was a crew-served weapon normally manned in its static anti-aircraft role by a team consisting of gun commander, range finder, gun layer and two or more ammunition loaders. However, the gun was commonly operated from trains and trucks, and in other mobile field situations with a minimal three-man crew of gun layer and two loaders. This modification replicates a FlakVierling 38 in service with the Waffen SS during the period of 1944/1945 and fitted with the later Schwebekreisvisier 30/38 gunsight. It is painted in the dunkel-gelb finish known in the German Armed Forces as Ordnance Tan, possibly indicating that the gun had been recently issued and not yet overpainted with one of the many camouflage patterns in common use at that time. The Waffen SS gun crew are dressed in standard feldgrau serge trousers and splinter-pattern camouflaged combat smocks typical of that period of the war. Their field-grey sand-finish-painted stahlhelm carry both the tricolour national and runic SS decals. All their rank and arm-of-service badges are of the later subdued dark green pattern. This mod replaces the standard Axis Wirbelwind in the Mission Builder or Dynamic Mission Editor (DME): Select Create > Flak > Axis > Wirbelwind The FlakVierling objects are fully maneuverable on the ground and will respond to the usual mouse and numeric keypad controls. Once you have precisely positioned the new objects don't forget to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! WARNING: This modification uses high-resolution (512 x 512) images and should only be installed on computers whose video cards support high-resolution textures. Attempting to install high-resolution textures on a system with a video card which does not support them may cause the game to crash. Before installing this or any other custom modification, you are advised to make a backup your original WW2.sqs archive. It is highly recommended that you download and install the excellent Jane's WW2 Fighters JCPanel which enables you to make multiple individually modified copies of the WW2.sqs archive and to very simply switch between them. Follow the steps below to load and install this modification: Extract the contents of this modification ZipFile to your WWII Fighters\Data directory. Assuming the default installation, this is: C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data. The files will have been extracted to a new folder, C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data\FlakVierling38. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the new C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data\FlakVierling38 folder. To install the modification, double-click on the FlakVierling38 Installation.bat icon as shown below. This will open up a DOS session and the installation will proceed in the DOS window. When the installation is complete, a message saying "DONE...CLOSE DOS SESSION" will be displayed in the window. Close the DOS session by clicking on the 'X' close button in the top right corner of the window. Installation is now complete. Note:- some versions of Windows will automatically close the DOS window after installation is complete. The FlakVierling objects can be easily maneuvered into position using mouse or numeric keypad in the DME (Dynamic Mission Editor) mode. The FlakVierling 38 was undoubtedly a formidable target, but a low-level attack pressed home by a determined pilot can often be successful, as shown above. © February 2006