Wehrmacht: Part 17

37-mm anti-aircraft gun FLAK-18

THE FLAK ANTI-AIRCRAFT CANNONS

The original 37 mm gun was developed by Rheinmetall in 1935 as the 3.7 cm Flugzeugabwehrkanone 18. It was essentially an enlarged version of the 2 cm FlaK 30 firing a 37 mm shell from an L/89 barrel. Like the Flak 30, it used a mechanical bolt for automatic fire, but nevertheless featured a fairly good rate of fire, about 160 rounds per minute. The complete gun, including the wheeled mount, weighed 1,757 kilograms (3,870 lb).

The Flak 18 was produced only in small numbers, and production had already ended in 1936 in favor of well known 2 cm Flakvierling 38, a four-barrel development of the Flak 30. Development continued, however, resulting in a lighter two-wheel mount produced as the 3.7 cm Flak 36 that cut the complete weight to 1,544 kilograms (3,400 lb). A new sighting system introduced the next year produced the 3.7 cm Flak 37 that was otherwise similar. It appears existing weapons were brought up to the Flak 37 standard, while new production started in 1942 and produced 1178 before production ended in 1944. The Flak 37 was known as 37 ITK 37 in Finland.

The Flak 43 Anti-aircraft gun

THE FLAK 43

As Allied air power grew dramatically during the mid-period of the war, the 20 mm quad-mount proved to have too little power and the 37 mm was turned to as its replacement. Not content with the existing versions, Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp were asked to produce a new version that was less expensive.

Krupp initially won the contract, but at the last moment the Krupp design developed weaknesses and Rheinmetall-Borsig got the award. This immediately resulted in the factional wrangling in the Nazi party that often beset German wartime industrial production, so by the time Rheinmetall-Borsig was actually able to go ahead well over a year had passed. The design partially able to made up for the delay, however, as it was produced with stampings, welding and simple components in the same way as submachine guns. The production time for a gun was cut by a factor of four.

The new 3.7 Flak 43 was a dramatic improvement over the older models. A new gas-operated breech improved the firing rate to 250 RPM, while at the same time dropping in weight to 1247 kg. It was also produced in a twin-gun mount, the 3.7 cm Flakzwilling 43, although this version was considered somewhat unwieldy and top-heavy.

The Flak 37 could be found in some numbers mounted to the ubiquitous Sd.Kfz. 7 or (later) the sWS. The newer Flak 43 was almost always used in a mobile mounting. Most famous of these were the converted Panzer IV's, first the "interim" Möbelwagen, and later the Ostwind, which was considered particularly deadly.

Compared to its closest Allied counterpart, the 40 mm Bofors, the Flak 43 had over double the firing rate, could set up in much smaller spaces, and was considerably lighter when considering the gun and mount together. Although the weapon was complete in 1942, production did not start until 1944. About 928 single and 185 double versions were produced by end of the war.

VIDEO: FLAK 43

German soldiers load the ammo for Flak 43

Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun

Josef Sepp Dietrich

WHO WAS JOSEF SEPP DIETRICH?

Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (28 May 1892 – 21 April 1966) was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of Hitler's political opponents during the Night of the Long Knives. After the war, he was imprisoned by the United States for war crimes and later by Germany for murder.


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Sepp within his men

Stug 3

Summer 1941, USSR

USSR 1942

The harsh Russian winter

Waiting to get kitted up

Ukraine 1941

This SS man strums a guitar

German sailors listen to the radio. Summer 1942

This boy has got a lot of medals


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WEHRMACHT Part 16

Heavy four-armored reconnaissance (special car 234 / 4)

GERMAN HEAVY ARMORED RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLES

The term Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (Heavy armored reconnaissance vehicle), covers the 6 and 8 wheeled armoured cars Germany used during the Second World War.

In the German Army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of reconnaissance and screening. They scouted ahead of mechanized units to assess enemy strength and location. Their primary role was to observe rather than fight enemy units, although they were expected to fight enemy reconnaissance elements when required.

The heavy Panzerspähwagen was a large and ungainly but very fast addition to the German mobile arsenal of the early war years. The original 6-rad (6 wheeled) versions were based on a 6x4 truck with armoured body, but by 1937 they were being replaced by the 8-rad versions. During the replacement, the Sd.Kfz numbers were carried directly over; differentiation is made by the addition of 6-Rad or 8-Rad (Ger: "6 wheel" or "8 wheel") in the vehicle name.

These vehicles first saw combat with the campaign against Poland and in the Battle of France. The radio communication cars proved their ability in infantry support, especially during street fighting. Later they saw use in both the USSR and North Africa. Extreme climatic conditions in both these areas proved too severe for the vehicle. In the USSR, adverse ground conditions immobilized 150 Sd.Kfz 232s during the first wet season of the campaign.In the desert, heat and sand created some maintenance problems. Still, the eight-wheeled cars turned out to be the best vehicles that Rommel had for long range reconnaissance across the wide desert territory.

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Austrian ADGZ in use by the 7-SS division

What was ADGZ?

The Austrian army was using the ADGZ armored car at the time of Anschluss. 12 were used by the army and 15 were used by the police. The Germans used them for police work and some were taken on by the SS and used on the Eastern front and in the Balkans.

The SS ordered an additional 25 ADGZ which were delivered in 1942. An interesting feature of this vehicle was that there was no "rear:" either end was capable of driving the unit.

SS Heimwehr Danzig used ADGZ armored cars during the defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig on September 1, 1939.

After the invasion of the USSR a few ADGZ armored cars were rearmed with turrets from the Soviet T-26 model 1933 light tank.

Land and water amphibious vehicle top speed on land 40 km / h in water 12.5 km / h.

These direction finders were used to search for covert transmitters in the field.

Radar FuSE62. Summer 1944. In USSR

Light armored reconnaissance (special machine 221)

An Italian soldier

Italian marines stand in rapt attention. But they were not even anywhere near the Germans in fighting abilities. Mussolini's ambitions were larger than his soldiers' fighting potential.

Men of the Luftwaffe

The 7.5 cm PaK 40 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) was a German 7.5 centimetre anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Second World War. PaK 40 formed the backbone of german anti-tank guns for the latter part of World War II.

The German army withdraws from Belarus in 1944

Romanian soldiers with 7.92-mm easel pulimetom ZB-53

Heavy four-armored reconnaissance (special machine 231)

A SdKfz 223

The Leichter Panzerspähwagen (German: roughly "Light Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle") were a series of light four-wheel drive armoured cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944.

They were developed by Eisenwerk Weserhütte of Bad Oeynhausen. Chassis were built by Auto Union in Zwickau and assembled by F. Schichau of Elbing and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen in Hanover-Linden.

It used the standard sPkw I Horch 801 (heavy car) chassis with an angled armoured body and turret.

The rear mounted engine was a 67 kW (90 hp) Horch 3.5 petrol engine, giving it a road speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It had a maximum range of 300 km (186 mi).

Used by the reconnaissance battalions (Aufklärungs-Abteilung) of the Panzer divisions, the type performed well enough in countries with good road networks, like those in Western Europe. However, on the Eastern Front and North Africa, this class of vehicle was hampered by its relatively poor off-road performance. In those theaters, it gradually found itself replaced in the reconnaissance role by the Sdkfz 250 half-track. The Sdkfz 250/9 was the Sdkfz 250 with the same turret as the Sdfkz 222.

The Sdkfz 222 was examined by Soviet designers before they created the similar BA-64 light armoured car.

Front and sides were made of 8 mm (0.3 in) steel; thinner 5 mm (0.2 in) plates protected the top, rear, and bottom. Cast vision ports later replaced ports cut into the armour. The open topped turret was fitted with wire mesh anti-grenade screens.

SdKfz. 221

Base model and first production series of light armoured car built on a standardized chassis for military use. The Sdkfz. 221 was armed with a single 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 (MG34) machine gun, manned by a two man crew, and had 4-wheel drive. Armour protection was originally 8 mm thick, but increased to 14.5 mm later in production.

SdKfz 221 mit 2.8cm

A 28 mm sPzB41 in a modified turret.

SdKfz. 222

This version of the vehicle was armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon and a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun. The third crew member was the gunner, relieving the commander of that task. Some versions included a 28 mm armored piercing cannon. A prototype version included a 50 mm cannon. Two armored prototype versions were completed.

SdKfz. 223
Deutscher Panzerspähwagen

A radio car version, armed like the 221 with a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun. Included additional radio equipment, and had a large "bed-frame" antenna over the vehicle. Over 500 of the SdKfz 223 were produced.

Kleine Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 260

Kleine Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 261

Another view of SdKfz 223

SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte

Notes:

The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) was Adolf Hitler's personal Bodyguard Regiment ("Leibstandarte" being a somewhat archaic German expression for the personal bodyguard of a military leader). The LSSAH independently participated in combat during the Invasion of Poland. The LSSAH was amalgamated into the Waffen-SS together with the SS-VT and the combat units of the SS-TV prior to Operation Barbarossa in 1941. By the end of World War II it had been increased in size from a regiment to a Panzer division. The elite division was a component of the Waffen-SS which was found guilty of war crimes in the Nuremberg Trials.

Sturmtiger armament 380 mm mortar RW61. Sturmtiger is the common name of a World War II German assault gun built on the Panzer VI Tiger I chassis and armed with a large naval rocket launcher, the 38 cm Raketen-Werfer RW61 L/5.4. Its primary task was to provide heavy fire support for infantry units fighting in urban areas. The few vehicles produced fought in the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald. The vehicle is also known under the names Tiger-Mörser, Sturmmörser Tiger and Sturmpanzer VI.
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Monkeying around

Peaceful toilet at the battle-field

Germans with their radio transmitter

Smart pose by these Wehrmacht men. They could have been used in recruitment posters!

A dog cart. The Germans used everything!

German soldiers take a break. 1942


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A Marriage: WEHRMACHT Part 15

Below are some images of the fighting men of the Third Reich with their brides. The brides seem happy proud. They had reason to be. Marrying a man who was fighting for Hitler and the Fatherland. Unaware of the sad ending that befell Germany later.

One wonders how many of the men in the images lived to see the end of the war. And what happened to the proud brides. The invading Russians showed no mercy in 1945.....

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