Möbelwagen
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The Flakpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz. 161/3), nicknamed Möbelwagen ("Furniture Van") because of its boxy turret (when closed), was an anti-aircraft gun carrier built on the chassis of the Panzer IV. It was used by the German Wehrmacht in the European Theater of World War II.
In 1943, due to the waning ability of the Luftwaffe to combat enemy ground-attack aircraft, ground-based anti-aircraft weaponry was becoming increasingly important to the Wehrmacht. In early 1943, the idea of creating a gun platform on the chassis of the Panzer IV was first proposed. The initial design used a 20 mm quad-gun ("Flakvierling") that was deemed too weak for the latest aircraft, which were constantly flying higher and faster. Only a single prototype with this gun was produced before the design was rejected. A second design with an upgraded single 37 mm FlaK 43 was approved as a temporary stopgap until better Flakpanzers could be created. This design was designated Flakpanzer IV, and the first production models were put into service on the Western Front in April of 1944.
The Möbelwagen was built on Panzer IV chassis that had been damaged on the Eastern Front and returned to the factory for repair. These were fitted with an open-top superstructure that provided the gun mount. Around this, four hinged 20 mm armored plates were placed. These plates had two basic operating positions: they could be lowered for full 360 degree traverse, allowing flat or low-level firing, or they could be half-closed, being pinned together to hang slightly open. In this position, they had notches that allowed the gun full rotation, but only for firing at airborne targets. Still, both of these positions left the crew extremely vulnerable. The fully closed position was only used for transport, when the plates would give the crew some protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.
Though the Möbelwagen was intended to be a stopgap, it served the anti-aircraft platoons of the Panzer Divisions extremely well on the Western Front. Despite this, fewer than 300 were produced, and it was eventually succeeded by the first true Flakpanzers: the Wirbelwind and the Ostwind, both of which provided the crew with armored protection and full rotation when firing at either ground or air targets.
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| German armored fighting vehicles of World War II | |
|---|---|
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| German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II | |
