NUTS & BOLTS Volume #27 – 2 cm Flakvierling 38 NUTS & BOLTS

Author: Detlev Terlisten

In Nuts & Bolts Vol. 25 (Flakpanzer IV) we only provided a brief summary on the 2 cm Flakvierling 38 as the armament of the Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind. During research we were surprised by the technical complexity of this weapon, and therefore, from our initial studies it was apparent that this important weapons system deserved its own in depth Nuts & Bolts. For the first time in recorded literature an extensive technical description of the gun is given with a highlights on the sights used with the gun, as most of the constructional changes of the gun are directly related to the sights. Also the service history of the Flakvierling is described with organizational schemes and historical photos showing the gun from 1940 to the War’s end, together with a comprehensive review and example of the models available at this time:

2 cm Flakvierling 38 Nuts & Bolts Vol.27: 2 cm Flakvierling 38 160 pages A4, glue-bound, approx. 336 photos, of these 169 historical shots from manuals and during mission in b/w, a number of them previously unpublished; 149 color photos of the surviving guns in public and private collections, 18 color photos of the model from Tony Greenland, English / German captions, 33 pages English / German text, 20 pages of scale drawings of all versions in 1:35 scale from John Rue, 12 camouflage schemes from Carlos de Diego Vaquerizo, and tables of organization of units having the Flakvierling (Kriegstärke-Nachweisungen KStN) in their inventory, first published May 15th, 2011.