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The ''Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind"'' (Whirlwind in English) was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier self-propelled anti-aircraft gun ''Möbelwagen''. In the first years of the war, the Wehrmacht combined German military forces had less interest in developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, but as the Allies began to gain air superiority, the need for more mobile and better-armed self-propelled anti-aircraft guns increased. During the early summer of 1944, SS-''Hauptsturmführer'' Karl Wilhelm Krause with the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'' came up with the concept of the ''Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind''. He presented the concept to SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' Max Wünsche, commanding officer of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment and it was approved by Hitler. The Panzer IV's turret was removed and replaced with an open-top, nine-sided turret which housed a quadruple 2 cm ''Flakvierling'' 38 L/112.5. A closed-top design would have been preferable, but this was not possible due to the heavy smoke generated by the four anti-aircraft guns. The shape of the turret earned it the nickname of Keksdose (Biscuit Tin). 〔achtungpanzer.com〕 Production of the tank was carried out by ''Ostbau Werke'' in Sagan, Silesia. However, in combat the 2cm shells were felt to be insufficiently effective against aircraft and so a more powerful successor was produced which eventually replaced it. Known as the ''Flakpanzer IV Ostwind'' (East Wind), the successor was equipped with a single 3.7 cm FlaK 43. The combination of armor and rapid fire from the four guns of the ''Wirbelwind'' also made it effective against ground targets. Between 87 and 105 ''Wirbelwinds'' were produced during the war, but due to discrepancies between the recorded production numbers at the Ostbau Works and ''Wehrmacht'' service records, the exact number will probably never be known.〔 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wirbelwind」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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