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40-548: Flakpanzer IV is the general designation for a series of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns based on the Panzerkampfwagen IV chassis. They are, in order of development: This article related to weaponry is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon Specific weapon systems used include machine guns , autocannons , larger guns, or surface-to-air missiles , and some mount both guns and longer-ranged missiles (e.g.

80-671: A M3 Half-track . The British developed their own SPAAGs throughout the war mounting multiple machine guns and light cannon on various tank and armoured car chassis and by 1943, the Crusader AA tanks , which mounted the Bofors 40 mm gun or two-three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon . Although used during the Normandy landings, by that point German aircraft were contained by the Allies own air forces and they were largely unneeded. The introduction of jet engines and

120-643: A Mk II was produced which was mechanically similar but had improvements, such as better quality sights for the machine guns and a larger turret for easier access. A variant on the Mk VIB was produced for service with the British Indian Army , in which the commander's cupola was removed and replaced with a hatch in the turret roof. When the Mk VI was first produced in 1936, the Imperial General Staff considered

160-473: A few minor differences to make production simpler, including a one-piece armoured louvre over the radiator instead of a two-piece louvre, and a plain circular cupola instead of the faceted type. The Mk VIC, which was the last in the MK VI series, had the commander's cupola removed and had wider bogies and three carburettors to improve engine performance; it was also more powerfully armed than the other models, replacing

200-525: A few respects. The turret, which had been expanded in the Mk V to allow a three-man crew to operate the tank, was further expanded to give room in its rear for a wireless set. The weight of the tank was increased to 10,800 pounds (4,900 kg), which although heavier than previous models actually improved its handling characteristics, and an 88 horsepower (66 kW) engine was added to the model to increase its maximum speed to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h). It had

240-500: A high rate of fire. In addition, most anti-aircraft guns can be used in a direct-fire role against surface targets to great effect. Today, surface-to-air missiles (generally mounted on similar turrets) have largely supplanted anti-aircraft guns, but they may return as a cheap way to counter unmanned aerial systems (drones), cruise missiles, and ultralight aircraft. Anti-aircraft machine guns have long been mounted on trucks, and these were quite common during World War I . A predecessor of

280-677: A result of this, when the Second World War began in September 1939, the vast majority of the tanks available to the British Army were Mk VIs; there were 1,002 Mk VI light tanks, 79 Mk I (A9) and Mk II (A10) cruiser tanks and 67 Matilda Mk I infantry tanks. Of these tanks, only 196 light tanks and 50 infantry tanks were in use by operational units of the army. When the Battle of France began in May 1940,

320-647: A twin 15 mm version based on the Light Tank Mk.V was built. Among early pre-war pioneers of self-propelled AA guns were the Germans. By the time of the war, they fielded the Sd.Kfz. 10/4 and Sd.Kfz. 6/2 , cargo half-tracks mounting single 20 mm or 37 mm AA guns (respectively). Later in the war similar German half-tracks mounted quadruple 20 mm weapons . Larger guns followed on larger trucks, but these mountings generally required off-truck setup in order to unlimber

360-1255: Is more limited. The U.S. Army did use the M163 VADS and developed the prototype design of the M247 Sergeant York . Modern SPAAGs usually have short-range missiles for longer range engagement. The Pantsir system from Russia is primarily a missile battery, although it does have twin cannons as secondary armament. Some examples of modern SPAAG: 2 × FN-6A — 4 × QW-2 IR missiles 4 × FN-6 IR missiles PGL-XX (Code name 625) 4 to 8 × FN-16 (for PGZ 625E ) Thales A3B-T programmed telescoped ammunition (Israeli Aircraft Industries) 4 × FIM-92 Stinger — (Consortium Iveco OTO Melara ) "OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat" "Maneuver Short Range Air Defense" 1 M240 (7.62mm) 4 × FIM-92 Stinger 2 × AGM-114L Hellfire 7.62 × 51 mm — — (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) HEI ammunition MADIS RWS "Marine Air Defense Integrated System US Marine Corps Ground Based Air Defense" Light Tank Mark VI The Tank, Light, Mk VI

400-586: The Franco-Thai war (1940–1941) along with 30 Vickers Mk.E Type B 6-ton tanks. Despite being the first tracked SPAAG en masse, the open-top design of the Vickers Type 76 made it outdated even by the early 1930s. The first modern SPAAG to be produced was most likely the Swedish Landsverk L-62 Anti in 1936, featuring a tracked armoured body with a revolving turret, a so-called anti-aircraft tank . It

440-719: The Horstmann coil-spring suspension system, which was found to be durable and reliable, although the fact that the tank was short in relation to its width and that it pitched violently on rough ground made accurate gunnery whilst moving exceptionally difficult. The Mk VI possessed a crew of three consisting of a driver, gunner and commander, who also doubled as the radio operator, between 4 mm (0.16 in) and 14 mm (0.55 in) of armour, which could resist rifle and machine gun bullets, and its armament consisted of one water-cooled .303 inch (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and one .50 inch (12.7 mm) Vickers machine gun . Production of

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480-475: The Pantsir-S1 ). Platforms used include both trucks and heavier combat vehicles such as armoured personnel carriers and tanks , which add protection from aircraft, artillery, and small arms fire for front line deployment. Anti-aircraft guns are usually mounted in a quickly-traversing turret with a high rate of elevation, for tracking fast-moving aircraft. They are often in dual or quadruple mounts, allowing

520-770: The "Carrier, SP, 4x4, 40 mm AA"), a Bofors 40 mm AA gun mounted on a chassis derived from the Morris "Quad" Field Artillery Tractor truck. Similar types, based on 3-ton lorries, were produced in Britain, Canada and Australia, and together formed the most numerous self-propelled AA guns in British service. The U.S. Army brought truck-towed Bofors 40 mm AA guns along with truck-mounted units fitted with mechanized turrets when they sailed, first for Great Britain and then onto France. The turrets carried four .50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns, which were designed to be adjusted to converge at

560-513: The .303 and .50 Vickers machine guns with co-axial 15 mm (0.59 in) and 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Besa machine guns . A small number of specialized variations were also built based on the Mk VI chassis . The Tank, Light, AA Mk I was built in the aftermath of the Battle of France and was intended to act as a counter-measure against attacks by German aircraft. It featured a power-operated turret fitted with four 7.92 mm Besa machine guns;

600-615: The 227th infantry division, the first self-propelled artillery in the Wehrmacht . They carried a 105 or 150 mm field howitzer and were designated G.Pz. Mk. VI (e) . In September 1941 the division deployed to Army Group North in Russia where they provided valuable service during the winter 1941–42 battles. The Mk VIB was also used in the North African campaign against the Italians late in 1940 with

640-613: The 7th Armoured Division. At this time, the British had 200 light tanks (presumably Mk VIBs) along with 75 cruiser tanks (A9, A10, A13 ) and 45 Matilda IIs . An attack by the 3rd Hussars at Buq Buq on 12 December 1940 resulted in its tanks getting bogged down in salt pans and severely mauled. In ten minutes, 13 tanks were destroyed, ten officers and men killed – including the CO – and 13 wounded. The 7th Armoured Division had 100 tanks left on 3 January 1941; this increased to 120 tanks on 21 January, at which time they were used in flanking far into

680-485: The British Army, the tank participated in several other important battles. The Mk VIB made up a significant amount of the tanks sent over to the Battle of Greece in 1941, mostly with the 4th Hussars . Ten Mk VIB tanks fought with the 3rd The King's Own Hussars during the Battle of Crete . The same armoured unit had previously embarked three MK VIB tanks for the Norwegian Campaign , but they were lost in transit to

720-487: The British developed the "en portee " method of mounting an anti-tank gun (initially a 2 pounder ) on a truck. This was to prevent the weapon from being damaged by long-distance towing across rough, stony deserts, and it was intended only to be a carrying method, with the gun unloaded for firing. However, crews tended to fire their weapons from their vehicles for the mobility this method provided, with consequent casualties. This undoubtedly inspired their Morris C9/B (officially

760-519: The British government began its rearmament process in 1937, the Mk VI was the only tank with which the War Office was ready to proceed with manufacturing; the development of a medium tank for the Army had hit severe problems after the cancellation of the proposed "Sixteen Tonner" medium tank in 1932 due to the costs involved, and cheaper models only existed as prototypes with a number of mechanical problems. As

800-452: The Mk VI began in 1936 and ended in 1940 with 1,682 Mark VI tanks having been built. Many of those produced were actually variants designed to solve problems found with the original design. The Mk VIA had a return roller removed from the top of the leading bogey and attached to the hull sides instead, and also possessed a faceted cupola. The Mk VIB was mechanically identical to the Mk VIA but with

840-966: The Soviet/Russian Tunguska-M1 , which supplanted the ZSU-23 in service, the newer versions of the Gepard, the Chinese Type 95 SPAAA , and the British Marksman turret , which can be used on a wide variety of platforms. Some forces, like the US Army and USMC have mostly forgone self-propelled guns in favor of systems with short-range infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles in the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger and M6 Linebacker , which do not require radar to be accurate and are generally more reliable and cost-effective to field, though their ability to provide ground support

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880-667: The WWII German "88" anti-aircraft gun, the WWI German 77 mm anti-aircraft gun, was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks. The British QF 3 inch 20 cwt was mounted on trucks for use on the Western Front . The British also had a first dedicated anti aircraft weapon, the QF 1-pounder pom-pom . Mounted on an armoured truck titled the Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry , which

920-492: The aircraft will have moved hundreds of meters during the flight time of the shells, greatly complicating the aiming problem to the point where close passes were essentially impossible to aim using manual gunsights. This speed also allowed the aircraft to rapidly fly out of range of the guns; even if the aircraft passes directly over the SPAAG, it would be within its firing radius for under 30 seconds. SPAAG development continued through

960-466: The division's 3rd Armoured Brigade, possessed by this time 21 Mark VI light tanks. The British Army lost 331 Mark VI light tanks in the Battle of France of 1940. Several of these vehicles were captured by the Wehrmacht , redesignated as Leichter Panzerkampfwagen Mk. IV 734(e) and used for training purposes until the fall of 1942. During 1941 several of these captured vehicles were converted to create self-propelled artillery and supporting vehicles for

1000-403: The early 1950s with ever-larger guns, improving the range and allowing the engagement to take place at longer distances where the crossing angle was smaller and aiming was easier. Examples including the 40 mm U.S. M42 Duster and the 57 mm Soviet ZSU-57-2 . However, both were essentially obsolete before they entered service, and found employment solely in the ground-support role. The M42

1040-502: The helicopters would often be within range of the guns for a rapid counterattack. Notable among these later systems is the German Gepard , the first western SPAAG to offer performance equal to or better than the ZSU. This system was widely copied in various NATO forces. SPAAG development continues, with many modern examples often combining both guns and short-range missiles. Examples include

1080-656: The majority of the tanks possessed by the British Expeditionary Force were Mark VI variants; the seven Royal Armoured Corps divisional cavalry regiments, the principal armoured formations of the BEF, were each equipped with 28 Mk VIs. The 1st Armoured Division , elements of which landed in France in April, was equipped with 257 tanks, of which a large number were Mk VIB and Mk VICs. The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, which formed part of

1120-457: The presence of SAMs forced aircraft to fly low to avoid their radars, placing them within range of the ZSUs. The success of the ZSU-23 led to a resurgence of SPAAG development. This was also prompted by the introduction of attack helicopters in the 1970s, which could hide behind terrain and then "pop up" for an attack lasting only a few tens of seconds; missiles were ineffective at low altitudes, while

1160-433: The rear and gathering up scattered Italian troops, sometimes joining or leaving the main attacks to the cruiser and Matilda II tanks. During an engagement at Mechili on 24 January, six Mk VIs were destroyed by newly arrived superior Italian Fiat M13/40s for no loss, forcing a retreat until cruiser tanks arrived. The 2nd RTR continued to battle the Italians with light tanks as late as 6 February 1941. Being widely used by

1200-549: The single point where enemy aircraft were expected to appear at low altitude in conduction of strafing runs directed at large infantry and field artillery units. Interest in mobile AA turned to heavier vehicles with the mass and stability needed to easily train weapons of all sizes. Probably the desire, particularly in German service, for anti-aircraft vehicles to be armoured for their own protection also assisted this trend. The concept of using armored SPAAG (anti-aircraft tanks) en masse

1240-463: The stabilizing legs these guns needed. One exception to this rule was the Italian Cannone da 90/53 which was highly effective when mounted on trucks, a fit known as the " autocannoni da 90/53 ". The 90/53 was a feared weapon, notably in the anti-tank role, but only a few hundred had been produced by the time of the armistice in 1943. Other nations tended to work on truck chassis. Starting in 1941,

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1280-459: The subsequent rough doubling of aircraft speeds greatly reduced the effectiveness of the SPAAG against attack aircraft. A typical SPAAG round might have a muzzle velocity on the order of 1,000 metres per second (3,300 ft/s) and might take as long as two to three seconds to reach a target at its maximum range. An aircraft flying at 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph) is moving at a rate of about 280 metres per second (920 ft/s). This means

1320-577: The tank to be superior to any light tank produced by other nations, and well suited to the dual roles of reconnaissance and colonial warfare. Like many of its predecessors, the Mark VI was used by the British Army to perform imperial policing duties in British India and other colonies in the British Empire , a role for which it and the other Vickers-Armstrongs light tanks were found to be well suited. When

1360-460: Was a British light tank , produced by Vickers-Armstrongs in the late 1930s, which saw service during the Second World War . The Tank, Light, Mk VI was the sixth in the line of light tanks built by Vickers-Armstrongs for the British Army during the interwar period . The company had achieved a degree of standardization with their previous five models, and the Mark VI was identical in all but

1400-542: Was based on a widened chassis of the Landsverk L-60 light tank and was armed with a Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 in an open-top revolving turret. The design was bought by Hungary just prior to the war and Finland ordered a refined model in 1941, known as the Anti II . By the late 1930s, the British had developed a version of the Mk.VI Light Tank armed with four machine guns that were known as Light Tank AA Mk.I, and also

1440-498: Was generally held by many forces, and the anti-aircraft role turned almost exclusively to missile systems. The Soviet Union remained an outlier, beginning the development of a new SPAAG in 1957, which emerged as the ZSU-23-4 in 1965. This system included search-and-track radars, fire control, and automatic gun-laying, greatly increasing its effectiveness against modern targets. The ZSU-23 proved very effective when used in concert with SAMs;

1480-603: Was introduced to the Vietnam War to counter an expected North Vietnamese air offensive, but when this failed to materialize it was used as an effective direct-fire weapon. The ZSU-57 found similar use in the Yugoslav Wars , where its high-angle fire was useful in the mountainous terrain. By the late 1950s, the US Army had given up on the SPAAG concept, considering all gun-based weapons to be useless against modern aircraft. This belief

1520-652: Was most likely the British/Siamese Vickers Armstrong "Type 76" (per Buddhist year 2476 = 1933 CE), as named by the Royal Siamese Army , a SPAAG based on the chassis of the Dragon, Medium, Mark IV artillery tractor ( Vickers Mk.E 6-ton light tank derivative), mounting a revolving Vickers 40 mm QF 2 pounder pom-pom autocannon in an open fighting compartment. About 26 were sold to Siam in 1932 and saw action as infantry support guns and AA guns during

1560-579: Was pioneered by Hungary during World War II with the production of the 40M Nimrod , a license-produced version of the previously mentioned late 1930s Landsverk L-62 Anti I SPAAG. Germany followed later with their " Flakpanzer " series. German World War II SPAAGs include the Möbelwagen , Wirbelwind , Ostwind and Kugelblitz . Other forces followed with designs of their own, notably the American M16 created by mounting quadruple M2HB Browning machine guns on

1600-692: Was produced in limited numbers and only seeing service throughout 1915. Towards the end of the war Germany produced three prototype SPAAGs with AA guns mounted on A7V chassis known as the A7V Flakpanzer. Between the two World Wars, the United Kingdom developed the Birch gun , a general-purpose artillery piece on an armoured tracked chassis capable of maintaining formation with their current tanks over terrain. The gun could be elevated for anti-aircraft use. The first tracked SPAAG-design to be manufactured in series

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