Light flak variations

[tomo pauk]

People,
What would you design, buy, or assemble for the light Flak arm of an WWII army; any country that is?

I'd mate Lorraine carrier with the 25mm AA gun for protecting forward elements of the French army in 1939/40.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

That depends, how high is the ceiling you want? I'm no expert in AA guns though.

 

[tomo pauk]

My idea is to employ the light Flak in a more efficient way than it was done historically, so the ceiling remains within the values of the corresponding weapons (it's under 3 km for light Flak of the WWII).

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Okay, the only thing I can think of is to concentrate light flak belts to increase their firepower.

 

[BombTaxi]

I think the best way of improving the effectiveness of light flak in WW2 is to add 1990s level radar tracking and aiming to it Or do what the USN eventually did, and get so much shooting in the same direction that it is almost impossible not to hit the target. Realistically, even a quad barrel setup, when stationary and engaging a target traveling over 150mph or more, will have little chance of hitting while a human being is relied upon to devise the firing solution. Even the Lorraine/25mm combo that tomo suggested would be of next to no use against a Stuka or fighter on a strafing run, IMHO.

 

[tomo pauk]

I wouldn't agree that human-cued light AAA was of no use back in WWII Many jets flying 400mph and more were shoot down in Vietnam and ex-Yu for by 12,7 - 40mm guns that relied on human brains for firing solution.

 

[BombTaxi]

I wouldn't say it was totally useless either - but in Vietnam, and any other war, effectiveness was dramatically increased by grouping many guns in a small area, and providing an area barrage. Individual operator skill is less important in such an environment.

 

[davebender]

A flakvierling is mounted on 1 tank chassis. Mount a modified Würzburg fire control radar on a 2nd tank chassis or on a trailer. When stationary the systems plug together. Now you've got a radar directed quad 20mm light flak system that can protect the Panzer divisions from Allied fighter-bombers. A primitive ZSU-23-4.

 

[tomo pauk]

Indeed, the Hungarians did venture in such a combo, connecting radar with 40mm SP AAA "Nimrod". Apparently they destroyed many Russian planes with that. (Can't state the source for that, sorry)

Hmm, perhaps modified Lichtenstein radar 3,7cm combo should've been feasible to mount on one chassis. A primitive Gepard