MÖBELWAGEN
Anti-aircraft gun on Panzer IV chassis
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PANZERWAFFE.INFO
German World War II armored fighting vehicles gallery
FAST FACTS:
Möbelwagen was one of so called Flakpanzers, an anti-aircraft gun mounted on a tank chassis. In this case the chassis came from medium tank Panzer IV. Its development started in June 1943 in Krupp company. It was supposed to escort moving tank units and provide them close anti-aircraft protection.
The first prototype was ready in October 1943. It was armed with a set of four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns called 2cm Flakvierling 38. The vehicle was accepted by the army and serial production was to start in April 1944 latest. However in December 1943 the order was changed. Serial Möbelwagens were to be newly armed with heavier single barrel 37 mm Flak 43 gun.
The gun was installed on a flat platform in place of the original tank turret. Fighting compartment was protected by foldable armor walls. It was operated by a crew of six. The overall mass of the vehicle was about 25 metric tons. First serial machines were finished in March 1944. The production continued until March 1945 with total score of 240 copies. Möbelwagen, which literally means a furniture van in German, was not an official name of this fighting vehicle. It was just a nickname that came from the boxy shape of the closed fighting compartment.
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