can someone tell me what the prime mover was for the flak 37 and were they luftwaffe or wehrmacht controlled vehicles.thanks.

My guess would be that the Sd.Kfz 10, and Sd.Kfz 10 based vehicles would be sufficient as a towing vehicle.... as I doubt it would be much different in weight then the 75mm Pak 40.

So I would guess:

Sd.Kfz.10 (Demag D7).
RSO.
Trucks, probably a Krupp Protze would do.
Later in the war probably anything with sufficient towing capacity (though anything above the Sd.Kfz 11 would be overkill) will have been used.

Licence plates would be dependent upon the unit it was assigned to. Was it a generic part of a Wehrmacht division, I assume Wehrmacht plates would be used. Luftwaffe units (Fallschirmjaeger), which also includes the Hermann Goering panzer-division would use Luftwaffe plates, the Waffen-SS SS plates. There probably have been Kriegsmarine unitss using the Flak 37 (therefor using Kriegsmarine plates) late in the war.

I have to say though this goes by what I have seen on pics, and by memory.So if someone can back me up with references I would appreciate it.

Cheers,

Harm

a good diorama would be an old german truck towing one. not a truck that belongs to the military. but a truck that belonged to a civilian.

I do believe that the primary prime mover for the flack 37 was the Sd. Kfz 7. it was also able to transport the guns large crew.



I hope this helps you

OOOOOps,

I forgot he did not mention wether it was the 88mm Flak or the 37 mm Flak....

I also like to someday make a diorama of a flak 88 being transported. However, I don't like to use the FAMO.For one thing, the kit is expensive here. Another is that I have some unbuilt German kits here that I could use instead of buying a FAMO.

Were there any other vehicle that was used to tow the Flak 88 aside from the FAMO?

Can someone provide pics? Thanks.

Angela

The vehicle suggested by Tiger101 is NOT a FAMO (18 ton Sd.Kfz 9) but the smaller Krauss-Maffei 8 ton Sd.Kfz 7 (also kitted by Tamiya but may be OOP right now). One possable alternative (later in the war) could be the Bussing-NAG sWS, as kitted by Italeri.

I have here an unbuilt Opel truck, a Tiger Mid Production, an assault gun and a personnel carrier halftrack.

Would these help?

Angela

depends on the personel carrier is it a softskin like the Tamiya sdkfz 7 ? if not you can use AFV clubs sdkfz 11 half track as late in the war they were used to pull the 88mm also

sorry everyone i meant to say 37mm flak 37.

I don't think the SdKfz 11 (which shared the same chassis as the SdKfz 251 SPW) towed the 88mm Flak guns (except perhaps in the most dire emergencies).

They were seen commonly towing the Pak 40 7.5cm (3100 lbs) and leFH18 10.5cm field howitzers (4400 lbs).

The 8.8cm Flak 18/36/37s were in the 11,000 lb range. They were generally the purview of the SdKfz 7.

The Flak 37 3.7cm weighed in at 3400 lbs -- seemingly the range of the SdKfz 11 or other trucks with that towing capacity.

sdkfz 9 probably

As posted in many previous threads on this subject before:

The Sdkzf 7 (8-ton halftrack) was the official prime mover for the 88.

Of course it is possible also other (heavy) vehicles were used later in the war.....

Tamiya kit (very old)


Martin

The Sdkfz 9 Famo 18 ton tractor to pull the 3.7cm Flak 37? Let's think about it...

The normal capacity of the Famo is 18 tons --36,000 lbs. (It could haul more if necessary). The flak 37 is 3400 lbs.

Hmmm I dunno. More than ten times the capacity. A bit of overkill?

I'm pretty sure I have seen more than one photo of a Famo pulling a 37. Your right, it's not ideal, and it is overkill, but the German army was overkill on a lot of their stuff. King Tiger, Maus, Elephant, JT.....

Brian: While I agree with you that fantastically odd pictures crop up, the original poster said that he was referring to the 37mm Flak 37 and NOT the 88mm Flak 37.

I would defy anyone to produce a picture of the combination of this relatively puny flak gun behind the monster SdKfz 9 Famo tractor. That's overkill if there ever was one.

When I mentioned that the Flak 37 was 3400 pounds, I was referring to the light 37mm AA piece that the original poster was asking about.

Ericadeane ..... if You read the original post ..... he asked the prime mover for the Flak 37. Not the Flak 37mm ..... If you say the flak 37 most of us thought he meant the Flak 37 88mm gun. There in lay the confusion. No the Famo or the SD.Kfz 7 would not be the prime mover for the 37mm Flak gun. Talk about bringing back an old thread LOL.

In that case, the Tamiya Kruppe Prost, or an Opel Blitz, 250 or 251 halftrack, anything would do.

Gaz

Hate to interrupt the debate, nor will I get involved in it, BUT I do believe when someone asks what was the prime mover for "fill in the blank_______", they are asking about the main normally used prime mover, not some obscure one of kind photo, that probably did happen, but out of need, not normal usage.

I think a little research on the various maximum towing weights of each vehicle, and knowing the weight of the item being towed, would probably give a good idea as to what could or would be the tower, and towee.

I also think a little research into the units, and what vehicles would be assigned to it would help a great deal in deciding.

Nothing like tearing out your rear cross member, or shearing off your towing pintel to give you that happy warm feeling....

Hi Scott:
Yes Martin asked about the Flak 37 in the original post and you'll see several people gave him suggestions for the 88mm gun's prime mover. Later in this thread, he clarified himself and asked about the 37mm Flak 37. My reply (sorry if it was too emphatic or heated), was in response to the clarified request and the fact that people didn't read Martin's clarification.

I agree that upon first reading, I would assume the 8.8cm Flak as well.

well regardless over the debate, it is the 37mm for which info is desired.

interesting thing though - with a fair amount of effort, i can't find a single picture of a 37mm flak being towed! and associated with a vehicle are all mounted on it.

someone give us a heads up to the URL if they do find a 37mm being towed please.

The prime mover for the 37mm Flak 37 was the Sd.Kfz 10, i.e. Leichter Zugkraftwagen 1 ton Sd.Kfz 10. It also towed the 2cm Flak 30 or 38 and a few other light guns. There are quite a few good shots of these in 'German Halftracks of WWII' by Frank Sisto.

Vinnie

Hi Vinnie could a kettenkrad pull a 37mm Flak 37 in a pinch?

Cheers, Michael

Michael, I doubt that it could. It was only a half ton, and would have found it difficult, and I've never seen a picture of it pulling one. But never say never on this board!

Vinnie

Some versions of the Krupp Protze were fitted out specifically to tow the 2Cm Flak 30 & Flak 38. Similar vehicles towed the Pak 36 (37mm). I think the Krupp would be just about capable of towing a 37mm Flak gun, if it weighs 3400lbs, as it's payload was 1.5 tons. Similarly, there was a 1.5 ton versin of the Opel Blitz (but I can't think of a single model of it). However a 1ton tractor (Demag) would be overloaded, especially with the crew & ammunition.
There's no way a Kettenkrad could tow a 37mm Flak gun, the bodywork was mainly pressed steel, so the weight would just rip it to pieces. I have seen pictures of Kettenkrads pulling out bogged down cars, but this would be with assistance from the bogged vehicle & manpower.