ground vehicles Opel Maultier mit 2cm Flak 38

[Alphanoodle 526]

Today i want to suggest a German halftrack version of the Opel Blitz truck with the 20mm Flak 38 on the back. The halftrack is called "Maultier" which means mule and was pretty important for Hans and his friends during operation Barbarossa but more on that in the history tab.

 

Images: 

Spoiler

 

History: i wrote everything on my own this time, absolutely nothing is copied!

Spoiler

So when operation Barbarossa (german invasion of the soviet union) started, the Germans were like: Hans! Our regular supply vehicles (Opel Blitz truck and so forth) can't cross this terrible Russian terrain! We have to solve this issue! So what did they do? Yep they replaced the backwheel of the Opel Blitz 3t truck with a nice little suspension and there you got a perfect all-terrain vehicle! German engineering at its finest am i right? ^^

 

And during operation Barbarossa they realized yet another thing and it probably went something along the lines of: Look at all those pesky soviet aircraft Hans! We gotta shoot them down! But how? We're constantly retreating/advancing (depending on the year) so we cant use our stationary AA guns! I have an idea Hans! Lets just put our Flak 38s on the Maultiers! And thats how the "Opel Maultier mit 2cm Flak 38" was born!

 

Specifications: First of all, this was a field modification and only few were produced so data is basically not existing. I simply took the specs of the Maultier and the weight of the Flak 38 for this.

Armament: The halftrack was armed with the famous Flak 38 20mm cannon. It used 20 round clips and had a rate of fire of around 480 RPM. Ammo was mostly carried in a two-wheeled trailer that was towed by the Maultier, however i dont think this is gonna be modelled ingame since the flakpanzer 1 also used this trailer and its not modelled, yet it still carrys the amount of ammo the trailer could hold so... wont be modelled.

Propulsion: with a combined weight of 4350kg and an engine that can put out up to 75 HP you'd think it would be pretty fast huh? Whilst it could cross the muddy Russian terrain, it wasnt particularly fast at only 36km/h top speed so rather slow.

Armour: ...you're joking right? It does have 3 crew members but with absolutely no armour it would suffer from hull break and would be very vulnerable to artillery as well.

 

Why i'm suggesting this and why it would make sense to add this thing:

We already have the Flakpanzer 1 and 38t gepard we dont need another german tier 1 SPAA! Well, if this thing would be added, the Flakpanzer 1 and gepard should be bumped up a bit in terms of BR. The Maultier should NOT get the HVAPT round so it wouldnt destroy everything at tier 1. The Flakpanzer 1 is pretty overkill at its current BR. This thing would be somewhat balanced since it  doesnt have 360° traverse and wouldnt get HVAPT. Also it has 0 armour. Sure the Flakpanzer 1 can be killed with a single MG burst but from my own experience the gunshield is pretty reliable at stopping MG rounds. The Maultier could be easily destroyed since it cant shoot forwards and driver and commander are not protected at all.

 

So yeah, thanks for reading, post your thoughts down below and vote on the poll! Sorry for any minor grammar mistakes, my first language is german :3

 

Sources: 

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maultier_(Halbkettenfahrzeug)#Sonderversionen_Sd.Kfz._4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maultier

http://www.panzer-modell.de/berichte/maultier/maultier.htm

https://books.google.at/books?id=JbeYqc5DBFAC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=opel+maultier+mit+flak+38&source=bl&ots=U_zW_C9cwf&sig=P9HGDG_pZmn85VMyDv3XWpJpbFc&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbqPLjhs_WAhWJ7hoKHdyaBOI4ChDoAQhVMAg#v=onepage&q=opel maultier mit flak 38&f=false

https://books.google.at/books?id=MuGsf0psjvcC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=opel+maultier+mit+flak+38&source=bl&ots=K7SCCfUBaJ&sig=SbytR-SIc1zsd_lJe49mcvUsAos&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbqPLjhs_WAhWJ7hoKHdyaBOI4ChDoAQg-MAQ#v=onepage&q=opel maultier mit flak 38&f=false

Edited October 2, 2017 by Alphanoodle

[SAUBER_KH7 3,326]

Open for Discussion.

[Empires_Finest 27]

the Maultier was developed in the opposite sense as to what you put it, because they were constantly advancing#

would like to see this, but only as a premium as usual 

[Dundee93 508]

Always a fan of more half-tracks. 

[Admiral_Aruon 2,264]

ehh we could always go for another 1.0 german AA. i'd make a comparison with something but in the end its just a modded opel blitz with a field AA piece. +1 may as well be a true counterpart to the soviet milk truck 25s.

 

as for the HVAP, what whackjob would seriously consider using HVAP (AKA SPAA APCR) rounds at bottom tier? considering all those belts go 1-HVAP-2/3-HEFI there's no point of such a high penning but flawed belt at a tier where most SPAA guns AP belts have just as much penetration if not moreso that the 37/40/45mm cannons at that range. forget OP, they'd just be omitted from sheer redundancy.

[AtomicPope 3,953]

Personally I think it would be a pretty good addition without HVAP and bumping up the other german SPAA. Would be equivalent to the Type 94 flak truck of Japan and probably deserve the same BR. The Flakpanzer I and Gepard could be both bumped up by 0.3-0.7 each then.

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

Bring the Opel blitz flak 38 truck into War Thunder plz.. I'd love to see the first 4x2 SPAA truck in the german tree.. S2

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Fegelein131

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

Is anyone interrested in it??? so i'm going to make a VOTE...

I prefer the 4x2 truck version instead of the half-track, cause German tree aint have any SPAA 4X2 truck yet..

WHAT U GUYS THINK??

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Fegelein131

[Dundee93 508]

You probably need more sources on it. But I would love to see it in game. I love trucks and half-tracks. Especially the Opel Blitz. 

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

1 hour ago, Dundee93 said:

You probably need more sources on it. But I would love to see it in game. I love trucks and half-tracks. Especially the Opel Blitz. 

Are u up to help me to find more content of it :3??? i'll appreciate that..S2

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/3-ton-opel-blitz-36-36-36-36s-4x2-4x4.htm

[Dundee93 508]

I'm not much of one for digging up that kind of stuff (I'm not sure where I'd start), but I can do a little looking and post anything I find. It looks like the single flak 38 may be easier to get than the flakvierling, it may just require them to model the truck and the flak mount. If that is the case, you may only need a good source of detailed data on the Opel Blitz and maybe a bit on what changes were required to mount the gun. 

[Alphanoodle 526]

I actually wanted to suggest the regular Opel Blitz truck with the flak 38 at first but information and data on the vehicle was so bloody rare that it was virtually impossible to make a proper suggestion. I could find a few good sources for the Maultier so i just went with it but if you really want to suggest the regular truck then i got some tips for ya cause i speak german! The correct german name of the truck is: Opel Blitz 3t mit Flak 38. Whilst doing research for the Opel Blitz i found out that both the Maultier and the regular Flak 38 truck were based on the 3t version of the Opel Blitz. Note that 3t does NOT stand for the vehicle's weight but its payload, that it could carry/pull. Other than that theres really nothing else to say here. The few sources that give some data on the vehicle are probably for the most part in german so if you need a translation feel free to PM me. However i still dont recommend wasting your time on this thing. Theres simply not enough information out there.

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

10 hours ago, Alphanoodle said:

I actually wanted to suggest the regular Opel Blitz truck with the flak 38 at first but information and data on the vehicle was so bloody rare that it was virtually impossible to make a proper suggestion. I could find a few good sources for the Maultier so i just went with it but if you really want to suggest the regular truck then i got some tips for ya cause i speak german! The correct german name of the truck is: Opel Blitz 3t mit Flak 38. Whilst doing research for the Opel Blitz i found out that both the Maultier and the regular Flak 38 truck were based on the 3t version of the Opel Blitz. Note that 3t does NOT stand for the vehicle's weight but its payload, that it could carry/pull. Other than that theres really nothing else to say here. The few sources that give some data on the vehicle are probably for the most part in german so if you need a translation feel free to PM me. However i still dont recommend wasting your time on this thing. Theres simply not enough information out there.

ohh i see.. sad that's not such information about these trucks :/ 

but gaijin can still make it.. 3D modeling and stuff thats easy brezee for em, even with a lack of specifications of it..

i really love to see the opel into the game S2 for sure.. is there a way to convince the development team to add it???

[GaGasLilMoNsTeR 19]

This link here got a lot of specifications: http://www.mackits.cz/model-kits.php?akce=model&nazev=opel-blitz-3t-20mm-flak-38-afrika-corps&id=61&nas_jazyk=en

 

I found some useful informations here, what do u think??

but they are some kind of others Opels models.. i mean i want the variant with the closed truck cabin..etc, but chassis and structure are the same in general..

Edited October 5, 2017 by Fegelein131

[Jan_Gustl_WT 1,746]

I support it for the main tree +1

[teddyator 12]

Absolutely welecome! +1 for me, I'd say 4x2 truck instead of Halftrack though, it's like a mating of a GAZ AAA and the Wirblewind! (yes I knew of this before, if someone's asking)

I would put it in the tree as a BR 1.0 vehicle, leading up to the FlaKPanzer I, Afrika Corps livery!

Edited October 7, 2017 by teddyator

[Dundee93 508]

I want all those trucks.   

 

But seriously, does Gaijin have a policy about using model kits as source material? Or maybe does the company that makes the kits have sources? 

Also, is a truck like that easier to kill than the flak panzer I?

[Admiral_Aruon 2,264]

7 hours ago, Dundee93 said:

I want all those trucks.   

 

But seriously, does Gaijin have a policy about using model kits as source material? Or maybe does the company that makes the kits have sources? 

Also, is a truck like that easier to kill than the flak panzer I?

 

as long as they are accurate i guess. Finemolds for example has exclusive rights to the blueprints of the japanese super heavy O-I, which Mai_waffentrager is trying to get a license too so gaijin can correctly model the O-I.

 

as for fragility it'd likely be easier as it's the same exact thing as the GAZ flatbed trucks. completely unarmored.

[Dundee93 508]

It does have more crew, though. So it may end up being marginally better. Both can get hull break, and both can get killed by mg fire. The Blitz may be a little easier to kill with MGs though. 

[Milocat 4,854]

These trucks would make for great German tier 1 SPAA.

[seadogpirate@psn 888]

+1 and give hvap belts i want to kill tanks not make them laugh at me.

[Ghostmaxi 873]

On 25/12/2018 at 07:13, *seadogpirate said:

+1 and give hvap belts i want to kill tanks not make them laugh at me.

In that case you should vote that the 3.7 cm flaks get there H-Pzgr (Apcr)

(Seen on ju 87 g1 and g2 already in game)

[hienapunk 1,064]

+1 for any opel