Build this radar-enhanced 3cm Flakvierling 103/38 anti-aircraft gun system with this new kit from Custom-Scale.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

I wonder if the muzzle blast and the vibrations would have affected the radar. Or maybe you could install the gun into Corellian freighter.

There should either be a waveguide (sort of tube) to guide the radar waves from the antenna to the electronics boxes or a cable for electric signals from the box behind the radar to the equipment by the gunner.

Not sure if this could be an issue but, the guns need to be firing at a point where the target will be sometime in the future and not where the radar is seeing the target right now. Don't know if the lobe was wide enough to contain the targets current position and the predicted position for shells to impact the target. Targets moving towards the guns will usually fly over the guns (ramming tactics were not employed to take out AA-guns) and would need to move "vertically" in the lobe. Target at the bottom of the lobe and predicted impact in the upper parts.

Only one prototype and tests were not finished when the war ended.

Hi Robin,

You are absolutely right - there is a cable from the box directly behind the radar dish realized for the kit which is then going to the calculator box and battery as well as to the signal box directly located in front of the gunner.

I only have limited information on the aiming concept, but the radar enables the gunner to even "see" airplanes at night as well through cloudy skies.

Most likely there was also a calculation system which allows to have an idea on the speed and direction of the target which then would support the gunner in aiming.

Gert

Hi one additional comment:

Most likely there were two different prototypes as I have pictures of one gun equipped with a simple dish and a second one with a radar dish which was supported by the struts as depicted on the pictures of the model.

The kit includes both variants for the dishes.
Gert

Death by design. Would have had the same issues in troop use like the M51 Skysweeper had. Blast and vibrations of the firing gun caused the vacuum tubes to crack early and often and render the system useless after a short time of field deployment. The Skysweper was phased out as fast as possible in favor of gun systems that separated the command unit from the gun mount.

BTW, the German system was intended to be used on board of marine vessels - that's what is written under the russian illustration above.

Regards
- dutik

Hi Dutik,

Thanks for the response and explanation.

I also was wondering, how that technology existing at that time consisting of vacuum tubes was able to be reliable on a rattling gun.

What I have understood in the drawings is, that the most sensible parts have been located at the rear of the gun besides the gunner´s seat. However, hard vibrations most likely were also existing at that area.

The translation of the Russian text absolutely makes sense, as the picture of the prototype is installed at the Navy version of the 2cm Flakvierling which differs from the normal layout regarding protection shields and side plate arrangement.

This version of the 2cm Flakvierling will be also issued this year as a conversion set.
So this then would not be a 1946 - what if kit, but at least presenting an existing prototype from 1944.

Gert