Flakpanzer I

The Flakpanzer I was developed during the Battle of France when it was recognized that the motorised Flak was insufficiently armoured. The German Heereswaffenamt decided to combine light anti-aircraft guns with tank chassis. The chassis of the Panzer I was used for these conversions, simply because it was available. The conversions were done by Stoewer. ==Service==

Only one unit, the Fla.-Btl.(mot) 614 (Motorized Flak Battalion 614) was equipped with the Flakpanzer I. The unit was assembled in 1941 and in the same year was stationed in Romania. From there they moved into the southern part of the eastern front. In service the underarmed vehicles were of limited use against aircraft, but were mostly used against ground targets. Due to the insufficient protection of the crew in this sort of deployment, they suffered high losses. The companies of the battalion were assigned to other units for this. The whole battalion was wiped out in 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad, even though most of the vehicles had probably been abandoned or destroyed already. ==References==