Germany 3.7cm Flak 18 3.7cm Flugabwehrkanone 18 (translates as Anti Aircraft Gun)

Showing the details of the shells used(where known)   Tweet Weapon Details 3.7cm Flak 18 3.7cm Flugabwehrkanone 18 (translates as Anti Aircraft Gun) History An enlarged version of the 2cm Flak 30 which had a heavy cumbersome cruciform mount and was superceeded by the lighter carriage mounted 3.7cm Flak 36 Manufacturer Rheinmetal Manufactured 1935 - 1936 Calibre 37mm Length L/85 Rate of Fire 160 rpm   3.7cm Pzgr Patr 18 (AP Armor Piercing) 37mm 0.68Kg 762M/Sec Quoted Penetration 31mm @ 500mtr/30° ( ≈ 35mm/0°) Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.28 0.59 1.34 2.33 3.7 5.71 8.97 Penetration(mm@30°) 41 38 32 25 20 15 11 6 Penetration(mm@0°) 48 44 38 30 24 18 13 8 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 90 54 22 3 1 3.7cm Sprgr Patr 18(AA) (HE High Explosive) 37mm 0.64Kg 820M/Sec ≈0.095Kg explosive Maximum Range 6000 Mtr Range(Mtr) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Flight Time(Secs) 1.68 5.31 19.44 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.13 0.26 0.55 1.25 2.17 3.44 5.31 8.37 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 93 60 25 6 2 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 5 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 13 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 5 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 13 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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