If one examines the many German self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) produced or designed during World War Two, two of the production medium tank chassis were utilized for mounting anti-aircraft guns and these were the Panzerkampfwagen PzKpfw IV, and not surprisingly, the PzKpfw V Panther. Of the two, the PzKpfw IV had the only SPAAG variants that saw production and combat use and these included the Möbelwagen (single 3.7cm FlaK 43), Wirbelwind (four barrel 2cm Flakvierling), and the Ostwind (single 3.7cm FlaK 43). Several experimental designs emerged as well, to include the Gerät 556 (Kugelblitz) armed with twin 3cm MK 108 cannons, a variant of the Möbelwagen mounting the same 2cm Flakvierling as the Wirbelwind, the Ostwind II equipped with two 3.7cm FlaK 43 guns, and the Flakpanzer IV (Zerstörer 45) armed with the four barrel 3cm Flakvierling 103/38. All of the experimental PzKpfw IV SPAAG designs made it to at least a single working prototype. The same cannot be said at all for the SPAAG variants of the Panther.
The image shown here displays a nicely done “what if” model by Armin Hage of the first of what would become several Panther based SPAAG designs. The vehicle had the very long name of 8.8cm Flak 41 (Sf) mit Panther I Bauteile which translated as 8.8cm Flak 41, Self-Propelled, with Panther I Components. The designer was Rheinmetall-Borsig and the first draft of the new SPAAG was completed by October 24, 1943. As the name suggested, the basis of the vehicle was the Panther already in production. Thus, it kept much the same components to include the suspension, drive train, driver controls, AK 7-200 transmission, and the Maybach HL 230 engine. There was one major change and that was a lengthening of the chassis due to the expansion of the wheelbase to 13.2 feet. The standard Panther had a wheelbase of approximately 12.9 feet. The draft drawings showed that the on each side of the hull were two outriggers so that once the SPAAG was in position, all four outriggers would be deployed to provide for the stability of the gun platform. In addition, Rheinmetall-Borsig envisioned that the Flak 41 gun could be removed from the turret and placed onto the ground and utilized in the more traditional manner. This had some precedent as Rheinmetall-Borsig had an experimental design using the PzKpfw IV chassis which was fitted with a 10.5cm leFH 18/40 field gun mounted in a rotating turret in which the gun could be dismounted. In fact, the trailing arms and the wheels for the field gun were carried on the rear of the hull.
Rheinmetall-Borsig struggled with the turret design and a report dated January 13, 1944 showed they still had not satisfactorily come up with a workable turret. In any case, it was the end of the 8.8cm Flak 41 SPAAG as on that same day, German military planners decided that the idea of mobile heavy anti-aircraft guns accompanying tanks was flawed. The main flaw was that heavy guns like the Flak 41 were designed to combat high flying aircraft, not low flying fighters or fighter-bombers seeking to attack tank columns. Such guns simply did not have the rapid fire capability nor the ability to quickly track fast moving targets. In addition, it was surmised that regular flak batteries would be able to handle the high flying bombers while smaller caliber cannon would be better suited against low flying aircraft. This, then, was the emphasis for the PzKpfw IV SPAAG developments and the Panther chassis was to be the backup if the PzKpfw IV was not viable. As discussed earlier, three models of SPAAGs derived from the PzKpfw IV were put into production and issued to panzer divisions as part of their anti-aircraft unit composition. Various designs were put forward using the Panther chassis, armed with varied turrets and weapon fits as small as the 2cm MG 151/20 autocannon up to the 5.5cm Gerät 58 gun. Only one design, the Gerät 554, better known as the Flakpanzer “Coelian”, advanced to a mock-up stage when the 1:1 scale wooden mock-up of the Flakpanzer 314 turret with twin wooden 3.7cm gun barrels was fitted to a Panther Ausf D chassis. As for the 8.8cm Flak 41 (Sf) mit Panther I Bauteile, all that that we know of it comes from the existence of single wooden model that was constructed by Rheinmetall-Borsig during the design phase.
There are no known specifications for the 8.8cm Flak 41 (Sf) mit Panther I Bauteile such as dimensions, performance, and the like. Assumptions can be made but they would be merely that, guesswork. We do know the performance of the Flak 41, which, in its towed form, used a horizontal semi-automatic sliding block with rounds being electrically fired. The gun's elevation was 90 degrees with a maximum gun depression of 3 degrees. With a muzzle velocity of 3,281 feet per second, the maximum ceiling was 9.3 miles, an effective ceiling of 6.6 miles, and maximum horizontal range of 12.2 miles.
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