Ostwind
The Flakpanzer IV "Ostwind" (East Wind in English) was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun based on the Panzer IV tank. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier Flakpanzer IV/2 cm Vierling Wirbelwind and produced at the Ostbau Works plant. The Panzer IV's turret was removed and replaced with an open-top, hexagonal turret that housed a 3.7 cm Flak 43.
Also recorded as Flakpanzer IV/3.7 cm FlaK · 37L60 on Flakpanzer IV · FlaK 43/1 L/60 on Flakpanzer IV
Ostwind
Darkone · CC BY-SA 2.5
- Field
- Flakpanzer IV · self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
- Region
- Nazi Germany
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 1138061522 · wikidata · Q697664 · wikipedia · Ostwind
In this article
Comparable vehicles
Comparable vehicles
In addition to its intended role as an anti-aircraft weapon, the fast-firing gun was highly effective against light vehicles. While a closed-top design was preferred, this was precluded by the amount of smoke generated by the gun. The Ostwind's main improvement over the Wirbelwind was its armament. While the Wirbelwind was armed with the 2 cm Flak 38, the Ostwind was armed with the more powerful and longer range FlaK 43's. It also featured slightly better armor on its turret. The Flak 43 had a lower rate of fire than the 2 cm Flak 38. To solve this problem a project was undertaken to arm the Ostwind with two 37 mm cannons, known as the Ostwind II. A single prototype was built but the war ended before anything truly became of it. Although an order for 100 vehicles was placed in August 1944, only 44 vehicles were completed (22 converted from existing Panzer IVs and 22 new production vehicles) from December 1944 to March 1945.
Möbelwagen – (Nazi Germany) 40M Nimród – (Hungary) M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage – (United States) Crusader Mk. III Anti-Aircraft Tank Mk. I – (United Kingdom) ZSU-37 – (Soviet Union) 40 mm cannon armed AMX-13 – (France)
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Nazi Germany
Country
Ostwind is associated with Nazi Germany.
Country
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q697664: Ostwind
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Ostwind”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1138061522, Ostwind.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ostwind, revision 1325875210 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Achtung Panzer! - Limited Production Models !. www.achtungpanzer.com.
- 2.Flakpanzer IV Ostwind. www.wehrmacht-history.com.
- 3.MarkoPantelic. Flakpanzer IV (3.7 cm Flak 43) 'Ostwind'. Tank Encyclopedia. October 1, 2019.
- 4.Doyle & Jentz, p. 12-1-48
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Doyle, Hilary Louis. Flakpanzer IV and Other Flakpanzer Projects. Panzerwrecks. 12-1. 2023. 978-1-915969-18-7.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1138061522, Ostwind.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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