Vollert, Jochen Kraftwagen-Flak

German "K-Flak" Vehicle-Mounted and Trailer-Mounted Anti-Aircraft Guns

By the outbreak of the First World War, the German Empire had already been motorising its army for almost 15 years. However, no final design or production had yet been achieved for specialised tactical military vehicles. Germany therefore entered the war with a fleet of civilian trucks, cars and rear-wheel-drive motorcycles, very few of which were even partially militarised. There was, however, one important exception: the urgent need for a specially developed four-wheel drive transport vehicle for motorised anti-aircraft artillery had been recognised early on. This publication is the first to deal in detail with the Kraftwagen-Flak, the motorised anti-aircraft artillery of the German Empire. Richly illustrated with contemporary photographs, this book tells the story from the pre-war prototypes to active service during the war years and the post-war period of the Freikorps and the Reichswehr. Further chapters deal with the Kraftwagen-Zugflak, an anti-aircraft artillery system mounted on a trailer, and the Raupenflak, an anti-aircraft artillery system mounted on a tracked vehicle.