- For the Steel Division: Normandy 44 unit see SD:Wirbelwind
Wirbelwind is a German Anti-air unit in Steel Division II.
Overview[ | ]
The workhorse of the Nazi war machine, Panzer IV started its long service in 1936 as a fire support tank, equipped with a short-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 howitzer. In this role, Panzer IV would focus on taking out enemy fortifications, anti-tank emplacements, and infantry from a long range, protecting the lighter, faster Panzer III tanks focusing on taking out enemy armor. However, following Fall Barbarossa and the shock of fighting against superior Soviet tanks, it quickly displaced Panzer III as the primary battle tank. Krupp's design was larger, sturdier, and could readily accept significant armor upgrades and long-barreled guns capable of defeating Soviet armor. The Panzer IV chassis was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles. 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, a production run in Axis forces only exceeded by the StuG III assault gun with 10,086 vehicles. A significant number of these tanks was also transferred to Axis allies and continued to used in various militaries worldwide after the War ended.
Developed as a successor to the Möbelwagen, the Wirbelwind (Whirlwind) was the brainchild of SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Wilhelm Krause of the 12. SS-Panzer, who came up with the idea in summery of 1944. After his commanding officer forwarded the idea up the chain of command and it was approved by Hitler, the Ostbau Werke in Sagan, Silesia, started converting Panzer IVs by fitting it with an open-topped, nonagonal turret with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38. Although it proved to be a terrifying weapon against light vehicles and infantry, it had insufficient firepower for use against contemporary aircraft, and was soon replaced by the Ostwind, a variant with a single 3.7 cm Flak 43 mounted in the same turret. Between 87 and 105 Wirbelwinds left Sagan, the exact number unknown due to discrepancies in recordkeeping between the factory and the Wehrmacht.