Flak 38

Germans using a Flak 38 c. summer 1943

The Flak 38 (German: Flugabwehrkanone 38; English: Anti-aircraft gun 38) was a German anti-aircraft gun designed in the late 1930s by Rheinmetall. It was an improved version of the FlaK 30 (itself based off the Swiss Solothurn ST-5), with a vast increase in its rate of fire from 120 RPM to 220 RPM. It fired 20mmx138mm B rounds and was the primary German anti-aircraft gun used during World War II.

The Flak 38 appears in Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield V. A stylized Flak 38 appears in Battlefield Heroes.

Battlefield 1942

In Battlefield 1942, the Flak 38 is the Axis forces' anti-aircraft gun, issued to the Wehrmacht, Afrika Korps and Imperial Japanese Navy, as well as to the Royal Italian Army in The Road to Rome and to the Waffen-SS in Secret Weapons of WWII.

As its role suggests, it is intended to be used against enemy aircraft as is quite effective at taking down targets at close to medium range. It has generally bad accuracy, though its rounds explode once they're near a target and still deal damage. At close range, the shots fire slightly to the left of the weapon's aim point.

The Flak 38 can also damage ground vehicles, even tanks, and to a relatively effective extent, though the main problem is to have an angle at which the Flak 38 can hit these vehicles, as it cannot aim under a 0° angle.

It is the equivalent of the Allies' 40mm Bofors.

Appearances

• Battle of Britain
• Wake Island
• Battle of Midway
• Guadalcanal
• Iwo Jima
• Operation Battleaxe
• Gazala
• Kursk
• Kharkov
• El Alamein
• Invasion of the Philippines

Gallery

Front view of the Flak 38

Rear view

Gun sight

Battlefield Heroes

Anti-Air Gun
Used by	Royal Army National Army
Crew	Driver
Health	250

Anti-Air Guns are stationary emplacements featured in Battlefield Heroes. They are available on all maps featuring Planes

They are very effective against enemy aircraft and can quickly deal out very high damage. They can also be used to damage Tanks and Jeeps if their arc of fire allows it.

Anti-Air guns are weak against enemy infantry, only dealing 1 or 2 damage per shot. Despite this, the will move enemy infantry back and affect weapon aiming.

Gallery

Battlefield V

Flak 38
Vehicle type	Anti-Air Gun
Used by	Germany United States Army (SP)
Crew	1 Gunner
Armor type	Light (Frontal gunshield only)
Driver Weapons
Fire mode	Fully Automatic
Ammunition	Unlimited (Overheat)

The Flak 38 is a stationary weapon featured in Battlefield V, and was first seen being towed by a Valentine tank in the Battlefield 5 Official Reveal Trailer.

Singelplayer

The Flak 38 appears at various points throughout the singleplayer War Stories, most prominently during Under No Flag as the player must destroy enemy Stuka aircraft in all three acts. The weapon can also be found in the second act of The Last Tiger, where it must be commandeered from US Army troops in order to shoot down three attacking Mosquito Mk IIs.

Combined Arms

A single Flak 38 appears in the extraction area of the Combined Arms mission Hot Pursuit.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, the Flak 38 is the anti-aircraft emplacement of the German faction, equivalent to the 40mm AA used by the United Kingdom, USA and Japan.

Compared to the 40mm gun, the Flak 38 has a much higher rate of fire at around 240 RPM, and as such is more able to hit fast moving targets, at the cost of reduced impact and airburst damage upon a hit. It can kill an infantry player in three hits if the shell directly impacts the body, and does very little damage to tanks and heavy armored vehicles. The weapon overheats after about seven seconds of sustained automatic fire.

Both stationary and mobile versions of the Flak 38 are available. In the former case, the gun appears as either pre-built or buildable by Support players using the Fortifications system at specific positions around the map. They can also be repaired or entirely rebuilt if destroyed. Mobile Flak 38s usually spawn in deployment points or flags, and can be towed into firing positions by vehicles.

Gallery

Trivia

• In Battlefield V, the Flak 38 was originally the factional AA gun of the United Kingdom. It was replaced with the 40mm AA in the 5.2 update.