It is time to introduce the first post-war German Self Propelled Anti-aircraft gun in the game.

Welcome the Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard - a deadly anti-aircraft defence tool with 2x 35mm autocannons.

The Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard, or rather FlakPz Gepard, was a German SPAAG that was introduced into service in the 1970s. It was build on the chassis of a Leopard 1 and outfitted with a fully rotating turret, that had two 35mm Oerlikon autocannons at its disposal. More than 500 vehicles were built and it still remains in service with different nations up until the present day. The Leopard 1 MBT chassis was powered by a water-cooled, MTU MB 838 multi-fuel engine with a maximum 830 horsepower. Its maximum armour thickness was 50mm. It was able to reach speeds of up to 65 km/h even with its impressive weight of slightly over 45 tons. Gepard was operated by a 3 men crew.

The vehicle was armed with twin 35mm Oerlikon belt-fed KDA autocannons with an effective range of around 4 km and maximum rate of fire of 550 shots per barrel. The vehicle as produced was able to be operated manually without utilising the built in laser rangefinder, search and tracking radars which had a maximum range of 15 km. The FlakPz Gepard will be a very effective all-round SPAAG in the game. Taking into account that its chassis was taken directly from the Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank , it is able to protect you against enemy gunfire more than most other SPAAG which are equipped with little or no armour.

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While Gepard is primarily an anti-aircraft gun, it can be very well used against many lightly-armoured enemy units including some medium tanks. It will have 3 different ammunition types at its disposal: HEI-T with a 120 g of explosive substance, SAPHEI-T with a maximum penetration of 35mm at 1,000m within an arc of 60 degrees and 40 rounds of APDS ammo with a maximum penetration of 90mm at 1,000 m at an arc of 90 degrees.

Start your round by providing cover for allied tanks against enemy bombing and rocket air raids. Once the sky is safe, use your great speed to get behind enemy positions and show your versatility by penetrating the rear and side hull of enemy medium tanks. With your rate of fire, they won’t have much time to think about any possible counter-attack. What about enemy SPAAG and light tanks, you ask? They are no match for you, strike first and strike swiftly!

The Gepard is the second and last of its name in the German SPAAG tech tree. This versatile anti-aircraft defence platform will offer lot of possible play-styles and there is no reason why you shouldn’t include this postwar miracle into your lineup.

The War Thunder Team!

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