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• The 8cm Flak 41

From the outset, the FlaK 41 proved a complex weapon when introduced to German gunnery elements and was therefore an expensive weapon to mass-produce - a common issue to many of the excellently engineered German weapons of the war. Some early evaluations brought about various inconsistencies in her performance and teething problems soon arose. Special brass ammunition cases had to be manufactured to cover a persistent jamming issue when the system extracted a spent shell casing. While some issues were formally addressed, others proved too complex to fully iron out, forcing development to flounder until 1943. By now, Germany was at war along multiple fronts and being stretched for resources throughout, desperate for more war-making implements.

The FlaK 41 was therefore sent into combat with issues still outstanding and its baptism of fire became Tunisia in the North African Campaign where tank warfare ruled the battlefield. Once in action, the ferocity of the system was highly apparent but the inherent issues were enough to limit their effectiveness throughout. The FlaK 41 proved a needy weapon requiring constant attention and service to prolong her usefulness and service life. Once her time in Africa had come to a close and Germany had officially lost their foothold on the continent, FlaK 41s were brought closer to home to defend the periphery of the Reich Empire on the European continent. Its proximity to the German homeland allowed Wehrmacht maintenance personnel quicker access in servicing their FlaK 41 systems. Not all was lost for the FlaK 41 for she did serve expertly in providing an improved rate-of-fire over that of earlier FlaK gun series and few doubted her capabilities making the FlaK 41 a success in at least one respect.