Bunker Flak Platoon (GBX42) with two 8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl and crew. When it looked like Germany might soon be at war with Czechoslovakia in 1938, the high command ordered that ten 8.8cm FlaK18 anti-aircraft guns should be modified for use against the fortified positions on the Czech border. War was avoided, but the need remained and ten 8.8cm FlaK18 anti-aircraft guns were mounted on Daimler-Benz DB10 12 tonne half-tracks. The resulting 8.8cm FlaK18 (Sfl) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t was fitted with a low armoured cab and a small armoured cupola for the driver that allowed the gun to be fired to the front. The gun was mounted on a simple platform over the tracks. Known as the ‘Bufla’ or ‘Bunkerflak’, this self-propelled mount was equally useful against fortifications and heavy tanks. Check out the Bunker Flak Platoon in the online store here...

Mid-war Monsters In our research we have uncovered lots of really interesting experimental tanks. Some were just designs that were never completed. Others were completed as prototypes, and some even saw small-scale field testing! These tanks were weird and wonderful, ranging from a 100-ton monster and a First World War relic, to a tank with two side-by-side main guns, an armoured car weighing more than a tank, and a machine-gun armed light tank with the armour of a heavy tank! Learn more about Mid-war Monsters here... Download a PDF on fielding the 8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl in Flames Of War here... Download the Mid-war Monsters mission pack here...

The 8.8cm FlaK18 (Sfl) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t were issued to the 8. Schwere Panzerjagerabteilung and were used in action in Poland in 1939 and France with 1. and 2. Panzer Divisions in 1940. They fought French tanks (including the heavy Char B) on several occasions, losing two vehicles in the process. 8. Schwere Panzerjagerabteilung was attached to the XXXIX Armeekorps for the invasion of Russia. In mid-1942 the four  surviving vehicles joined 521. Schwere Panzerjagerabteilung and fought in the Caucasus alongside the Dicker Max and the two Sturer Emil heavy tank-hunters. Design by Evan Allen Painted by Jeremy Painter

The 8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl in Flames Of War

Armour     Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes Weapon Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower   8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl Half-tracked 1 0 0 AA MG, Awkward layout, Overloaded 8.8cm FlaK18 gun 40"/100cm 3 13 3+ Hull mounted, Bunkerflak.

Awkward Layout Some tank designs have such an awkward internal layout that it is difficult for the crew to fire on the move. In the Archer, for example, the gun recoils into the driver’s position, requiring them to vacate before firing. Tank teams cannot shoot any weapons with Awkward Layout in their own Shooting Step if they move in the Movement Step. They may still shoot at Aircraft in the enemy’s Shooting Step (see page 181 of the rulebook).

Overloaded Super-heavy tanks and heavily-laden assault guns often overload their engines and suspensions, making them very poor at crossing obstacles. When required to take a Bogging Check to cross Difficult Going, an Overloaded vehicle becomes Bogged Down on a roll of 1 or 2, rather than the usual 1. An Overloaded vehicle must re-roll successful Skill Tests to cross Very Difficult Going.

Hull-mounted Guns Some tanks mount weapons in the front of the hull instead of in a turret to save weight or to make them easier to produce. A hull-mounted weapon mounted in the front of a vehicle has a 180-degree Field of Fire covering everything in front of a line drawn across the front of the vehicle. If the weapon is mounted at the rear of the vehicle, the Field of Fire covers everything to the rear of a line drawn across the rear of the vehicle.

Bunkerflak The 8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl ‘Bufla’ was designed to suppress bunkers from outside the range of the defenders’ weapons. The crews were well-trained in identifying and locating bunkers and hitting their firing slits to force the defenders to take cover. 8.8cm FlaK18 Sfl self-propelled guns can shoot at bunkers up to 24”/60cm away rather than the normal 16”/40cm limitation.