• 2cm FLAK38 gun arching in low-flying aircraft gunnery, model's FLAK gun can rotate 300 degrees ( last 40 degrees block by seat support frame hitting long crew seat in rear ). Although rear seat could have taken out during assembly, elected to leave it as-is since in real-life Steyr FLAK gunners needed cushion seats during travel and could be fatigued sitting on metal seats for prolonged periods.

• Rollover : ( Rollover JPG link ) Steyr passenger side with close-up of 6 water jerrycans, all doors can swivel with electrical solder being used as hinges, German DAK symbol decal from 1.35 Horch PKW model kit. FLAK gun has 2 seats, one for gunner, second one for loader ( for both FLAK38 box ammunition and co-axial MG34 machine gun drum magazine ).

• DAK Funny | German DAK Armor Funny ( Funny was WW2 British term denoting ad-hoc / field-modified armor vehicles ). In photo, Sdkfz 251 Ausf C armor halftrack with 5cm PAK38 anti-tank gun mounted above driver compartment, previous front MG34 machine gun and shield moved to vehicle rear. 5 cm PaK 38 | Wiki With PAK gun and ammo taking up vehicle internal space, extra equipments lugged over the sides such as water canisters and tow chains. Field improvised vehicles of this type gave German DAK forces some semblance of self-propelled anti-tank power ( contrasted with towed anti-tank guns which required crew to unhitch, prep gun for action, fire upon enemy, then re-hitch gun to tow vehicle, and "get the hell out of dodge" before enemy counter-fire rains down its location ). SdKfz 251 | WW2V German SdKfz 251 armor halftrack is major WW2 icon, just like Waffen-SS camouflage smock uniforms, Tiger I tank, or Sturmgewehr 43/44 assault rifle. BTW, modern term Assault Rifle derived from German word Sturmgewehr, which in turn was christened by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler himself. Sturmgewehr 44 | Wiki WAFFEN SS CAMOUFLAGE SMOCKS AND UNIFORMS | MTP No hollywood movie would be complete without an attempt to replicate these armor halftracks, be it 1977 "Bridge Too Far", 1998 "Saving Private Ryan", or 2001 "Band of Brothers". A Bridge Too Far (film) | Wiki Saving Private Ryan | Wiki Band of Brothers | Wiki
  Boxart 1.35 DML 5cm Pak38 model kit with Fallschirmjager crew ( German Paratroopers, as indicated by their helmets ). DML 1/35th 5cm Pak 38 with Fallschirmjager figures | ITM 5cm PAK38 was a major upgrade to 3.7cm PAK36 anti-tank. PAK36 was sufficient to deal with 1930s-era tank and armor vehicles. 3.7 cm Pak 36 | Wiki By 1941 German invasion of Soviet Union, PAK36 completely outclassed by new Soviet tank design, specifically the T-34 series. Thus PAK38 introduced as interim measure. Mainstay of German medium anti-tank gun would ultimately be vested upon 7.5cm PAK40 anti-tank gun. Soviet Union's T-34/76 medium tank | WW2V RSO with 7.5cm PAK40 gun | UweM
  	Rommel Rods | German Gen. Rommel standing at entrance to his most famous British war prize, AEC Armoured Command Vehicle "Dorchester". Germans captured 3 of these large vehicles during April 1941 offensive and used them throughout North African campaign. Allies found all 3 Dorchesters abandoned in Tunisia after Axis capitulation, May 1943. AEC Armoured Command Vehicle | Wiki
  Dorchester Prize | Photos of Dorchesters in German service. Dorchester was British title for vehicle's spaciousness, name came from famed Dorchester hotel in London-England. Dorchester Hotel | Wiki During WW2, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill stayed at its residence on 2nd floor over front entrance, a wall was built on his balcony for added privacy, this wall still exists today. Given hotel sturdy construction, British WW2 cabinet meetings were also held inside hotel conference rooms for protection against German bombing. Dorchester Hotel | TDC German Aufklärungs Abteilung 3 ( Recon Battalion 3 ) captured 3 Dorchesters from UK 2nd Armoured Division headquarters group at Fort Mechili, 8 April 1941 ( retreating British columns caught in traffic jam in Derna, hence its Mechili force waited too long for this slow column to catch up before attempting eastward escape out of German pincer ). Originally, British Dorchesters had simple numbers, with #1 assigned to 8th Army assistant Lt. Gen. Sir Richard O'Connor, #2 8th Army commander Lt. Gen. Sir Philip Neams VC, and #3 2nd Armoured Division commander Maj. Gen. Gambier-Parry ( he would be one of highest ranked German POWs captured at Mechili ). AEC Dorchester Armoured Command Vehicle | BNR Germans also had flair for vehicle nicknames, thus renamed British Dorchester to German Mammut ( Mammoth, an extinct species of large elephants ) for its size and internal space to install radio equipment, large map boards, stowage racks, etc. German retained British 3-tone desert stripe camouflage on all Mammut. MATILDA TANK with 3-tone Desert Camouflage | HBV Vehicle large size made it prime target for British RAF strafing attacks, in one such attack Rommel's Mammut driver was injured when British bomb dropped nearby jolted entire vehicle and sprayed metal splinters into its hull, explosion was such that Rommel was knock out from one his boots. Mammoth| Wiki
  Unruly Rommel | Rommel kept 2 vehicles named Max and Moritz ( in photo ), third one named Mammut given to Generalmajor Johannes Streich : 5th Light Division commander. Rommel and Streich clashed over tactics and strategy given Rommel tendency for non-standard German military deployment and risk-taking ( his persona seemed more akin to American-style aggressive command than traditional German ). After German DAK failure to capture port city Tobruk in Summer 1941, Rommel accused Streich of lackluster leadership and initiative, thus replaced him in July 1941 with Generalmajor Johannes von Revenstein, thereby leaving Streich with a demerit in his military record. The SIEGE of TOBRUK April 1941 December 1941 | DHI According to 1981 book "Rommel's War in Africa" ( ISBN 1-56582-041-7 ), Rommel even took a very unprofessional step of discussing divisional command failure of his immediate subordinates ( a direct reference to Gen. Streich ) with junior members of 8th Machine Gun Battalion who fought at Tobruk ( a massive transgression of German military protocol that upper echelons problems should never be discussed with lower echelon men for it undermines troop morale and command cohesion ). Panzer-Armee "AFRIKA" Kommandeurs | AKO
  Rommel Condemnation | Rommel's 2nd AEC named "Max" in photo. It also retained British 3-tone ( tan - blue grey - dark grey ) desert splinter camouflage, with addition of irregular lines overlapping tan portion to break up silhouette. Matilda II Tank with Desert Splinter Camo | FKR Concerning Rommel's command reorganization, some senior German Generals did come to Streich defense, such as Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, urging Rommel not to make stress-laden haphazard decisions ( a subtle German colloquial jab against Rommel's implusive command mentality ). Walther von Brauchitsch | Wiki Nevertheless, Rommel sacked both 5th leichte ( light ) Division commander General Streich and 5th Panzer Regiment commander Colonel Olbrich to shake up his command. Rommel was so eager to rid himself of Streich, that he could not wait until Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein ( Streich's replacement ) planned arrival on 20 May 1941, thus Generalmajor Kirchheim took over as interim commander on 16 May 1941. 5th leichte Division / 21st Panzer Division | SNB 5th Panzer Regiment | OZE But von Ravenstein was captured 28 Nov 1941 by New Zealand forces during Battle for Point 175, part of larger Battle of Sidi Rezegh. von Ravenstein and his Kubelwagen driver were doing a quick battlefield recon when they crested a ridge and ran head-long into British Commonwealth ( New Zealanders, or nicknamed Kiwis ) Bren gun carrier. Kiwis wounded his driver and shot up his engine, thus von Ravenstein exasperatedly uttered "Your Bren Gun Carrier Shot Up My Car", and compelled to surrender. As fortunes of war would have it, as Gen. von Ravenstein was sent to British rear as first German General POW, later on in the day German Panzers counter-attacked and captured the same New Zealand troops as POW. "Your Bren Gun Carrier Shot Up My Car" | WII Generalleutnant Johann “Hans” Theodor von Ravenstein | Camp11 Point 175 battle | Wiki Wehrmacht Military Kübelwagen | ODC Universal (Bren Gun) Carrier | LCO
  Rommel Myth | History noted Rommel was forced to commit suicide after implicated in 1944 assassination plot against German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Inset photo of Rommel circa 1942, dressed in full North African dress uniform & regalia, including his WW1 Blue Max and WW2 Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross military decorations. AH-1 Cobra & Blue Max Award | UweM Knights Cross Award | TRC Gen. Streich who clashed with Rommel over tactics in North Africa survived WW2. In 1959 he wrote a scathing letter concerning Rommel to another German veteran Generalleutnant Heinrich Kirchheim ( Rommel's War in Africa, ISBN 1-56582-041-7 ) : I am loath to be reminded of those times, since so much blood was shed quite uselessly... Concerning Rommel, my attitude is this : Propaganda - first by Goebbels, then by Montgomery and finally, after he had taken poison, the propaganda of all the former enemy powers - made him the symbol of all that is best in soldering. His qualities as a leader was glorified, as were his qualities of character - in particular his chivalry goodness, and modesty ! The idea was that any official criticism of this by now mythical character would damage the image of the German soldier. Generalleutnant Heinrich Kirchheim | Camp198 Streich's harsh assessment was : 1) German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels raised Rommel to apex of Nazi-inspired senior military commander. Rommel basically "kissed-up" to Hitler, hence Hitler showered him with praises and promotions despite military debacle in North Africa by May 1943. Joseph Goebbels | Wiki 2) British North Africa commander Gen. Montgomery also raised Rommel to arch-nemesis status ( UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill went so far as to called Rommel by its now famous nickname - Desert Fox ), partly to cover-up inept "command by committee" mentality of British senior commanders before his arrival, and too grossly over-state his accomplishments against German forces he defeated. Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein | Wiki 3) Americans in North Africa padded their part as well, especially after about 6,500 US soldiers were killed in action by German armor offensive at Kasserine Pass battle, Feb 1943. US needed to cover-up its own combat inexperience and inept command structure by pointing to ever more cunning Rommel's leadership. Battle of the Kasserine Pass 1943 | Wiki Upon re-assessment, Rommel's fame more based on politics and propaganda. For example, if we appraised an altered history : US Gen. George Patton commanding American 3rd Army landed in Normandy France 1944, fought 500 miles over 6 months into southern Bavaria Germany, only to have Germans counter-attack forcing Patton retreat back to Normandy, whereby he escaped across English Channel to safety, while 300,000 entrapped American forces in Normandy surrendered in-masse. Would one view Patton in same awe-struck generalship despite his previous battlefield victories ? Same analogy holds true for Rommel from this angle. The Trail of the Desert Fox: Rommel Revised | IHR Final note on Rommel's antagonist Gen. Streich, he was transferred to a Panzer Inspectorate desk job in 1941, but here too he clashed with departmental colleague Generaloberst Heinz Guderian ( creator of German Panzer forces ). Thus when Guderian took over as inspectorate head in 1943, he forced Streich transfer to lesser important Inspector of Berlin Recruiting Region. Position was quite insignificant that Streich was able to leave the city before Soviet encirclement, thus we have his 1959 commentaries on Rommel. Heinz Guderian | Wiki

SteyrFLAKfahrzeug Index