While the FlaK 40 was typically utilized on its static carriage system, production was already under way of six "mobile" versions, these mounted atop multiple-axle transport carriages to help content with the massive weapons weight over distances. Despite their mobile classification, these examples still proved heavy and cumbersome to maneuver with any great haste. It came to be that the weapon was eventually dismantled between two loads for transport but even this method was equally time consuming and impractical, forcing the Germans to revert back to the original single-load process for transporting the weapon.
Due to the heavy nature of the weapon system as a whole, the FlaK 40 was eventually settled as a static gun emplacement along few - though critical - airspace routes throughout the Reich. Berlin and Vienna were two such locales protected FlaK 40 guns and even then some of these weapons had specially constructed towers designed to manage their weight and take on even greater vantage points. To compensate for the FlaK 40s limited tactical value, engineers eventually managed a railcar variant that supplied only limited additional mobility.
As the Allied bombing campaign (day and night) was taking an ever increasing toll on German war-making capacities, a twin-gun variant was also developed and these were designated as "12.8cm FlaK 40 Zwilling". These were essentially the same class of weapon though completed with two side-by-side 128mm gun barrels, appropriate fire control systems and dual loading facilities all fitted to the original mount. Production of this form also began in 1942 to which some 34 examples were available by February of 1945. Again, the sheer weight and complexity of these systems made their availability limited and, thusly, they were utilized strictly around key Reich centers.
One final FlaK 40 alternative became the "12.8cm PaK 40" gun system. This was an anti-tank evolution of the FlaK 40 intended to arm the new "Sturer Emil" tracked heavy tank destroyers. However the Rheinmetall design lost out to a Krupp submission after evaluation. Regardless, only two Sturer Emil prototypes were completed before the end of the war in May of 1945.
In all, 1,125 FlaK 40 systems were produced between 1942 and 1945.
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