The protracted strategic bombing of Germany by the Allies not only destroyed the German military industry and pushed the German economy to the brink of collapse, but also strangled the Luftwaffe, the blood of the German pilots was almost exhausted in the battle against the American and British heavy bombers, and by 1944, the sky on the Western Front had been dominated by the American and British air forces, even on D Day, in the face of the Allied planes in the sky, the Luftwaffe did its best efforts were only two fighter jets flying to the beach, firing two shuttle machine gun bullets to declare the existence of the Luftwaffe.
Unlike the German army in the early stage of the war, which had air supremacy and could call "Stuka" to support at any time once it encountered stubborn resistance, Feng Shui took turns, and the German army in the late stage of World War II also began to taste the taste of bombing. Unlike the high-altitude air battles before the Western Front, after the Allied forces landed on the European continent, most of the air support for the ground forces was close air support, for this reason, the German army needed an anti-aircraft weapon with fierce firepower, and at the same time be able to provide anti-aircraft fire with armored forces, under this demand, the strongest air broom in World War II was born!
In April 1944, the German military planned to develop a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun capable of accompanying armored forces and providing effective anti-aircraft fire against Allied fighter-bombers. The plan called for the use of the chassis of the No. 4 medium tank, and the main armament was a double-barreled 30-mm MK303 gun, which was originally intended as an anti-aircraft gun on German Type XXI submarines with a fully enclosed hemispherical turret. The design was entrusted to Remingale and Daimler-Benz, and production was required to begin in September 1944.
In the official production version, the turret was redesigned and replaced with a more powerful 30 mm MK103/38 cannon, the original turret and weapons were designed to be mounted on submarines, and could not be well installed on armored vehicles, if forced to insist, not only would a lot of modifications be required, but also delay delivery and increase costs.
The "Ball Lightning" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun has a crew of 5 members, and the thickness of the armor ranges from 10 mm at the thinnest point to 80 mm at the thickest point. The turret contained three members: two gunners sat on either side of the gun, and the commander was in the middle of the turret. The turret weighs 3500 kg in total, there is a hatch in the upper part for the crew to enter and exit, in addition, two observation openings are opened. The turret rotation relies on manpower and can reach 14 degrees per second. The thickness of the armor was only 20 mm. For the installation of such a turret, the seat of the turret of the Tiger I tank was modified on the hull.
The "Ball Lightning" has a low side profile, high maneuverability (maximum travel speed reaches 38 km / h), a high rate of fire (400 to 650 shells per minute) and a wide angle of artillery fire. It was a deadly nemesis for low-flying Allied aircraft. Despite the fact that the two machine guns installed were connected, both could be fired separately. The standard 30 mm shell fed by the cartridge is powerful, only 3 or 4 hits are enough to destroy any kind of Allied fighter-bomber, even 1 hit can inflict heavy damage on it, but the ammunition carrying is too small, only enough to sustain 90 seconds of fire, after which the ammunition must be replenished immediately by the ammunition carrier, but it is usually enough in actual combat.
Although in terms of technical performance alone, the "ball lightning" can be called the best self-propelled anti-aircraft gun of World War II, not only can it be used for air defense, but its powerful firepower is enough to ensure that even if only one shot hits, it will seriously damage enemy aircraft, and the ground attack is also extremely fierce. But the most important thing is the lack of effective observation and sighting equipment, such as fire control radar, coupled with the fact that ground anti-aircraft fire is still at a congenital disadvantage compared to highly mobile fighter-bombers, and the number is too small, the Third Reich is also exhausted, unable to regain air supremacy and cover the German armored forces to repeat the glory of the early stage of the war.
Despite the small number of production of the Ball Lightning, and the unrealized modification of its modifications, its advanced design ideas deeply influenced the first post-war self-propelled anti-aircraft guns in the 1950s. For example, the M42 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun of the US military is very similar to the "ball lightning" in many aspects.