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Each FLAK38 gun fed by 20-round box magazine, although not depicted here there were stools placed on left-right sides where loaders sat, rotated with gun mount, and manually rearmed the guns during firing sessions. Spare box magazines placed below each loader on ammo racks. 2cm FLAK38 versatility enabled its mounting on various wheeled, half-tracked, and fully tracked vehicles. Flak Panzer - www.wargamer.com/Hosted/Panzer/flak-panzer.htm
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Inset 1 : In addition to Flakhelferen, Croatian also volunteered in German Waffen-SS service, photo depicts men wearing standard German infantry  uniforms, Sword-in-Hand-Over-Swatiska collar patches of Croatian SS-Handschar division, Fez hats indicated volunteers were Bosnian Muslims from Bosnia-Herzegovina region (note in WW2 Independent State of Croatia in 1941 encompassed Croatia - Bosnia - Herzegovina. 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_SS_Mountain_Division_Handschar
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Handschar (also written as Handjar and Handzar) was name of curved Turkish sword illustrated in collar patch, since majority of recruits were Muslim, hence Turkish Islamic symbolism was appropriate (British called sword Scimitar, Arabic called it Khanjar). Handschar - www.babylon.com/definition/Handschar/
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Postwar debates ensue over why Germans (who espoused Pagan Aryan racial superiority) would want to recruit non-Aryan groups for service, especially Bosnian Muslims. Some say Germans wanted public support from 350 million Muslims in Balkans, North Africa, Middle East, and South Asia regions (hence counter British and French colonial forces in those areas). Others say Heinrich Himmler : SS department head, was captivated by rudimentary Islamic belief that dying for one's religion in battle ensures divine after-life, hence making Muslims excellent soldiers. But I suspect truth is closer to politics, namely that Himmler had been systematically incorporating personnel within Waffen-SS branch as much for Aryan purity as well as to expand his private army. Plan was to use amalgamated SS combat formations as defacto police paramilitary force after end of WW2. Under Himmler's control, the Waffen-SS would protect his power base from both external threats and internal Nazi party power struggles. Dragon-Models: Hasan Malnar (Handschar) - www.toyboxer.com/DRAGON/hasan.html
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About 20,000 Muslims served in Bosnian 13th SS-Handschar and Albanian 21st SS-Skanderbeg divisions, mainly operated in Yugoslavia and Hungary between 1943-1944. Soviet Balkan offensive in Fall 1944 shattered the division as its members elected not to retreat with German forces but remain in Bosnia to defend their homeland. 13th SS-Handschar Division insignia 13.Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Handschar" (kroat.Nr.1) - www.feldgrau.com/13ss.html
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Rollover : Flak gun box magazine painted in TESTOR Black, dry brushed TESTOR Chrome to bring out surface details. Croatian Sahovnica shield custom made with color inkjet printer on white decal sheet. Given decal's slight transparency, placed two layers of decals one on top of the other to reduce opacity. Croatian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII - www.feldgrau.com/croatia.html
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Inset 2 : Another Croatian formation in German Wehrmacht (army) service was 369th  Reinforced Infantry Regiment, raised in July 1941 with 6,300 men, fighting on Ostfront (eastern front) battles in Kharkov, Kalatch, and Selivanov. Regiment's last battle was in 1942-1943 Stalingrad kesselschlachten (cauldron battles), where it was wiped out with a few surrendering to Soviets. Croatian Legion Awards - axis101.bizland.com/CroatianLegion3.htm
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Photo depicts Croatian Staff Sergeant Dragutin Podobnik, highly decorated for his Ostfront combat actions. 24 Sept. 1942, he was awarded German Iron Cross 2nd Class for all-night "Proljet Kultura" Kolhoz battles in Ukraine. 16 Oct 1942, Podobnik awarded German Iron Cross 1st Class for taking 18 men to infiltrate and destroy Soviet positions in Stalingrad's famed Red October Factory. Croatian Wehrmacht Volunteers - www.wehrmacht-awards.com/axis_allies/croatian_volunteers.htm
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Podobnik was one of the 6,000-plus Croatian soldiers killed in action in Stalingrad, although photo is somewhat blurry, note that Croatians wore German M40 helmets with Croatian Sahovnica shield on one side and German Wehrmacht eagle on the other. Freiwillige : The Foreign Volunteers - www.feldgrau.com/main1.php?ID=7
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Inset 3 : Single barrel FLAK38 gun on turntable mount, gunner  position offset to right, dual hand cranks for elevation and rotation. Being light-weight and portable, FLAK38 platform can be man-handled into any position or mounted on variety of vehicles. By 1943 with increased Allied aerial dominance, German opted to mounted multi-barrel FLAK38 versions to throw a "steel curtain" onto low-flying enemy ground attack aircrafts. Barrel configurations ranged from 2 to 8, but 4-barrel FLAKvierling versions were the norm. Photo depicts Luftwaffe AAA crew in dark blue jumpsuits with tan color M40 helmets in what seems like flat rolling hills of Ukraine. Anti-Aircraft Guns - www.svsm.org/gallery/AA-guns
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