In 1949, a new republic was formed, and it encompassed the western two-thirds of the failed Third Empire. But once Germany was divided into two, technological advancements occurred at an unprecedented pace.Upon reviving the Federal Armed Forces, West Germany acquired a new generation of weaponry to counter the Warsaw Pact, including one extraordinarily powerful anti-aircraft artillery system: the Flakpanzer Gepard.An all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, the vehicle was based on the hull of the iconic Leopard 1 tank, with a sizable, fully rotating turret carrying a pair of 35-millimeter Oerlikon autocannons. Although it was developed in the 1960s, the Gepard is still considered the strongest weapon of its kind, enough to be a surprising key component in one of the most controversial wars of our time…