to be spaced at intervals along a cylindrical arc inside the filter housing 10 in an embodiment not shown in detail the filter elements 22 may also be subdivided into multiple groups mounted along cylindrical arcs the filter elements 22 shown in fig1 discharge with their inlet cross section 24 that is with their free opening into corresponding cylindrically shaped recesses in the lower sealing cover 14 at their opposite ends the filter elements 22 are provided with sealing caps 26 retaining the filter elements 22 on an adapter 28 the adapter comes into contact with the sealing cover 12 moving from above a drivable flushing arm 30 is provided on the backflush filter device at its bottom flushing arm 30 has a connection in the form of a fluid discharge 32 for fouled fluid for the actual backflushing the flushing arm 30 allows the filter elements 22 to be transported in succession among the inlet cross sections 24 by a drive rod 34 the backflushing proceeds continuously and simultaneously with the actual filtration process the filter elements 22 being backflushed have flow from the exterior toward the interior of the filtered fluid cleaned by the other filter elements 22 during filtration the free inlet cross sections 24 of the backflushing filter elements are swept from below in succession by the flushing arm 30 the backflush direction is indicated by arrows pointing inward the usual filtration direction is indicated by arrows pointing outward if the filter elements 22 are arranged in groups along a plurality of arcs inside the filter housing 10 the flushing arm 30 requires an additional arm section of varying length by which the additional group of filter elements 22 can be swept on the side of its inlet cross section 24 the.