 German 88 mm guns were used in anti-aircraft and anti-tank roles. The German eighty-eight is an anti-aircraft artillery piece from World War II. The name applies to a series of guns officially called the 8.8 cm FlaK 18, 36 or 37, and could also include newer and more powerful models, the FlaK 41 and 43, although these were different weapons. FlaK is a German contraction of either Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone) or Fl(ug)a(bwehr)K(anone) (hence the capital K, nowadays one word) meaning anti-aircraft gun, the original purpose of the eighty-eight. Image File history File links Public domain image uploaded from http://de. ...
Image File history File links Public domain image uploaded from http://de. ...
American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ...
Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3504x2336, 701 KB) ファイルã®æ¦‚è¦ 8,8 cm Flugabwehrkanone (FlaK) 37 L/56 photo by baku13, 7 Aug 2005 on display at the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, Germany. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3504x2336, 701 KB) ファイルã®æ¦‚è¦ 8,8 cm Flugabwehrkanone (FlaK) 37 L/56 photo by baku13, 7 Aug 2005 on display at the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, Germany. ...
American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. ...
Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ...
Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...
A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ...
Success as an improvised anti-tank gun led to a separate line of guns for anti-tank use, referred to as PaK 88 (Panzerabwehr-Kanone, anti-tank gun) and as the main armament for tanks such as the Tiger 1.
In informal German use, the guns were universally known as the Acht-acht, a contraction of Acht-komma-acht Zentimeter (8.8 cm = 88 mm). Note that the Allied slang for anti-aircraft fire, ack-ack, does not come from the German, but is "AA" in the World War I Signallers' Alphabet[1]. By World War II the German word "Flak" was the preferred Allied term for German AA fire. A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ...
Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow...
Background
Most anti-aircraft guns of World War I were adaptations of existing medium-calibre weapons mounted to allow fire at higher angles of attack. These weapons were fairly useful, if only as a deterrent nuisance, against the vulnerable and slow-moving aircraft of WWI. But as the performance of aircraft increased during the inter-war period, their usefulness decreased dramatically. They could not reach the higher altitudes new aircraft could fly at, now regularly over 20,000 ft as opposed to half that, nor could they fire rapidly enough to be effective against fast aircraft. Many military planners concluded that anti-aircraft artillery would no longer be effective, and only limited development was carried out by most countries. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow...
A foot (plural: feet; symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...
German planners instead developed more powerful guns with high muzzle velocity to reach high altitude, and much faster rates of fire. As Germany had been forbidden to produce new weapons of almost every sort after World War I, the German Krupp company developed the new guns in partnership with Bofors of Sweden. A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ...
Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
Bofors is an iron works, cannon maker, and defence industry located in Karlskoga, Sweden. ...
The original design that led to the 88 was in fact a 75 mm model. During the prototype phase, the army asked for a gun with considerably greater capability than the 75.
High explosive ammunition was used against aircraft and personnel, and armour-piercing and high-explosive anti-tank against tanks and other armoured vehicles. A shell is a projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and Proof shot). ...
A shell is a projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and Proof shot). ...
A shell is a projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and Proof shot). ...
FlaK 18, 36 and 37 The designers started over with another common German calibre, and the prototype 88s were first produced in 1928. These early models, the FlaK 18, used a single-piece barrel with a length of 56 calibres, leading to the commonly-seen designation 88/L56. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 682 pixel, file size: 332 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 8,8-cm-Flugabwehrkanone 37 A German 88 mm anti-aircraft cannon (of year) 37 in the anti-aircraft museum of Finland in...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 682 pixel, file size: 332 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 8,8-cm-Flugabwehrkanone 37 A German 88 mm anti-aircraft cannon (of year) 37 in the anti-aircraft museum of Finland in...
Tuusula (IPA: /ˈtuËsulÉ‘/), or Tusby in Swedish is a municipality of Finland. ...
The FlaK 18 was mounted on a cruciform gun carriage that allowed fire in all directions, as opposed to split-trail designs, which allow fire to the front only. The two "side" members of the carriage could be quickly folded up, allowing the gun to be lifted onto two wheeled chassis for high-speed towing. The weight of the gun meant that only large vehicles could move it, and the SdKfz 7 half-track became a popular partner. A simple "semi-automatic" loading system ejected fired shells, allowing it to be reloaded by operating a single handle and inserting a new shell. This resulted in excellent firing rates of 15 to 20 rounds a minute, perhaps double that of most weapons of the era. The SdKfz 7 is a half-track military vehicle used by the German Army in WWII. SdKfz 7 Development of the SdKfz 7 can be traced back to a 1934 requirement for an eight-tonne (7. ...
M3 Half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. ...
Widespread production started with the Nazi rise to power in 1933, and the FlaK 18 was available in small numbers when Germany joined the Spanish Civil War. It quickly proved to be the best anti-aircraft weapon then available. Further, the high muzzle velocity and large calibre made it an excellent long-range anti-vehicle weapon. This experience also demonstrated a number of minor problems and potential improvements. National Socialism redirects here. ...
This article is about the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. ...
Many of these were incorporated into the FlaK 36, which had a two-piece barrel for easier replacement of worn liners, and a new, but heavier, trailer that allowed it to be set up much more quickly, simply dropping the base while still mounted on the wheels. This made it much more suitable for fast-moving operations, the basic concept of the blitzkrieg. The defining characteristic of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is that it is a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare. ...
The eighty-eight was used in two roles: as a mobile heavy anti-aircraft gun, and in a more static role for home defence. In this latter role the guns were arranged into large batteries, directed by a single controller, and were moved only rarely. The less mobile but lighter FlaK 37, using a simpler and lighter trailer design, was developed for this purpose, and included additional instrumentation to allow the gun layers to follow directions from the single director more easily.
During the initial phases of the Battle of France, the eighty-eight was pressed into service against heavily armoured French and British tank designs such as the Char B1bis and Matilda II, whose heavy frontal armour could only be penetrated at point-blank range by lighter anti-tank guns. Anti-tank usage became even more common during battles in North Africa and the Soviet Union. Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di...
The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before the Second World War. ...
The Tank, Infantry, Mk II, Matilda II (A12) (sometimes referred to as Senior Matilda or Matilda II) was a British tank of World War II. In a somewhat unorthodox move, it shared the same name as the Tank, Infantry, Mk I (A11). ...
Northern Africa (UN subregion) geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ...
The 88 was powerful enough to penetrate over 150 mm of armour at ranges of 2 km or more, making it an unparalleled anti-tank weapon during the early war, and still formidable against all but the heaviest tanks at the end of the war. km redirects here. ...
It was arguably most effective in the flat and open terrain of the North African and Russian campaigns, where the long-range performance of the 88 became decisive.
FlaK 36s were often fitted with an armoured shield that provided limited protection for the gunners, although this gave the gun a high profile and made it more easily seen.
The success of the 88 mm as an anti-tank weapon led the Germans to develop tanks and tank destroyers mounting 88 mm guns on, for instance, the Tiger tank and the Nashorn tank destroyer. While the Nashorn used the new long 88/L71 gun of the FlaK 41, the Tiger I gun was based on the older, shorter 88/L56 FlaK 36 gun. A self-propelled anti-tank gun, or tank destroyer, is a type of armoured fighting vehicle. ...
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. ...
Nashorn (Ger. ...
The parts of the various versions of the guns were interchangeable, and it was not uncommon for various parts to be "mixed and matched" on a particular example.[citation needed]
In August 1944, there were 10,704 FlaK 18, 36 and 37 guns in service. Owing to the increase in US and British bombing raids during 1943 and 44, the majority of these guns were used in their original anti-aircraft role, now complemented with the formidable 12.8 cm FlaK 40. There were complaints that, due to the apparent ineffectiveness of anti-aircraft defences as a whole, the guns should be transferred from air defence units to anti-tank duties, but this politically unpopular move was never made. The 12. ...
FlaK 41 As early as 1939 the Luftwaffe, now in charge of anti-aircraft defences instead of the army, asked for newer weapons with even better performance. Rheinmetall responded with a new 88 mm L/74 design with a taller cartridge case, whose improved muzzle velocity allowed it to reach altitudes of 15,000 m (48,000 ft), considerably higher than the older design's 10,600 m (32,000 ft). Improvements in reloading further raised the firing rate, with 20 to 25 rounds a minute being quoted. Two types of gun barrel were used, with three or four sections. Krupp's proposal was the 8.8 cm Gerät 42, but it was not accepted for production as an anti-aircraft gun. However, Krupp continued development, resulting in the dreaded Pak 43 anti-tank gun. This does not cite its references or sources. ...
Rheinmetall is a German defense company with factories in Düsseldorf and Unterlüß. It has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces. ...
The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ...
The FlaK 41 had the disadvantage of complexity, and was prone to problems with ammunition, cases often jamming on extraction. The first guns produced were used in Tunisia, but because of problems in service they were afterwards used exclusively in Germany where they could be properly maintained and serviced. Only 157 FlaK 41 guns were in use as of August of 1944, and 318 in January of 1945.
A final adaptation, known as the FlaK 37/41, mounted the FlaK 41 on the FlaK 37 carriage, but only 13 were produced.
PaK 43 and KwK 43 A dedicated anti-tank gun, the PaK 43 was developed from Krupp's Gerät 42, mentioned above. This used a new cruciform mount with the gun much closer to the ground, making it far easier to hide and harder to hit. It was also provided with a much stronger and more angled armour shield to provide better protection. The standard armament of the Tiger II, the KwK 43 tank gun, was essentially the PaK 43 externally modified to fit into a turret. There were also self-propelled versions of the gun, including the Nashorn and Jagdpanther tank destroyers. All versions were able to penetrate about 200 mm of armour at 1,000 m, allowing it to defeat any tank in the world. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 2747 KB) German PaK 43/41 88 mm anti-tank gun, displayed on the grounds of CFB Borden (Base Borden Military Museum). ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 2747 KB) German PaK 43/41 88 mm anti-tank gun, displayed on the grounds of CFB Borden (Base Borden Military Museum). ...
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. ...
Nashorn (Ger. ...
The Jagdpanther (Hunting Panther) was a tank destroyer built by Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. ...
Models - Geschütze 8.8 Kw FlaK Entered service in 1916. Produced by Krupp.
- 8.8 cm FlaK 18 New semi-automatic breech, high velocity gun. Entered production in Germany in 1933. Produced by Krupp.
- Mod 1938 I - many upgraded to Sonderanhänger 201 trailer. Weight 7 tonnes. Rate of fire 15 to 20 rounds per minute.
- Mod 1940 - Fitted with a gun shield to protect the crew when engaging ground targets. Produced by Krupp.
- Mod 1938 II - approx 50 guns modified so a single man could adjust elevation and traverse.
- 8.8 cm FlaK 36 Entered service 1936-37. Redesigned trailer Sonderanhänger 201 enabling faster time to action from the move. Could engage ground targets from its travelling position. Weight 7 tonnes. Rate of fire 15 to 20 rounds per minute. Produced by Krupp.
- Mod 1940 - Fitted with a shield to protect the crew when engaging ground targets.
- Late model Fitted with an improved trailer the Sonderanhänger 202 with twin wheels.
- 8.8 cm FlaK 37 An anti-aircraft only gun, fitted with Übertragungser 37 (a data transmission system). Produced by Krupp. Last of the versions with the shorter 571 mm cartridge case.
- 8.8 cm FlaK 41 Entered service 1943. Improved development, longer barrel and cartridge case. Fitted to the Sonderanhänger 202 as standard. Produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig.
- 8.8 cm Gerät 42 Krupp design to fill the same role as the FlaK 41 did not enter service as an anti-aircraft gun. Further development of the weapon led to the Pak 43 anti-tank gun.
- 8.8 cm PaK 43 Anti-tank model developed from Krupp's 8.8 cm Gerät 42. New gun carriage similar to the Sonderanhänger 201. Developed by Krupp and manufactured in its different versions, including KwK 43, by at least Dortmund Hoerder-Hüttenverein, Henschel, Weserhütte and Fr. Garny. A 71 caliber barrel and a 822 mm cartridge case.
- 8.8 cm PaK 43/41 Pak 43 mounted on single axle split-trail field gun carriage produced as a stop-gap measure due to scarcity of materials. Weight 4.9 tonnes.
- 8.8 cm PaK 43/1 Pak 43 as mounted in the 'Nashorn' tank destroyer.
- 8.8 cm PaK 43/2 Pak 43 as mounted in the 'Ferdinand'/'Elefant' tank destroyer. On occasion referred to as 'StuK 43/1'.
- 8.8 cm PaK 43/3 and 43/4 Pak 43 as mounted in the 'Jagdpanther' tank destroyer. Falling wedge breech block.
- 8.8 cm KwK 43 Pak 43 modified as a tank gun. Main gun of the Tiger II heavy tank. Falling wedge breech block.
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
Rheinmetall is a German defense company with factories in Düsseldorf and Unterlüß. It has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
For the U.S. town, see Krupp, Washington. ...
Combat history The forces of the Third Reich employed the 88 extensively in World War II, not only in its original role as an anti-aircraft gun, where it performed well, but also as an anti-tank gun. Throughout the war the gun had few rivals. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...
Erwin Rommel helped develop the 88 as an anti-tank weapon, first in France and later in North Africa. His timely use of the gun to blunt the British advance at Arras ended any hope of a breakout from the blitzkrieg encirclement of May 1940. In Libya and Egypt, he lured British tanks into traps by baiting them with apparently retreating panzers. When the British pursued, concealed 88s picked them off at ranges far beyond those of the two and six-pound turret guns of the British marks. The unparalleled penetration of the 88's shells destroyed many Allied tanks and other armoured vehicles. The British 8th Army eventually learned to coordinate their heavy artillery with their ground advances, destroying the relatively immobile 88s in their emplacements once they revealed their positions. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname “The Desert Fox†(Wüstenfuchs, ) for the skillful military campaigns he...
The QF 2-pounder gun was a British anti-tank gun. ...
The QF 6-pdr 7 cwt was a British anti-tank gun of World War 2. ...
The weapon saw continuous use on the Russian Front. It played a crucial role in the early months of Operation Barbarossa. The appearance of the outstanding T-34 shocked the Wehrmacht Panzer Truppen, whose 37 mm and 50 mm tank guns could only penetrate the Russian tank's steel armour at extremely close range. Until the Panzer IVF2 and the Tiger reached the front, the 88 was the only weapon that possessed the punch to stop the Russian T-34 and KV tanks. Combatants Nazi Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Benito Mussolini Miklós Horthy Jozef Tiso Joseph Stalin Strength ~3. ...
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank first produced in 1940. ...
The 3. ...
The 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 (5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 38 L/42) was a German 5 cm cannon used primarily as the chief weapon of variants of the German medium tank the SdKfz. ...
The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV), more commonly referred to as the Panzer IV, was a tank developed by Germany and used extensively in World War II. It was designed initially as an infantry-support medium tank, to work in conjunction with the anti-tank Pzkpfw III. Later in the war...
First Tiger I tank captured near Tunis The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. ...
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks, named after the Soviet military commander and politician Kliment Voroshilov. ...
The less open terrain in Italy and Northern France was less suitable for the 88; it was used successfully, but with less spectacular results. During the Overlord and Cobra Operations, Allied artillery and airpower often neutralized the 88's impact on the tide of battle, although a few well-positioned German guns often hindered the Allied breakout from Normandy.
The success of the 88 caused the Allies to take steps to defend against it in new tank design. Stopgap measures included adding more armour, or even using sandbags, to defeat the 88's projectiles. The Germans took advantage of this effective design in the armament of vehicles such as the Tiger tank and the Elefant tank destroyer (with an 88 mm Pak 43/2 anti-tank gun). The Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Elefant (Sd. ...
Pak 43/41 at CFB Borden Pak 43/41 at CFB Borden Pak 43/41 at CFB Borden Pak 43/41 at CFB Borden The PaK 43 (Panzerabwehrkanone 43) was a German 88 mm anti-tank gun developed from the famous 88 mm anti-aircraft gun and used during the...
See also One of six Flak towers built during World War II in Vienna. ...
A Tiger I tank fitted with a Kwk 36 8. ...
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