8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41

8.8 cm Flak 18-36
8.8 cm Flak 36 with Flak Rohr 18 barrel at the Imperial War Museum in London
TypeAnti-aircraft gun
Place of originNazi Germany
Service history
In service1936–1945 (Nazi Germany)
Used by
  • Nazi Germany
  • Kingdom of Italy
  • Romania
  • Bulgaria
  • Spain
  • Finland
  • Slovak Republic[1]
  • France
  • Greece
  • Republic of China
  • Brazil
  • Kingdom of Hungary
  • North Vietnam[2]
Wars
Production history
DesignerKrupp
Designed1928
ManufacturerKrupp, Rheinmetall
Unit cost33,600 ℛ︁ℳ︁[3]
Produced1933–1945
No. built21,310[3]
Specifications (Flak 36[5])
Mass7,407 kg (16,330 lb) in mounted position
Length5.791 m (20 ft)
Barrel length4.938 m (16 ft 2 in) (56 calibers)
Width2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)[4]
Height2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) (firing)
Crew10[4]
ShellFixed QF 88×571mmR[4]
Caliber88 mm (3.46 in)
BarrelsOne, 32 grooves with right-hand increasing twist from 1/45 to 1/30
BreechHorizontal semi-automatic sliding block
RecoilHydro-pneumatic[4]
CarriageSonderanhänger 201 (Flak 18) and Sonderanhänger 202 (Flak 36, 37, 41)
Elevation−3° to +85°
Traverse360°
Rate of fire15–20 rpm
Muzzle velocity840 m/s (2,690 ft/s)
Effective firing range
  • 14,860 m (16,250 yd) ground target
  • 8,000 m (26,000 ft) effective ceiling
Maximum firing range9,900 m (32,500 ft) maximum ceiling
SightsZF.20

The 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41 is a German 88 mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun, developed in the 1930s. It was widely used by Germany throughout World War II and is one of the most recognized German weapons of the conflict. The gun was universally known as the Acht-acht ("eight-eight") by the Germans and the "eighty-eight" by the Allies.[N 1] Due to its lethality, especially as a tank killer,[7][8] the eighty-eight was greatly feared by Allied soldiers.[9]

Development of the original model led to a wide variety of guns.[10] The name of the gun applies to a series of related guns, the first one officially called the 8.8 cm Flak 18, the improved 8.8 cm Flak 36, and later the 8.8 cm Flak 37.[N 2] Flak is a contraction of German Flugabwehrkanone (also referred to as Fliegerabwehrkanone)[11][N 3] meaning "aircraft-defense cannon", the original purpose of the weapon. In English, "flak" became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire. Air defense units were usually deployed with either a Kommandogerät ("command device") fire control computer or a portable Würzburg radar, which were responsible for its high level of accuracy against aircraft.

The versatile carriage allowed the 8.8 cm Flak to be fired in a limited anti-tank mode when still on its wheels;[5] it could be completely emplaced in only two and a half minutes.[5] Its successful use as an improvised anti-tank gun led to the development of a tank gun based upon it: the 8.8 cm KwK 36, with the "KwK" abbreviation standing for Kampfwagen-Kanone (literally "battle vehicle cannon", or "fighting vehicle cannon"), meant to be placed in a gun turret as the tank's primary armament. This gun served as the main armament of the Tiger I heavy tank.

In addition to these Krupp designs, Rheinmetall later created a more powerful anti-aircraft gun, the 8.8 cm Flak 41,[N 2] which was produced in relatively small numbers. Krupp responded with another prototype of the long-barreled 8.8 cm gun, which was further developed into the anti-tank and tank destroyer 8.8 cm PaK 43 gun used for the Elefant and Jagdpanther, and turret-mounted 8.8 cm KwK 43 heavy tank gun of the Tiger II.

  1. ^ "ztráty slovenské armády v letech 1939 - 1944 – Druhá světová válka – druhasvetova.com". druhasvetova.com (in Czech). Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Schuster, Carl O. (July 27, 2016). "The Rise of North Vietnam's Air Defenses". HistoryNet. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Fugabwehrwaffen" [Anti-aircraft weapons]. Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's Pocket Book of Towed Artillery. New York: Collier. p. 49. ISBN 0-02-080600-0. OCLC 911907988.
  5. ^ a b c TM E9-369A: German 88-mm Antiaircraft Gun Materiel – Technical Manual. U.S. War Department. June 29, 1943. Retrieved December 23, 2014 – via Lone Sentry.
  6. ^ Hinckley, Paul. "A Dictionary of Great War Slang". Old Contemptible's Great War Website. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "Flak 36 88mm Multipurpose Gun". National Museum of the United States Air Force.
  8. ^ "Striking by Night - 88-millimetre Flak gun". Australian War Memorial.
  9. ^ Corum, James S. (November 2007). "The Weapon GIs Hated Worst". World War II Magazine.
  10. ^ https://plane-encyclopedia.com/ww2/8-8-cm-flak-18-36-37/, retrieved 8/12/2022
  11. ^ Biedermann, W. (1923). Die deutsche Sprache als Spiegel deutscher Kultur [The German language as a mirror of German culture] (in German). Frommannsche Buchhandlung. p. 38. Flak (Flugzeugabwehrkanone)
  12. ^ Oberkommando des Heeres H.Dv.481/541 – Merkblatt für die Munition der 8,8 cm Flugabwehrkanone 18 (8,8 cm Flak 18) und der 8,8 cm Flugabwehrkanone 36 (8,8 cm Flak 36). Berlin: Oberkommando des Heeres. 1942.
  13. ^ Wilhelm Oppermann, 1928.


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