Flak 88 - Best Anti Aircraft/Anti Tank Gun of WW2

originally designed as an anti-aircraft cannon the German 88 millimeter flak gun was so effective and versatile that it was deployed on German tanks as an anti-tank gun an assault gun and for anti-aircraft purposes the 88 earned its reputation as the best overall gun of the war and it was feared by Allied airmen tankers and foot soldiers because of its accuracy lethality and versatility Krupp company designers in partnership with Bofors of Sweden developed the gun in the late 1920s by working in Switzerland to avoid post-world War one treaty restrictions the famous flak gun got its name from the German word flew gobbler con own meaning aircraft defense cannon the name applies to a series of guns the first one officially called the 88 flak 18 the improved 88 black 36 and later the 88 flak 37 during the Spanish Civil War German troops fired the guns at oncoming tanks and fortified bunkers with very effective results this success in combat led to versions of the 88 equipped to engage ground targets that were in view or barrage enemies from long range the guns high muzzle velocity and heavy projectile made the 88 particularly effective against heavily armored vehicles and it could fire at rates of 15 to 20 rounds a minute which was better than similar weapons of the era the weapon was rugged hard-hitting and adaptable the 88 flak was used in two main roles as a mobile heavy anti-aircraft and as an anti-tank gun after 1935 the anti-aircraft defense of Germany was controlled by the Luftwaffe the guns were grouped in batteries of four with a predictor when the flak batteries pinpointed an aircraft the guns were fired in salvos designed to burst in a sphere of 55 meters in diameter in which it was hoped to entrap the target [Music] each 88 gun could project a shell to 9,000 meters and could knock out an aircraft within 30 meters of the shell burst however the fragments from the explosion would still capable of inflicting serious damage up to 180 meters [Music] by August 1944 there about 10,000 black 18 36 and 37 guns in service and the flak accounted for 3,500 American planes destroyed which was almost half of the total planes lot the 88 Flack performed well in its original role of an anti-aircraft gun and it proved to be a superb anti-tank gun as well its success was due to its versatility the standard anti-aircraft platform allowed Gunners to depress the muzzle below the horizontal unlike most of its contemporaries as world war ii progressed it was becoming increasingly clear that existing anti-tank weapons were unable to pierce the armor of heavier enemy tanks and ground commanders began increasingly to use the 88 flak against tanks it was powerful enough to penetrate over 84 millimeter of armor at a range of two kilometers making it an unparalleled anti-tank weapon during the early days of the war and still formidable against all but the heaviest tanks at the end he was used extensively in the Spanish Civil War where its usefulness as an anti-tank weapon and general artillery piece exceeded its role as an anti-aircraft gun in the entire Battle of France the weapon destroyed 152 tanks and 151 bunkers the North African campaign of the war saw the most effective use of the weapon causing severe destruction of British and American tanks the weapon saw continued its use on the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa the Germans were so impressed with the 88 that as early as 1936 plans were laid out to mount the weapon on the tank that eventually became the tiger one the accuracy and distance of the tiger ones 88 gun often resulted in of one shot one kill ratio for the Germans against allied tanks and their crews the Germans also used the 88 as a self-propelled gun that further improved its mobility and increased its usefulness for close-in support for ground troops the 88 also was mounted on railway cars and used there in anti-aircraft roles developments continued on the basic black gun resulting in the emergence of the 88 black 41 that first saw real action in late 1943 in Tunisia the gun proved to be a significant improvement on earlier models despite its complexity and high cost of production the flat 41 was used primarily for air defense in the West so it's Andy armor use was limited the Germans also designed an 88 Hawk 43 as a dedicated anti-tank weapon with the first ones coming off the production lines by the end of 1943 it soon became widely recognized as perhaps the best all-around anti-tank gun of the war it could easily provide firepower in a full 360-degree Traverse and it could penetrate the frontal armor of any allied tank on the field the 88 Pok 43 was modified and placed on the tiger ii tank this feared tank was designed to hold 40 high-explosive and 40 armor-piercing rounds the Pok 43 also was employed as a self-propelled gun in a number of forms including the Nats horn rhinoceros and the Ferdinand interestingly both Britain and the United States had guns with somewhat similar anti-aircraft capabilities is the 88 flag both the British 94 mm and the American 90 mm could fire higher and loft larger projectiles on paper they could outperform the German gun both weapons though were bulkier and heavier the Allies restricted those guns to their initial anti-aircraft roles while the Germans expanded the 88's role to anti-tank and against fortified ground positions this in turn led to other advances all of which made the weapon far more versatile and effective its successful service history is perhaps best described in the words of an American historian in World War two veteran Paul Fussell he wrote that American troops knew that the greatest single weapon of the war the atomic bomb accepted was the German 88 millimeter gun which brought down thousands of bombers and tens of thousands of soldiers the Allies had nothing as good [Music] the Germans flexible an innovative approach to the initial 88 flack permitted them to learn and adapted the war progressed improving the anti-aircraft fire capabilities of the weapon and they successfully modified it for tank anti-tank and related ground rolls this contributed greatly to the 88's lasting reputation as the legendary large gun of world war ii thank you for watching if you liked the video please subscribe the channel for more such videos

Channel: FactBytes

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Keywords: 88mm, 88mm flak, best gun of ww2, german 88mm gun, ww2 german gun, german artillery ww2, flak 88

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Length: 7min 56sec (476 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 06 2020