Немецкая 88-мм пушка: универсальное оружие Второй мировой войны.

German anti aircraft gun

The 88 mm was used in two main roles: as a mobile heavy anti aircraft and as an anti tank gun. Other uses included firing in support of the troops at the front and as a more static anti aircraft gun for home defence.

After 1935, the anti aircraft defense of Germany was controlled by the Luftwaffe. Radar aiming systems were also developed to complement these systems. The Würzburg radar series of radars was produced in the thousands and used widely. It allowed general area fire without line of sight, but had poor accuracy compared to the visual systems. This resulted in the Giant Würzburg, which had sufficient accuracy to precisely control guns without direct visual contact. The financial costs associated with anti aircraft cannon were substantial, especially when compared with fighter aircraft. 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 WW2 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 8.8 cm Flak against tanks. Similarly to the anti aircraft role, as an anti tank weapon the 8.8 cm Flak was tactically arranged into batteries, usually four guns to each. The higher level tactical unit was usually a mixed anti aircraft battalion (gemischte Flak Abteilung). It totaled 12 such guns on average, supplemented by light guns. The German Condor Legion made extensive use of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 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. For the Battle of France in 1940, the army was supported by eighty eights deployed in twenty four mixed flak battalions. Erwin Rommel's use of the gun to blunt the British counterattack at Arras ended any hope of a breakout from the encirclement of May 1940. In the entire Battle of France, the weapon destroyed 152 tanks and 151 bunkers. They were mostly The weapon saw continuous use on the eastern front. The appearance of the outstanding T 34 and the later KV tanks shocked the German panzer crews and anti tank teams, who could only penetrate the Soviet tanks' armor at extremely close range on the order of 200 yards when using the standard 37 mm and 50 mm guns, while the Russian 76 mm gun was effective out to 1000 yards. The 8.8 cm Flak in the anti tank role was arguably most effective in the flat and open terrain of Libya, Egypt and the eastern front. The less open terrain in Italy and Northern France was less suitable for long range AT guns. The success of the German anti tank weapons caused the Allies to take steps to defend against it in new tank designs. On July 18 and 19 1944 a Luftwaffe 8.8 cm anti aircraft battery was re purposed by then Major Hans von Luck to attack British tanks near Cagny taking part in Operation Goodwood. Twenty tanks were destroyed by these guns within the first few seconds and at least 40 tanks were knocked out by 8.8 cm Flaks during the engagement. Just as important, the success of the 8.8 cm Flaks spawned the development of dedicated 8.8 cm caliber PAKs (see below) which were even more adept at anti tank mission due to their lower silhouette design. By February 1945, there were 327 heavy anti aircraft batteries facing the Red Army, which was 21 percent of those used for anti aircraft defense. In the proposal presented by the German authorities, the Italian supply of mechanical parts for anti aircraft guns and anti tank guns was also envisaged, so the production of components for artillery was started in the workshops Ansaldo in (Genoa and Pozzuoli) and OTO. The batteries were supplied complete with a Zeiss firing station Mod. 36 and related auxiliary equipment. The batteries began arriving in Italy a few days after Italy entered the war, and were initially assigned in part to the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (Voluntary Militia for National Security, MACA), for the protection of the Italian main cities and partly sent in Libya, for the protection of ports. Some groups were subsequently assigned to mobile motorcycle sections. However it was immediately evident that the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) did not have at its disposal a tractor with characteristics suitable for towing this piece, given that the task was entrusted to Lancia 3Ro, without all wheel drive. At the end of 1940, 44 pieces and relative firing stations were available. Starting from October 1942, several batteries, while remaining in German possession, were used by Italian personnel (officers and troops) for the protection of military infrastructures and cities, this practice was further intensified in 1943, reaching more than 100 batteries. In addition to the cannons that arrived for the canals established in 1940, in 1943, 24 pieces and their tractors were transferred to Italy intended for equipping the 1ª Divisione corazzata "M" (1st Armored Division "M"). The 88/55 in the Regio Esercito was used in its natural role, that is, as an anti aircraft weapon, its use as an anti tank cannon was limited to the theaters of Northern Africa (Libya and Tunisia) and only for a few gruppi autocampali (self transported field artillery groups).

In 1937, the Chinese Nationalist Government imported 20 Flak 18 guns and used them to defend the fortifications along the Yangtze River. The Flak 18s were extensively deployed during the all aerial combat of the Battle of Chongqing and Chengdu.

In 1943–1944 Finland bought 90 8.8 cm FlaK 37 cannons from Germany and they were used for air defence of largest cities in Finland. These cannons played an important role against Soviet air raids in Helsinki in February 1944. After the war these cannons remained in Finnish use as AA guns until 1977 and after that as coastal guns until the early 2000s. The gun had nickname Rämäpää ("Reckless") after the manufacturer's initials RMB. Several of the Finnish guns survive in museums and as memorials.

Four batteries (16 guns) of 88 mm guns (Flak 18) initially reached Spain as AA with the Condor Legion in 1936, but it was soon used as anti tank, anti bunker and even for counterbattery fire. More guns were sent later, and some 88 mm guns were also supplied to Spanish army units. At the end of the war the Spanish Army was using all of the Flak 18 guns sent, some 52 units. Initially, the Flak 18 batteries were deployed to protect the airfields and logistics bases of the German Condor legion. The scarcity of artillery among the Nationalist forces and the general low proficiency of the Spanish gun crews forced the usage of the Flak 18 gun in a variety of roles, including as an artillery piece and as an anti tank gun. Given appropriate ammunition it proved quite capable in both roles. The war in Spain, with its wildly fluctuating front lines and the presence of Russian tanks, forced the Germans to employ the Flak 18 guns in a direct fire mode against ground targets. By the end of the war the 88 mm guns had performed far more missions as an anti tank and direct fire Field Artillery gun than as an anti aircraft gun. During the war German 88 mm guns were involved in 377 combat engagements, only 31 were against enemy aircraft. The use of the 88 mm in direct support of the infantry brought the gun crews in close proximity to the enemy and made the crews susceptible to infantry fire. Casualties among the legion's 88 mm gun batteries in the Spanish Civil War were second only to those among the bomber pilots. In early 1937 in the fighting around Malaga, a battery of 88 mm guns was assigned to support an infantry brigade. Bad weather grounded the main bomber force, but the assault succeeded, mainly because of the concentrated and accurate fire of the supporting 88 mm guns. Flak 18 batteries were used by the nationalist army at the Battle of Ebro, both for direct fire against pillboxes and also for indirect fire in the advance towards Barcelona. Following the Spanish Civil War, more Flak 36 models arrived in 1943 (88 guns 88/56 mm Flak 36) and since 1943 they were manufactured under license in Trubia under the denomination FT 44 (about 200 guns).

The Flak 36 guns were briefly issued in late 1944 to the American Seventh Army as captured weapons. The 79th Field Artillery Battalion (Provisional) was formed from personnel of the 79th and 179th Field Artillery Groups to fire captured German artillery pieces at the height of an ammunition shortage. Similarly, the 244th Field Artillery Battalion was temporarily equipped with a miscellany of captured German 88 mm guns and 105 mm and 150 mm howitzers. By December 31, 1944, the 244th Field Artillery Battalion had fired a total of 10,706 rounds through captured German weapons.

In March 1945, France equipped its 401st, 403rd and 407 Anti Aircraft artillery regiment with captured German 8.8 guns, associated with British GL Mk. II and GL Mk. III radars. The guns remained in service with second line units until 1953 and then were used for training for a few years.

During the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, various Flak guns were used, mainly by the naval artillery of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). The Yugoslav Army (VJ) also used Flak carriages mounted with double 262 mm rocket launch tubes from the M 87 Orkan MLRS, instead of the 88 mm gun. It was capable of deploying cluster bombs, as well as anti personnel and anti tank mines, at up to 50 km. Only a few were built in mid 1993, the entire project was generally regarded as unsuccessful.

Greece had at least 24 guns (8.8) that were used against the Regia Aeronautica during the Italian invasion of Greece in 1940. Later these guns were used against the invading German forces in April 1941.

Beginning in 1954 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam received a number of Flak 88s from the Soviet Union. These cannons were used against US fighter jets in the early 60s.

The Flak 18/36/37 was roughly comparable to its Italian and Allied counterparts. As an anti aircraft gun it fired a 9.2 kilogram (20 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s to an effective ceiling of 8,000 meters, with a maximum ceiling of 9900 meters. In comparison, the British QF 3.7 inch (94 mm) Mark III fired a projectile at 790 m/s (2,600 ft/s) to an effective ceiling of , and the American 90 mm M1 fired a shell at 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) to the same height, while the Italian Cannone da 90/53 fired a 10.33 kg projectile at 830 m/s to an effective ceiling of The Allied weapons' capabilities were augmented by the introduction of proximity fuzes. The Allies' and Italian weapons were heavier and less mobile, with the Allied weapons being almost useless for ground fire until numerous modifications were carried out. While the US and Italian 90 mm were also used as anti tank guns—the American gun being in use on their M36 tank destroyer and M26 Pershing heavy tank—their use was considerably more limited than the German 88 due to German tanks being primarily used defensively by 1944 and the Allies operating dedicated AT guns (both as mobile AT guns and tank cannons); such as the Ordnance QF 17 pounder in British service and the 76 mm gun M1 in American service.

The KwK 36 (abbreviation of Kampfwagenkanone 36) was a tank gun developed and built by Krupp in parallel to the Flak 36, with which it shared ammunition and ballistics. It was the main armament of the Tiger I heavy tank.

At the time that Rheinmetall developed the Flak 41, Krupp tried to compete with their 8.8 cm Gerät 42 proposal, which was not accepted for production as an anti aircraft gun. Krupp continued development, resulting in the dreaded 8.8 cm PaK 43 anti tank gun and the related 8.8 cm KwK 43 tank gun. The PaK 43 (an abbreviation of Panzerjägerkanone 43) 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 to the crew. In addition to the towed version, there were also self propelled versions of the PaK 43 gun, including the lightly armored Nashorn, and the strongly armored, fully casemate enclosed Elefant and Jagdpanther tank destroyers. All versions were able to penetrate about 200 mm (7.9 inches) of armour at 1,000 m (3280 feet), allowing it to defeat the armor of any contemporary tank. The main armament of the Tiger II heavy tank, the KwK 43 tank gun, was the PaK 43 adapted for tank use, and it was considered for the Panther II tank.

8.8 cm Flak 18 Had a new semi automatic breech, making it a rapid fire gun. It entered production in Germany in 1933 and used the Sonderanhänger 201 trailer. its weight was seven tonnes. Its rate of fire was 15 to 20 rounds per minute. It was later fitted with a gun shield to protect the crew when engaging ground targets. It was produced by Krupp. Mod 1938 II: Approximately 50 guns were modified so a single man could adjust the elevation and traverse. 8.8 cm Flak 36 Entered service 1936–37. It used the redesigned trailer Sonderanhänger 202 which enabled a faster time into action from the move. The SdAnh 202 had twin wheels on two similar carriages. It could engage ground targets from the traveling position. Its weight was seven tonnes. Its rate of fire was 15 to 20 rounds per minute. It was produced by Krupp. It was subsequently fitted with a shield to protect the crew when engaging ground targets. 8.8 cm KwK 36: The main gun of the Tiger I (PzKw VI Ausf. E) tank. Despite its lineage, some classify it as a parallel development with very similar specifications rather than a derivative of the Flak 36. 8.8 cm Flak 37: It was an updated version of the Flak 36, the main difference being Übertragungser 37 (a data transmission system). It was produced by Krupp.