[citation needed] 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. These shields could be retro-fitted on older Flak 18s as well. [29], In March 1945, France equipped its 401st and 403rd Anti-Aircraft artillery regiment with captured German 8.8 guns, associated with British GL Mk. By Donald Nijboer. 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. BS: Armor-piercing incendiary original anti-tank round. It was also provided with a much stronger and more angled armour shield to provide better protection to the crew. According to the official guidelines the 14.5×114 case can handle up to 360 MPa (52,213 psi) piezo pressure. The spoken version was. An AP shell is made from solid steel with a high carbon contents, which increases the hardness of the steel. However, production did not take place as no Flak 41 barrels were available.[13]. In English, "flak" became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire. [American troops] knew that the greatest single weapon of the war, the atomic bomb excepted, was the German 88 mm flat-trajectory gun, which brought down thousands of bombers and tens of thousands of soldiers. 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.[9]. Operation Barbarossa: the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation Volume IIB. 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. [22] Just as important, the success of the 8.8 cm Flaks spawned the development of dedicated 8.8 cm caliber PAKs (see discussion below) which were even more adept at anti-tank mission due to their lower silhouette design. This prompted the development by the Germans of a heavy-calibre and high-velocity rifle as an anti-tank weapon. At the end of the war the Spanish Army was using all of the Flak 18 guns sent, some 52 units. It was used successfully by Hero of the Soviet Union Sergeant Yakov Pavlov during the Battle of Stalingrad when the NCO led the defence of Pavlov's House in the city. Beginning in 1954 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam received a number of Flak 88s from the Soviet Union. 36 and related auxiliary equipment. Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 22.5 degrees. The versatile carriage allowed the 8.8 cm FlaK to be fired in a limited anti-tank mode when still on its wheels;[4] it could be completely emplaced in only two and a half minutes. The gun would then fire and recoil; during the return stroke, the empty case would be thrown backward by levers, after which a cam would engage and recock the gun. Source: Wikimedia It fires 450 to 550 12.7x99mm armor penetrating rounds per minute. The newer bullet types have a smaller engraving portion with a rounder boat-tail and were used from about 1957 on. Out of this necessity came the Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys. 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. It allowed general area fire without line of sight, but had poor accuracy compared to the visual systems. It was capable of deploying cluster bombs, as well as anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, at up to 50 km. The loaders would keep the weapon fed with live ammunition which would fire immediately upon insertion—all while the gun layer aimed the weapon according to the data. III radars. Later these guns were used against the invading German forces in April 1941. These had a long engraving portion that caused considerable barrel wear. It was widely used by Germany throughout World War II and is one of the most recognized German weapons of that conflict. [9] For example, in January 1943 – at a time when Germany was desperately fighting to regain the strategic initiative in the East and was also facing a heavy bombing campaign in the West – expenditures on anti-aircraft defenses were 39 million reichsmarks, whereas all the remaining weapons and munitions production amounted to 93 million (including 20 million of the navy budget and only nine million of the aircraft-related budget). [9], By August 1944, there were 10,704 Flak 18, 36 and 37 guns in service, now complemented also by the 10.5 cm Flak 38 and 39, and the formidable 12.8 cm Flak 40, owing to the increase in US and British bombing raids during 1943 and 1944. In fact all 8.8 cm Flak guns were capable of operation in the dual role.[11]. [citation needed] 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 allied tanks being used en masse for the attack. This gave it the mass required to punch through armour, whilst the large propellant charge provided the necessary velocity. Anti-armour warheads may be either chemical energy penetrators, or kinetic energy penetrators. Development of the original model led to a wide variety of guns. [citation needed]. The Flak 37/41 had the simplified fuze setter of the 8.8-cm Flak 41. The 14.5×114mm (.57 calibre) is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries. In addition to these Krupp designs, Rheinmetall later created a more powerful anti-aircraft gun, the 8.8 cm Flak 41,[N 1] which was produced in relatively small numbers. Cartridges use lacquered steel cases and a percussion primer. Some countries also use brass cartridge cases. Kauppi forest, on top of Tuomikallio as a memorial, Tampere. [citation needed] The flak detachment with 88s proved accurate and versatile in combat against mainly land targets, the high muzzle velocity and large caliber making it an excellent long-range anti-vehicle and anti-bunker weapon. [9] The 8.8 cm Flak was used against heavily armored tanks such as the Char B1 bis and Matilda II, whose frontal armour could not be penetrated by the standard light 3.7 cm anti-tank gun. [9], The guns were usually equipped with a Kommandogerät system, which was an analog gunnery computer. They were captured by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Sino-Japanese War. 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). University Press of Kansas. The Lahti L-39 is a Finnish 20mm anti-tank rifle used during World War II. At 300 m after penetrating a 2 mm soft steel plate (representing an aircraft skin) it can further penetrate a 1.2 mm-thick steel plate producing 20 fragments. [9] Repeated high tank loss from well-placed 8.8 cm Flak guns in the battles of Halfaya Pass earned it the nickname "Hellfire Pass". 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 as anti-battery. By December 31, 1944, the 244th Field Artillery Battalion had fired a total of 10,706 rounds through captured German weapons. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 455 mm (1 in 17.91 in), 8 grooves, Ø lands = 14.50 mm, Ø grooves = 14.95 mm. 100 Bullet HD Wallpapers and Background Images. In 1937, the Chinese Nationalist Government imported 20 Flak 18 guns and used them to defend the fortifications along the Yangtze River. Of special note are the new Chinese armor-piercing types:[4], Heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge, Post WWII Ammunition Russian Ammunition Page, "PLA Mechanised Infantry Division Air Defence Systems", "Iran unveils new tactical vehicle, sniper rifle", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=14.5×114mm&oldid=996177977, Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, DGJ-02 SLAP: Chinese copy of the 20×100mm Hispano round, DGJ02: APIDS-T cartridges use 45 g tungsten penetrator, wrapped in discarding sabots (similar to the US military. Anyone know anymore info please let me know. 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. The Allies had nothing as good, despite one of them designating itself the world's greatest industrial power. Land Rovers 5. Work then continued using a Flak 37 barrel re-chambered for the Flak 41 round and with a muzzle brake. During the North African campaign, Rommel made the most effective use of the weapon, as he lured tanks of the British Eighth Army into traps by baiting them with apparently retreating German panzers. [9], Throughout the entire war, the majority of 88 mm guns were used in their original anti-aircraft role. The 8.8 cm Flak performed well in its original role of an anti-aircraft gun and it proved to be a superb anti-tank gun as well. pp 293. 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. The original design was a 75 mm model. This resulted in the Giant Würzburg, which had sufficient accuracy to precisely control guns without direct visual contact. [citation needed] 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. Contemporary anti-tank weapons, too, were very small. They go through them just like they were a piece of paper". After losing the war, Germany had been forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles from procuring new weapons of most types. It was this muzzle velocity, combined with a projectile of high weight, that made the 8.8 cm Flak one of the great World War II anti-tank guns. Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston (PAK 43 and Flak 37). 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. Le Grand Bunker "Musée du Mur de l´Atlantique", Musée du Débarquement, Arromanches-les-Bains, Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, Berlin-Gatow, Muzeum Śląskie (Silesian Museum), Katowice, Poland. [9] This was twice as many heavy AA guns as the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) had at the time, with France and the United States having even fewer. [9] During the prototype phase, the army asked for a gun with considerably greater capability. [12] Improvements in reloading raised the firing rate, with 20 to 25 rounds a minute being quoted. The first anti-tank (AT) rifle, the Mauser Tank-Gewehr M1918, was developed towards the end of the First World War in parallel with the MG TuF machine gun which used the same 13 x 92SR ammunition.It was rushed into service to provide infantry with some protection against the Allied tanks until the TuF could be introduced. In September 1916, the British unveiled their new weapon to the world – The Tank – which, while slow and mechanically unreliable, sent shockwaves through the ranks of the German military. The Allied weapons' capabilities were augmented by the introduction of proximity fuzes. These cannons played an important role against Soviet air raids in Helsinki in February 1944. Indeed, with the automatic loading system, the gun layers' job was to keep the gun barrel trained on the target area based on the signals from the controller. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt action rifles and machine guns alike, under extreme conditions. [23] 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 first deliveries were made in March 1943[12] and, as of August 1944, only 157 were fielded; with 318 in January 1945. Jeeps 4. The M41 works well for … Submit ; Cool Stuff; English Login; Register; Wallpaper Abyss Weapons Bullet. Gander, Terry. By 1915, the German command realized that these were useless for anything beyond deterrence, even against the vulnerable balloons and slow-moving aircraft of the period. [28] 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. 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. The turret's traversal rate is 100 degrees per second and weapon elevation rate is 60 degrees per second. The Flak 41 had the disadvantage of complexity, and was prone to problems with ammunition, empty cases often jamming on extraction. As armour increased in thickness it became necessary to achieve higher muzzle velocities in order for a projectile to penetrate, but steel shot tended to shatter on impact at velocities upward of about 823 metres (2700 feet) per second. [18] 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. For Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany deployed the 8.8 cm Flak in 51 mixed AA battalions. Both Flak 18 and Flak 36 had the same permanently attached fuze setter with two "Zünderstellbecher". Berlin. Watch Queue Queue. It was originally developed for the PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles, and was later used as the basis for the KPV heavy machine gun that formed the basis of the ZPU series anti-aircraft guns that is also the main armament of the BTR series of armoured personnel carriers from the BTR-60 to the BTR-80 and for heavy anti-materiel sniper rifles. 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. The later model was the Flak 37, which included updated instrumentation to allow the gun layers to follow directions from the single director more easily. The German firm of Rheinmetall-Borsig AG was selected to produced the next incarnation of the PaK anti-tank gun and essentially took the existing PaK 38 design and "upsized" it to become the potent PaK 40 fitting the 75mm L/46 (7.5cm / 2.95in) caliber main armament. After he mounted rifles on the building's roof. The Mauser 13.2mm TuF (German: Tank und Flieger; lit. Production was cancelled after approximately only 13 units were built as the resources required to build these were similar to those needed to produce a true Flak 41 and those were simply no longer available at the time. Greece had at least 24 guns (8.8) that were used against the Regia Aeronautica during the Italian invasion of Greece in 1940. Artillery 9. Anti-tank (AT) guns initially used solid steel armour piercing (AP) rounds which derived their penetrating power from kinetic energy. I have owned it 22 years and never fired it, in fact I am not sure it ever was shot. The name 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. Than did the 8.8-cm Flak 18/36/37 on its pedestal mounting armor begin a arms... 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