The 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41 is a German 88mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun, developed in the 1930s. It was widely used by Nazi 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. Due to its lethality, especially as a tank killer, the eighty-eight was greatly feared by Allied soldiers.
Development of the original model led to a wide variety of guns.https://plane-encyclopedia.com/ww2/8-8-cm-flak-18-36-37/, retrieved 8/12/2022 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 8.8cm Flak 37. Flak is a contraction of German Flugabwehrkanone (also referred to as Fliegerabwehrkanone) 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; it could be completely emplaced in only two and a half minutes. 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, 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.
Development history Background
Initially, anti-aircraft artillery guns of World War I were adaptations of existing medium-caliber weapons, mounted to allow fire at higher angles. 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. With the increase of aircraft performance, many armies developed dedicated AA guns with a high muzzle velocity – allowing the projectiles to reach greater altitudes. 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. The first such German gun was introduced in 1917, using the 8.8 cm caliber common in the Kaiserliche Marine (navy).
After losing the war, Germany had been forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles from procuring new weapons of most types. Nevertheless, the Krupp company started the development of a new gun together with Bofors of Sweden. Krupp had the majority ownership in Bofors since 1921. The original design was a 75 mm model 1929. During the prototype phase, the army asked for a gun with considerably greater capability. The designers started again, using 88 mm caliber.
Prototype 88s were first produced in 1928. This early model, the Flak 18, used a single-piece barrel with a length of 56 calibers, leading to the commonly seen designation L/56.
First generation: Flak 18, 36 and 37
The Flak 18 was mounted on a cruciform gun carriage. A simple-to-operate "semi-automatic" loading system ejected fired shells, allowing it to be reloaded by simply inserting a new shell into a tray. 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. This resulted in firing rates of 15 to 20 rounds a minute, which was better than similar weapons of the era. High explosive ammunition was used against aircraft and personnel, and armour-piercing against tanks and other armored vehicles.
Widespread production started with the Nazi rise to power in 1933, and the Flak 18 was available in small numbers when Germany intervened in the Spanish Civil War. It quickly proved to be the best anti-aircraft weapon then available. 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. This experience also demonstrated a number of minor problems and potential improvement opportunities.
The Flak 18's carriage allowed it to fire in an emergency when still on its wheels and without its outriggers, but with a very limited traverse and elevation. For normal emplacement, one single-axle bogie was detached from the front outrigger and one from the rear, side outriggers were then hinged from the vertical position to the ground; the total time to set up was estimated at two and a half minutes. Both modes of operation made the gun much more suitable for fast-moving operations, the basic concept of the blitzkrieg. The weight of the gun meant that only large vehicles could move it, the Sd.Kfz. 7 half-track becoming a common prime mover.
Targeting indicators were attached to the central controller to each of the four guns of a battery, allowing for coordinated fire. Indeed, with the automatic loading system, the gun layer's job was to keep the gun barrel trained on the target area based on the signals from the controller. 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.
Many of these improvements were incorporated into the Flak 36, the main difference being the introduction of a new cruciform carriage, the Lafette 36. This differed from the earlier Lafette 18 in that it was a symmetrical design and used with the SdAnh 202 bogies, each with four wheels. The Lafette 18 used the SdAnh 201 bogies which had two wheels for the forward bogie and four for the rear bogie. About this same time, the barrel was changed to the two-piece Flakrohr 36 for easier replacement of worn liners. Flak 36s were often fitted with an armoured shield that provided limited protection for the gunners. These shields could be retro-fitted onto older Flak 18s as well.
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. In some sources it is mistakenly stated that the Flak 37 was not equipped for anti-armor operation. In fact all 8.8 cm Flak guns were capable of operation in the dual role.
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.
Both Flak 18 and Flak 36 had the same permanently attached fuze setter with two "Zünderstellbecher". The Flak 37/41 had the simplified fuze setter of the 8.8 cm Flak 41.
Second generation: Flak 41
As early as 1939 the Luftwaffe asked for newer weapons with even better performance, to address the problems of defending against attack by high-flying aircraft. Rheinmetall responded with a new 88 mm design with a longer cartridge and a longer barrel.
A prototype was ready in early 1941 leading to the designation 8.8 cm Flak 41. The new gun fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s (3,280 ft/s), giving it an effective ceiling of and a maximum of , which General der Flakartillerie Otto Wilhelm von Renz said to be "almost equal to the 128-mm." It featured a lower silhouette on its turntable mounting than did the 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37 on its pedestal mounting. The barrel was at first a three-section one with a length of 74 calibers, and then redesigned to dual-section with a length of 72 calibers. Improvements in reloading raised the firing rate, with 20 to 25 rounds a minute being quoted.
Later, the guns were almost exclusively used in Germany where they could be properly maintained and serviced. The Flak 41 had the disadvantage of complexity, and was prone to problems with ammunition, empty cases often jamming on extraction. Because of the high cost and complexity of this weapon, the Germans manufactured relatively few of them, 556 in all. The first deliveries were made in early 1943 and, as of August 1944, only 157 were fielded; with 318 in January 1945.
Given very low production numbers and ongoing problems with the Flak 41, attempts were made to install the Flak 41 barrel onto other guns' chassis. During 1942 tests were made using the Flak 41 barrel and Flak 37 chassis but these identified that the chassis could not take the strain even when strengthened. Work then continued using a Flak 37 barrel re-chambered for the Flak 41 round and with a muzzle brake. After other parts were strengthened this functioned as desired. The resulting piece was 74 calibers long (78 with the muzzle brake). Problems with the multi-part barrel construction of the Flak 37 were encountered and a new barrel based on the monoblock construction of the Flak 18 was designed. 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.
A further attempt was made to use a Flak 41 barrel on an existing mount from the 10.5 cm FlaK 39. The resulting unit outperformed the 105 mm original and was called the 8.8 cm Flak 39/41. However, production did not take place as no Flak 41 barrels were available.
Production history Thousands of 88 mm guns were produced throughout the war in various models and mounts.
+ Heavy flak production numbers pre-war 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total 8.8 cmFlak 18/36/37 2,459 183 1,130 1,998 3,052 4,712 6,482 738 20,754 8.8 cmFlak 41 0 0 0 0 48 122 290 96? 556 10.5 cmFlak 38/39 ? 38 290 509 701 1,220 1,331 92 more than 4,181 12.8 cm Flak 40(includingFlakzwilling 40/2) 0 0 0 0 65 298 664 98 1,125
Compared to other artillery types, German industry built for example, 570 heavy (caliber 88–128 mm) flak guns, 1,020 field artillery pieces (caliber 75–210 mm), and 1,300 tank guns, anti-tank guns, plus self-propelled guns in December 1943.
Combat history
German use 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.
Anti-aircraft defense of the Reich
After 1935, the anti-aircraft defense of Germany was controlled by the Luftwaffe. By the beginning of World War II the Luftwaffes anti-aircraft artillery employed 6,700 light (2 cm and 3.7 cm) and 2,628 heavy flak guns. Of the latter, a small number were 10.5 cm Flak 38s or 39s, the majority were 8.8 cm Flak 18s, 36s or 37s. This was twice as many heavy AA guns as RAF Fighter Command had at the time, with France and the United States having even fewer.
Throughout the entire war, the majority of 88 mm guns were used in their original anti-aircraft role.