German anti-aircraft guns of the Second World War. Small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery of Germany in the Second World War. Vehicles equipped with these weapons

Development of an anti-aircraft gun

After the First World War, as a result of restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, many German arms manufacturing firms went bankrupt. However, some companies, including Krupp, decided to redeploy their highly skilled designers and researchers to foreign weapons companies located throughout Europe. Thus, by forming alliances with foreign companies, the production teams of German gunsmiths avoided arms control, and at the same time gained valuable experience.

In the 1920s, a team of artillery designers led by Krupp took part in one such collaboration and went to work for Bofors (a Swedish munitions firm). Krupp owned approximately 6 million shares (out of a total of 19 million shares) in this leading Swedish arms manufacturing company. In 1931, Krupp's team decided to make a preemptive move and the temporarily emigrated technicians returned to the plant in Essen, where they presented their design for a completely new anti-aircraft gun with a caliber of 88 mm (sometimes called 8.8 cm), developed in Sweden. The development of such weapons was contrary to the Treaty of Versailles and Germany violated the Military Code.

Krupp organized a series of intensive secret reviews and field tests, during which they developed recommendations for making minor changes. Outwardly, there was nothing unusual about the new gun, but upon closer examination, many innovations were revealed. In fact, the design was so successful that the weapon could go into mass production on "conveyor lines" in, for example, automobile or tractor factories, without the need for special equipment.

When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he immediately ended the Treaty of Versailles, which had hampered German arms development. The German army, through various tricks, still managed to preserve the skills and methods of developing artillery pieces. So by 1934, when Hitler openly announced that Germany had begun a rearmament program, the new 88-mm anti-aircraft gun was already ready for full production.

Flak 18

Krupp secretly built a prototype of the new gun and demonstrated it to the German army in 1932. Krupp's investments and attention to detail almost immediately ensured that the 88 gun gained recognition among the troops. After successful field tests, the gun went into mass production and entered service in 1933 as the 8.8 cm Flak 18 (German: Flugabwehrkanone 18).

Photo 1. FlaK 18 on a mobile cart. Note the single pneumatic tires mounted on the tow side of the cart. The large shield gives the crew some degree of protection from small arms fire and shell fragments.

The gun itself had a very traditional design, but its barrel consisted of two parts, enclosed inside a casing. If one part wore out during firing, it was replaced without having to replace the entire barrel, which reduced production time and metal costs. The L/56 type barrel was 53 calibers long, which was 4.664 meters. In addition, a real innovation was the horizontally retractable breech mechanism, which, under the action of a spring, operated in semi-automatic mode. The spring compressed after the shot, when the gun rolled back.

To enable transportation, the gun carriage was equipped with two pairs of trolleys with single-wheel pneumatic tires. In the transport position, the gun weighed 6681 kg. The carts were removed before using the cannon. The carriage was a four-legged cross-shaped unit (known in Germany as a Kreuzlafette), with a central support for mounting the gun. This design made it possible to achieve a horizontal aiming angle of a full 360 degrees and a gun elevation angle in the range from -3 degrees, for combat with ground targets, to +85 degrees for anti-aircraft fire. Two sets of two-wheeled single-axle bogies were attached to the folded ends of the carriage for transportation to FAMO or Hanomag Sd.Kfz.11 half-track tractors. These vehicles also transported gun crews, accompanied by other supply vehicles (carrying ammunition).

Photo 2. FlaK 18 in the stowed position is towed by the Sd.Kfz.11 half-track tractor. The gun was always towed with the barrel forward in the direction of the vehicle's movement. The crew riding in the car could quickly deploy the gun into a firing position.

A well-prepared crew fired 15 high-explosive shells per minute, weighing 10.4 kg each. Later, they began to fire projectiles weighing 9.2 kg with an initial flight speed of 820 m/s. The gun's high rate of fire was made possible in part by the use of a projectile and gunpowder casing fused together to look like a giant rifle bullet. In fact, this became a feature of the 88 throughout its life, even as other gun models with larger chambers were developed.

Photos 3 and 4. Men from 172 Battery, 58th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, using a captured 88mm gun against the Germans, December 1944. The spent cartridge case is ejected, the person on the right holds the shooting cord. Each wicker ammo basket (right) contains three shells.


In combat position, the weight of Flak 18 was 4985 kg, and was distributed exactly in the middle, both in horizontal and vertical planes. A standard high-explosive charge reached a height of 9000 m, but its effective ceiling, the height at which the projectile still had sufficient power to hit the target, was 8000 m. The maximum horizontal firing range of the Flak 18 was more than 14800 m. This range could be useful when conducting barrage fire on an attacker infantry. In addition, the Flak 18 became an effective anti-tank weapon, capable of hitting armored targets at ranges of up to 3000 m. In fact, no matter what target the crew of the 88 mm gun saw, it had every chance of hitting it. In 1939, the German Army Weapons Agency (Waffenamt), realizing the Flak 18's lethal potential as an anti-tank weapon, ordered ten guns. Mounted on the chassis of a 12-ton Daimler-Benz DB10 tractor, they were designated Sd.Kfz.8. They were used as heavy anti-tank weapons and to destroy fortified enemy positions. In 1940, the Agency ordered 15 more units, which were installed on 18-ton Famo tractors. The installations were given the name Sd.Kfz.9, and their purpose was to provide additional air cover. All 25 guns were the only series of this type produced, and although the Armament Agency planned to produce 112 more of these guns (using the late Flak 37) for the Luftwaffe and the army, the order was canceled in mid-1943.

Gun "88" in the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War

At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, which broke out between the Communist Republican forces and the Nationalists in 1936, Italy and Germany sent volunteer forces and military aid to the Nationalists, led by Generalissimo Francisco Franco. The German contingent, known as the Condor Legion, consisted primarily of Luftwaffe personnel and was equipped with the new 88mm Flak 18 anti-aircraft guns. Some historians consider the Spanish Civil War to be a testing ground for weapons later used in World War II. Modern observers note that the German gun, in particular, was used particularly well as an anti-tank gun.

A German officer, Ludwig Ritter von Eymannsberger, saw the future potential of the 88 in an anti-tank role as early as 1937. A series of his articles in such propaganda newspapers as Orel and Wehrmacht described the special role of the artillery section in the new Blitzkrieg tactics. The book "German Fighting in Spain" explains how anti-aircraft guns can be used as an anti-tank weapon. From the beginning of 1937, Flak artillery was used more and more in battlefields where the precision hit, rapid fire and range of the 88 were particularly suitable. This finally led to the use of the Flak, in the last major offensive of the Spanish War, in Catalonia, in the following proportions: 7% for air and 93% for ground targets of the total number of shots fired from the guns.

Despite such statistics, General Heinz Guderian, who took the opposite view, argued that due to difficult terrain and obsolete tanks with inexperienced Republic crews, Spain was a less than perfect testing ground for weapons. However, the experience of the war in Spain was taken into account in the future, developing appropriate optical sights for direct fire and special armor-piercing anti-tank ammunition. The new Pzgr 40 projectile, weighing 10.4 kg, consisted of a steel blank with a solid tungsten carbide core inside. The projectile had a metal cap to improve ballistic characteristics.

New generation of 88-mm anti-aircraft guns 1936-37

Based on the experience gained during the fighting in Spain, German troops carefully examined the battle tactics and design of the 88. Noting several weaknesses in the Flak 18 design, the military issued recommendations for changes. This led to the introduction of two improved "88" models: the Flak 36 and Flak 37. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, three versions of the 88 mm gun were in German service, all called Flak (short for either of the two German words Flugzeugabwehrkanone or Flugabwehrkanone). Officially, the German army was trained according to a manual called "Procedures for Attacking Fortified Defensive Positions" published in the summer of 1939, just before the German invasion of Poland. It noted: “assault detachments closely following anti-tank and 88-mm guns will make any gap in the defensive front...”. At that time, this was the tactical doctrine, but in practice everything happened completely differently. The speed of the German advance and the superiority of the Luftwaffe over the Polish Air Force were so great that 88 mm guns were almost never deployed on the front line, as the textbooks said. The 37-mm PaK 36 anti-tank guns, which were in service with the Germans, did an excellent job of destroying lightly armored Polish tanks such as the TK-3 and 7TP. At the time of the invasion, the German army had more than 9,000 anti-aircraft and artillery guns, of which 2,600 were 88 mm and 105 mm caliber.

Photo 5. “88” towed by a half-track tractor on the Eastern Front. The cannon's deadly fire was used against massive tank attacks by the Soviet army.

Combat experience in Spain showed the need to make changes to the design of the Flak 18 to simplify production and improve the performance of the gun in the field. The supporting part of the cross-shaped carriage was changed, increasing the stability of the gun, and its design was simplified for ease of production. The front and rear single-axle wheeled bogies, with double pneumatic tires, were made identical to allow attachment to either end of the cross-shaped platform. Each cart was equipped with a bushing mount, allowing the Flak 36 to be towed with the barrel facing both ways. Now the gun did not need to be specially deployed into the transport position; this significantly speeded up the time it took to move the gun into and out of the firing position and back. The composite barrel was made of three parts, held together by an enclosing “outer casing.” When wear occurred in one part of the barrel or another, only the worn section was replaced rather than the entire barrel, resulting in significant savings in steel and manpower.

Photo 6. FlaK 36 88-mm cannon in traveling mode is transported by a half-track tractor.

Many characteristics and design elements of the Flak 36 remained the same as those of the Flak 18. For example, the following were preserved: barrel length (4.664 m); horizontally retractable semi-automatic breech; gun shield; 360 degree rotation; vertical aiming from -3 to +85 degrees; effective firing distances in horizontal and vertical planes.

Photo 7. FlaK 36 in an operation against ground targets, possibly tanks, in North Africa. Firing is carried out from a wheeled position, all crew members are in their positions.

During the war, the Germans developed and fielded another variant of the Flak 36, known as the FlaK 36/43. Essentially, this gun had a late model FlaK 41 barrel (which entered service in 1942), mounted using adapters on a FlaK 36 carriage. The reason that led to this modification was the lag in the production of carriages from the production of barrels for the Flak 41. In order to overcome this problems, FlaK 41 barrels began to be mounted on FlaK 36 carriages, also known as the Special Trailer 202 (German: Sonder Anhanger).

Photo 8. FlaK 41 captured by the British 8th Army in March 1943 during the advance from El Hamm to Gebes. The gun was abandoned along with its tractor. Note the folding sides of the shield, characteristic of the FlaK 41.

Flak 37

Improvements in the new model of anti-aircraft gun affected the aiming and fire control system. The aiming scale was replaced with a more convenient system for calculation - “follow the pointer”. The “follow the pointer” aiming system was developed to simplify aiming and improve shooting accuracy. Two double dials, with multi-colored hands, were mounted on the cannon. The dial received information through electrical signals transmitted from the main fire control battery. After sending the information to the gun, one of the colored hands on the dial moved to a certain position. Two crew numbers simply turned the gun to the correct elevation and course angles, setting the second arrows of the dials in accordance with the arrows associated with the fire control post.

Photo 9. Parts of the "follow the pointer" system installed on the FlaK 37. They were of great importance in determining the exact moment of shooting at aircraft. Information was supplied to them from the central command post.

Data was transmitted to the gun from the Funkmessgerät (translated from German as radar) or, as it was also called, “Predictor” (forecasting device) - a mechanical analog computer that calculated the position of the aircraft and data for firing. The Funkmessgerät operator used the telescope to lock onto the target for automatic tracking, after which the azimuth and elevation angle were calculated using the built-in synchronizer. Target information transmitted to the gun positions included aircraft speed and heading, gun location, ballistic characteristics, shell type, and fuze setting time. After calculating the aircraft's position, Funkmessgerät compared the gun data and calculated the optimal firing time so as to intercept the target at the right height at the right time. The crew inserted the nose of the projectile into the fuse cocking mechanism, which automatically set the time of explosion of the high-explosive charge so that the latter would detonate after firing at the desired height.

Photo 10. FlaK 37 crew of the Luftwaffe places the warheads of the projectiles in the mechanism for arming the fuses.

Taking into account the changes described above, a series of such 88 mm anti-aircraft guns received the designation Flak 37. The barrel was again made into two parts. Apart from a change in the barrel and an improved fire control system, all other characteristics of the gun remained the same as those of the Flak 36. However, due to the use of an improved data transmission system on the Flak 37, the gun was not used in the role of an anti-tank weapon, like its predecessors. .

Photo 11. FlaK 37 equipped with a data transmission system. This model became exclusively anti-aircraft, and unlike other versions of the 88, it could not participate in ground battles.

Photo 12. The FlaK 37 barrel is elevated for anti-aircraft use. Members of the crew on the left operate the "Follow the Pointer" dials, and on the right, the crew members place shells in the mechanism for installing the detonators. The white rings on the barrel indicate the number of "kills".

Flak 37/41

Later during the war, based on the Flak 37, the Germans developed the Flak 37/41. The model was assembled from available elements and was conceived as a highly effective gun for the period while the Flak 41 was in development. Like the Flak 36/41, it was simply a regular Flak 37 equipped with a new barrel, with the same external dimensions as the Flak 37, but with a larger chamber, allowing it to fire more powerful ammunition. To reduce the amount of recoil, the barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake with a double baffle. A total of 12 test Flak 37/41s were built, but by the time they were made, the problems with the Flak 41 had been resolved, production was well underway, and the need for a design from available elements was no longer necessary.

Thanks to its reliable design, the 88 mm gun remained the backbone of the German air defense forces throughout the war and was used in all branches of the armed forces. Even at the beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe realized the need to improve such gun characteristics as the firing ceiling and projectile speed. The development of the new weapon was undertaken by the Rheinmetall-Borzig company. The prototype, called Flak 41, was produced in early 1941, but the first deliveries of 88 mm guns to the army began only in March 1943.

Improvements made to this model affected the recoil and reel mechanisms, which were made adjustable to compensate for recoil when using the gun in an anti-aircraft role. The design of the cradle was changed from vertical to horizontal, which reduced the height of the gun. The rotating support was replaced with a rotating platform, which made the silhouette even lower and improved the stability of the gun. The barrel was made in two parts.

In transport position, FlaK 41 weighed 11,240 kg, in combat position - 7,800 kg. The gun became much heavier than any of the three earlier 88 mm counterparts, but was still much lighter than any brand of British 3.7 inch anti-aircraft gun. The FlaK 41 barrel was 72 calibers long or 6336 mm. The initial speed of standard 9.2 kg high-explosive shells was 1000 m/s. The gun continued to have a semi-automatic, horizontally sliding bolt, which was now used as a ramming mechanism to assist in loading a larger projectile. The elevation angle was increased to 90 degrees, but the barrel still retained the ability to drop to -3 degrees to hit ground targets. The gun had a separate electrical circuit used when firing at ground targets such as tanks. In theory, a well-trained crew could fire 20 rounds per minute, but for all practical purposes (and essentially to conserve ammunition) such a rate of fire was never used in combat. The maximum vertical firing range increased to 15,000 m, but the effective ceiling, with a more powerful charge, was in the region of 10,000 m, making the Flak 41 about 25% better than the standard Flak 36. Horizontal firing range, 10.4 kg fragmentation - high-explosive shells, reached more than 19,700 m.

The upgraded version of the "88" became a good weapon with improved ballistic characteristics and a more advanced mechanical design.

Photo 13. Fragment of the FlaK 41 loading mechanism. It played an important role when loading heavy shells into the chamber, in particular when the barrel was at a high elevation angle.

Self-propelled 88 mm anti-aircraft guns

To protect the army on the march from air attacks, the Germans developed a series of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. It is noteworthy that although earlier attempts were made to make a self-propelled Flak 18, the option of installing an 88-mm gun on a self-propelled chassis was not seriously considered until 1942. Once again, the development of the prototype was entrusted to the Krupp company, which became known as the “FlaK auf Sonderfahrgestell” (German anti-aircraft gun on a special chassis) or “FlaKpanzer fur schwere” (German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on a tracked chassis). The concept originated in 1941, when the Armament Agency ordered a heavy tank destroyer with a specially adapted version of the Flak 36 L/56 in an open turret. The chassis for the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was based on the Pz.Kmpf.IV and was named Pz.Sfl.IVc. Later versions of this chassis were designed to accommodate Flak 41 L/71 guns. Rheinmetall proposed its own version, armed with a new version of the 88 mm Flak 42 L/71 cannon, codenamed "Gerat 42". However, Rheinmetall encountered a number of production problems related to weapons, and by November 1942 they had only made a wooden model for research. In February 1943, the Rheinmetall program was finally closed.

Photo 14. Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on the Sfl.IVc (VFW 1) chassis equipped with a FlaK 37 cannon. The photo was taken when the vehicle was being tested by the troops. The project was not successful, but the development program continued until January 1945.

Photo 15. VFW 1 with FlaK 41 installed at a high elevation angle. Please note the side panels are down to allow the crew to operate the gun safely. A large fixed shield is standard on the FlaK 41.

By August 1942, three Pz.Sfl prototypes were produced for testing. original design. But now, as the war on the Eastern Front dragged on, tank production took precedence. The future of the project, with the questionable cost of the weapon, remained in doubt. It was argued that mobile or self-propelled anti-aircraft guns would provide protection to the convoy on the march, as well as when setting up a camp in the parking lot. The standard distribution of anti-aircraft weapons was eight units to protect a regiment of 52 tanks.

In October 1943, at the anti-aircraft training ground in Ostseebad-Kühlungsborn, prototypes underwent field tests, which showed that the weapon had great prospects. But the project was hampered by the size and weight of the fully equipped Pz.Sfl, which was 26 tons, which made the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun heavier than the standard Hummel self-propelled gun with a 150 mm gun. The dimensions of the Pz.Sfl also turned out to be large: 7 m in length made the vehicle larger than many tanks and self-propelled guns in service; a width of 3 m created problems when moving the gun by rail; the height of 2.8 m, surprisingly, passed the 3 m limit imposed on armored vehicles of the German army.

The turret of the vehicle, with an 88-mm cannon, had collapsible side panels, which, when lowered, allowed the cannon to rotate 360 ​​degrees and lower the barrel to -3 degrees to hit ground targets. The maximum elevation angle of the trunk reached 85 degrees. All operations regarding tracking and target acquisition were carried out manually, which was considered a disadvantage of the anti-aircraft gun. Despite this, the vehicles could provide a convoy of armored vehicles with comprehensive protection against air and ground attacks. The gun was served by a crew of eight people. Equipped with a Maybach HL90 engine, the car in the stowed position covered 250 km along the highway at a speed of 35 km/h. The project dragged on until January 13, 1945, when Armaments Minister Albert Speer finally closed it. Mobile self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were nevertheless developed, but with different weapons, and perhaps this was the only project during the war years when the 88-mm gun was not included in the design.

Photo 16. VFW 1 equipped with FlaK 41, developed by Krupp in Essen. Pay attention to the side panels, they are lowered, this allowed the gun to be rotated 360 degrees. The car was never put into operation.

RAC guns

On May 10, 1940, after several months of the “Phantom War,” the Germans began their much-touted blitzkrieg in Western Europe. As they advanced through Holland and Belgium into France, they seemed invincible. Local pockets of resistance crumbled, and the Allies retreated under the onslaught of brutal tank attacks. On May 21, near Arras, units of the French and British armies united. Elements of the 50th Division, supported by a tank brigade from the 1st Army, launched a counterattack against the German 7th Panzer Division under the command of General Erwin Rommel, who believed that he was under attack by five units. The light 37 mm PaK 36 guns did little to no harm to the British Mk.II Matilda tanks and French SOMUA 35 tanks, so Rommel ordered the use of the 88 mm FlaK 18 against the Allies. In a fierce battle, the Allies were unable to withstand the ferocity and insolence of the Germans; This was the first meeting of the Allies with “88”, but they did not immediately appreciate this fact. Meanwhile, moving further south, the German army attacked parts of the Maginot Line, and in Markolsheim the casemates from the "88s" were subjected to direct fire.

Photo 17. Two "88" abandoned by the Germans near Mersa Matrouh in 1942. There are no gun shields; the guns are mounted on carriages with double tires.

Although the “88” guns were previously used as anti-tank guns, they really became widespread in the German North African campaign of 1941-43, where the gun gained its formidable reputation as a “tank killer.” German involvement in this theater of operations did not begin until February 1941, when the newly created Afrika Korps, led by General Rommel, arrived in Africa. Having united his forces, Rommel went on the offensive and regained most of the territory lost to the Italians in 1940. Under pressure from Winston Churchill, General Wavell launched the offensive Operation Brevity in May 1941, aimed at Rommel's positions at Gapuzzo and Halfaya Pass, which soon became famous to British troops as "Passing Through Hellfire". It proved how strong the Germans were defensively. A month later, “Operation Battleaxe” began on June 15, and German anti-tank gunners again dramatically shocked many Allied tank crews. During this offensive the British are known to have lost almost 90 tanks to a battery of well-dug-in 88s. To hide the gun on the defensive line, the crew needed to dig a hole with dimensions of 6x3 m, leaving only the barrel open above the edge of the position. With such a low profile, the guns became difficult to detect and fire on tanks took on the effect of surprise.

At this stage of the campaign, there was no obvious need to use the 88 in an anti-tank role. The desert terrain was well suited for maneuver warfare, and made it possible to hold off attacks by large tank formations with standard field and specialized anti-tank artillery, known as PaK (abbreviated from German: Panzerabwehrkanone - anti-tank gun).

Each German division had 24 anti-tank guns, with calibers ranging from 37 mm to 50 mm. Due to the vast area of ​​the battlefield, these guns had to be frequently turned in different directions. Some sources claim that an unknown German officer ordered the 24 Flak guns of the Luftwaffe regiment to act as anti-tank guns, but according to other sources, Rommel himself gave such an order. In any case, whoever ordered the change in the gun's purpose was purely a formality, because the 88 already had a proven reputation as an anti-tank weapon, dating back to June 1940 in France. In 1941, the Luftwaffe had air superiority in North Africa and could afford to reallocate anti-aircraft guns to support weaker anti-tank division units along the entire front. The 88 mm gun became known as the German “trump card”, capable of penetrating 99 mm armor at a distance of more than 2000 m. However, often hitting the target at such extreme distances was limited by insufficient visibility due to sandstorms, dust and haze, interfered with aiming.

While Rommel was fighting in North Africa, the German army was preparing to launch its next major operation, Operation Barbarossa, an attack on Russia on June 22, 1941. For the attack, the Germans concentrated 3 million people, more than 3,500 armored vehicles and over 7,000 pieces of artillery, which naturally included “88”. However, it was rarely used until it encountered the Soviet T-34 tank, which furthered the 88's reputation as an anti-tank gun. To meet the enemy’s armored attacks, the Germans had to concentrate up to ten anti-tank guns of various calibers in one defensive position, which was called the “PaK front”. And only then did joint fire from anti-tank guns defeat the attackers. Initially, this tactic worked, but later massive Russian tank attacks overwhelmed these positions simply by sheer numbers.

Photo 18. Calculation of the 1st Hamburg-Osdorf battery in action. The gun is installed to destroy tanks.

German forces had a shortage of armor-piercing anti-tank ammunition caused by a severe shortage of tungsten. Due to a significant decrease in the supply of this metal, existing stocks were reserved for tool making in order to produce more weapons. However, in order to defeat the T-34 and heavy Soviet tanks, the army desperately needed an anti-tank gun with a muzzle velocity higher than the standard 50 mm PaK 38. Deprived of such weapons, the Wehrmacht demanded an unlimited supply of tungsten-core ammunition, which existing guns could be fired and could penetrate the armor of new Russian tanks. Tungsten-cored projectiles withstood high-velocity impact by penetrating tank armor, while conventional steel projectiles often shattered. When tungsten became unavailable, Krupp was asked to design a new version of the "88" specifically for anti-tank operations.

Photo 19. British troops inspect a Flak 37 abandoned on the way to the Scheldt Canal near the Dutch border. It appears that the crew used the trees as natural camouflage to hide the gun from Allied aerial reconnaissance.

PaK 43

Krupp engineers, based on the Flak 37, developed a new 88 mm PaK 43 gun, which entered service in 1943. It had a very low silhouette and was equipped with a wide inclined shield to protect the crew from shrapnel and bullets. The gun was still mounted on a cross-shaped frame with single pneumatic tires for transportation. Later, when rubber supplies declined, pneumatic tires were replaced by wheels with molded rubber tires. The Rak 43 was brought into firing position in the following way: the jacks that took the weight of the carriage were lowered, two sets of transport wheels were removed, and the “outriggers” were lowered into place to stabilize the gun. The cruciform carriage design represented a departure from the standard practice of equipping anti-tank guns with sliding counterweight frames.

Photo 20. PaK 43 on a wheeled trolley with solid rubber tires. Note the sloping gun shield, low gun silhouette and double baffle muzzle brake.

One of the new design features was that the crew did not always have to remove the wheels from the carriage before firing. Krupp provided sufficient suspension strength, which made it possible for the PaK 43 to fire from wheels when targets suddenly appeared. When firing, thus, the vertical aiming angle was limited to 30 degrees of travel in each direction from the longitudinal axis of the trolley. The gun, deployed into a combat position on the ground, could rotate 360 ​​degrees. The elevation angle of PaK 43 ranged from -8 to +40 degrees.

The layout of the new version of the 88 mm gun has a significantly lower silhouette, 2.02 m in height. With the wheels removed, the height from the top point of the anti-fragmentation shield to the ground was only 1.5 meters, this greatly facilitated the camouflage of the PaK 43. The main disadvantages of the new gun were its weight and length, which in the stowed position were 5000 kg and 9.15 m, respectively. In addition, due to the need to dismantle the running wheels, the weapon was a little slow to bring into the firing position. The deployment time factor was considered a minor problem, since most anti-tank guns were operated in pre-prepared defensive positions. After removing the road wheels, the combat weight of the PaK 43 was reduced to 3,700 kg. When positioning the gun in a defensive anti-tank formation called the "PaK front", the cross-shaped carriages were additionally nailed to the ground with metal stakes to prevent movement during recoil.

An unusual feature for a field gun was the electric firing mechanism. Also new were safety fuses built in to prevent a shot at a certain elevation angle at which the bolt could hit one of the platform legs during recoil. The PaK 43's semi-automatic vertically retractable breech mechanism ejected the varnished steel case after firing. The barrel was 6.2 m long and could fire up to ten shells per minute. The gun was equipped with a double baffle muzzle brake, which reduced the recoil force when fired.

Cancer 43/41

In battles with heavy Russian tanks, the Germans realized that the performance characteristics of the PaK 43 needed improvement. The new enlarged chamber allowed the use of a more powerful powder charge and the firing of 88 mm projectiles at a higher muzzle velocity, but mobility and transfer to the firing position had yet to be improved. And this was done in the latest version of the "88" developed by Krupp and entered service in 1943 under the name PaK 43/41. The cruciform carriage was initially planned to be retained despite the difficulties, but production problems led to delays and jeopardized production volumes. Krupp developed a two-wheeled carriage using an assortment of parts from other guns. The design was made like traditional carriages with sliding frames and counterweights, branches that ended with recoil coulters, which dug into the ground when firing to increase the stability of the gun. The PaK 43/41 was mounted on a two-wheeled carriage assembled from elements of the 10.5 cm FH 18/40 howitzer gun and wheels with solid tires from the 15 cm S18 gun. The shutter mechanism returned to a horizontal-sliding type design with a modified semi-automatic mechanism. The elevation angle of the barrel ranged from -5 to +38 degrees, the horizontal travel was limited to 28 degrees on both sides of the center line of fire. The recoil gun and the knurler were located in a cylindrical housing above the barrel, the balancing cylinders stood vertically on both sides of the carriage.

Photo 21. Rear view of the PaK 43/41 breech mechanism. Also clearly visible are the towing legs made of box-section beams and the large openers of the gun, which, as a rule, unfolded when placed on soft ground.

Photo 22. RaK 43/41 towed anti-tank gun with a distinctive double baffle muzzle brake. Note the wide sloping gun shield and the transition where the barrel pieces form a joint.

As a result, the gun turned out to be bulky, and because of the huge anti-fragmentation shield, the troops quickly nicknamed it the “barn” (German: Scheunentor). The PaK 43/41 was 2.53 m wide and 1.98 m high. With a total length in the stowed position of 9.15 m and a combat weight of 4380 kg, the gun was never popular among artillerymen, who found it clumsy when maneuvering , especially in deep snow and mud on the Russian front. Despite this, the performance of the new design was considered good. The only real drawback of the gun was its weight, which made mobility difficult.

Photo 23. View of the right side of PaK 43/41. The wheels are equipped with molded rubber tires. A characteristic feature of the gun is a long barrel ending in a muzzle brake with a double baffle.

PaK 43/41 bore little resemblance to the original "88". The barrel, 71 caliber long, was equipped with a muzzle brake with a double baffle. The larger charge, weighing 23 kg, emitted dense clouds of smoke when fired, which in cold or calm conditions could accumulate around the gun's location. This not only gave away the position of the gun, but also made it difficult for the gunner to aim at the next target. At first, due to the accumulation of vibrations in the barrel, the rate of fire was limited to 15 rounds per minute. However, the gun crew never achieved such a rate of fire, especially considering the fact that the new shells weighed almost twice as much as the original 88 mm rounds. Therefore, the rate of fire was soon set at 10 rounds per minute. Even at ranges of more than 3000 m, the new charges had greater penetration power than the original 88 mm projectile at 1000 m. At close ranges, the new shells had truly destructive power. The above documentary record shows how well the 88-mm cannon performed on the Russian front: “the penetrating ability of the PzGr 39 projectile is satisfactory at all distances, so all enemy tanks in this region are T-34, KV-1, IS-2 – can be destroyed in battle. When hit, the tanks emitted flames three meters high and burned out. The towers were mostly knocked down or torn off. The T-34 was hit from the rear, at a distance of 400 meters, and the engine block was thrown to a distance of about five meters, the turret to 15 meters.” Although the PaK 43/41 was most widely used on the Russian front, some units were deployed against the Western Allies.

Photo 24. Rear view of Cancer 43/41. The box legs are deployed with the openers down. Note the very narrow width of the gun, which reduced visibility on the battlefield.

Photo 25. Optical aiming unit installed on PaK 43/41. With this device, an experienced crew could destroy tanks at ranges exceeding 2000 m.

Photo 26. The PaK 43/41 breech mechanism is semi-automatic, horizontal. It ejected the cartridge case when it opened, allowing the loader to quickly load the next round.

Photo 27. The design of the 88 mm Rak 43/41 barrel is shown in detail. Here you can see how the sections are arranged, allowing you to replace any worn or damaged part.

German 88 mm tank gun KwK 36 L/56

The Tiger I tank (German: Panzerkampfwagen VI, SdKfz 181 Ausf E), which entered service in mid-1942, was developed in response to the appearance of the Russian KV-1 and T-34 tanks on the Eastern Front. A heavy 55-ton tank, with armor up to 110 mm thick in places, decided to equip it with an 88 mm cannon as the main weapon. The engineers' choice fell on a special 88-mm version of the Flak 36 with a barrel length of 56 calibers, which was given the designation KwK 36 L/56 (German: Kampfwagenkanone 36). Tiger I Ausf E was the only vehicle with an 88 mm cannon of this version. To install the gun in the turret, the barrel was equipped with a muzzle brake, which reduces the recoil force, as well as a recoil mechanism consisting of a hydraulic recoiler and a hydropneumatic knurler. The barrel with a massive muzzle brake was balanced by a heavy spring located in the pipe on the right side of the turret. The design of the bolt mechanism was made similar to tank bolts from the 75 mm L43 and L48 guns. The gun was equipped with an electric trigger, like all German tank guns. The Pzgr Z9 and Pzgr 40 type ammunition used on the KwK 36 L/56 could penetrate armor plates up to 100 mm and 138 mm, respectively, at a distance of 1000 m. Typically, the Tiger I was equipped with 92 rounds, but 84 tanks were equipped with additional radio equipment, which reduced the number of rounds carried on board to 66 rounds.

The presence of an 88mm gun on a heavy tank had a stunning propaganda effect; it seemed that this combination of gun and armor instilled much more fear than the actual number of vehicles deployed to the battlefield.

The Tiger II tank (German: PzKpfw VI Tiger II Ausf. B. or Sd.Kfz. 182) first entered training units between February and May 1944. These tanks were armed with a more powerful version of the 88 mm gun, based on the very successful PaK 43 design. The barrel of the new gun, called the Kwk 43/L71, was 71 caliber. The cartridges were changed, but the shells themselves remained the same as those of the FlaK 41. The Tiger II was equipped with 78 Pzgr rounds. Pzgr 40/43 shells penetrated up to 193 mm of armor at a range of 1000 m. Like all tank guns, the Kwk 43/L71 was equipped with a vertically sliding bolt driven by a spring. The gun of the Tiger II tank was equipped with a double baffle muzzle brake and represented the largest type of main armament installed on tanks of the German army. The high muzzle velocity of the projectiles led to rapid wear of the muzzle, so later models were equipped with barrels assembled from two parts. The design, similar to the standard 88 mm barrel, allowed worn parts to be easily replaced rather than the entire barrel.

A total of 485 Tiger II units were built and were used from 1944 until the end of the war.

The Kwk 43/L71 was also used on three other armored vehicles: Hornisse Sd.Kfz. 164, Elefant Sd.Kfz. 181, and Jagdpanther Sd.Kfz. 173. All of them were specialized anti-tank vehicles and had specific conditions for their guns.

Photo 28. “Hornet” (German: Hornisse Sd.Kfz. 164) is a self-propelled heavy anti-tank gun equipped with PaK 43/1 L/71. 494 vehicles of this design were built between 1943 and 1945. They were used in Italy and Russia.

Self-propelled units

Known by various names such as "Rhinoceros" (German: Nashorn) or "Hornet" (German: Hornisse), Sd.Kfz. 164 was the first specialized self-propelled tracked anti-tank gun introduced into service by the German army. In 1942, the Germans developed a special mobile platform Auf PzJg III/IV, designed to mount the PaK 43/1 L/71 anti-tank gun. It was planned to produce more than 100 units of equipment in May 1943. The Rhino was developed in response to problems faced by troops on the Eastern Front - the Germans were simply exhausted moving the towed version of the PaK 43 in deep mud.

The chassis, hull and suspension were taken from the PzKpfw IV. It was equipped with a water-cooled Maybach HL 120 TRM V-12 gasoline engine that developed 300 hp. at 3000 rpm, and gave a speed of 40 km/h on roads and 24 km/h over rough terrain, with a combat range of up to 200 km. The vehicle's chassis was changed, increasing the fighting compartment. The 88-mm artillery mount was attached to the floor, as a result of which the muzzle rose to a height of 2.24 m, which is approximately 600 mm higher than on a towed cross-shaped platform that folds out on the ground. The elevation angle was between -5 and +20 degrees, horizontal rotation up to 30 degrees. The crew of the car consisted of four people. All operations to control the gun were carried out manually. There were also those who argued that the vehicle was too vulnerable in direct fire combat due to the lack of armor protection. Despite this, the Rhino served quite well as an 88 mm gun. It could overcome vertical obstacles up to 600 mm in height, transverse trenches up to 2.3 m in width and climbs of 30 degrees. In fact, these capabilities allowed the vehicle to be positioned in ideal positions for tank ambushes. With a total height of 2.95 m, the Rhino complied with the height regulations - no more than 3 m. The self-propelled gun served from 1943-45, during which time, out of 500 vehicles of the initial order, 494 units were built.

The second specialized tank destroyer, with an 88 mm cannon, was the Sturmgeschütz mit 8.8 cm StuK 43, Sd.Kfz. 184, also known as the Elephant or Ferdinand (the name comes from automobile engineer and tank designer, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche). When Hitler ordered the development of the vehicle, Ferdinand's chassis, with a hull large enough to mount the 88 mm KwK L71 gun, became relevant for the production of self-propelled guns. The project for a heavy tank destroyer with an 88 mm gun used a version of the Tiger tank developed by Porsche, which did not enter service due to technical problems with the gasoline electric drive. The result, in September 1942, was a 64-ton vehicle with a fixed turret, 200 mm thick frontal armor and a forward-facing PaK 43/2 L71 gun.

At the time Porsche lost the contract to produce the Tiger I, its plant already had over 90 chassis units at various stages of production. Instead of disposing of them, losing valuable production time, the project team, working on a new anti-tank self-propelled gun, decided to use ready-made chassis in the project.

The finished vehicles were delivered in time for the Kursk offensive, in the summer of 1943, where they entered battle as part of the 654th and 653rd divisions of the tank hunter division (German: Panzerjagerabteilungen). The self-propelled guns performed well and were subsequently used in small numbers on the Italian front.

A large fixed turret, with the maximum possible slope of the armor by design, was located above the rear half of the hull. Even though the gun was mounted so far back, the barrel of the 88mm gun was still overhanging the front by about 1.2 meters. The gun was aimed using manual controls and could be rotated horizontally by 28 degrees and elevated by an angle of -8 to 14 degrees. Access to the fighting compartment was through a round hatch in the rear panel, where there were six crew members, along with 50 88-mm ammunition. The Ferdinand could destroy most Allied tanks at ranges much greater than effective enemy return fire. The large thickness of the frontal armor made the Ferdinand virtually invulnerable from the front, but, like all vehicles without a rotating turret, its main weakness was its vulnerability to attack from the flanks and rear.

“Ferdinand” could overcome vertical obstacles up to 780 mm high, cross trenches 3.2 m wide and ford water obstacles up to 1.22 m deep. But for self-propelled guns with a combat weight of more than 65 tons, there was a constant danger of getting stuck in soft ground, so thorough reconnaissance of the area was extremely important. The large size and low highway speed (20 km/h), combined with a combat radius of only 150 km, made preliminary reconnaissance doubly important.

High hopes were placed on these highly specialized tank destroyers, and they performed well in the Battle of Kursk, but the large size and weight of the vehicles made them vulnerable. Initially, self-propelled guns attacked and broke through the defenses of the Soviet troops, but when the Russians counterattacked, the Ferdinands were surrounded and almost all of them were destroyed from the rear. In the later stages of the war on the Eastern Front, the remaining Ferdinands were used as mobile pillboxes - a much more effective role for a heavy vehicle. A total of 90 units of %D68D% (%B) were produced
D1niks, all of them completed military service in the period from 43 to 44.

The last specialized tank destroyer with an 88-mm cannon to enter service was the 45.5-ton Jagdpanther (German: Jagdpanther, Sd.Kfz.173). This vehicle was equipped with a PaK 43/3 L/71 gun. There is some debate whether the Jagdpanther carried 57 or 60 shells, but the number probably varied from one crew to another and depended on the supplies available at the time of replenishment. The gun was aimed in a horizontal plane up to 13 degrees on both sides of the central axis, and could be elevated from -8 to 15 degrees. Commissioned in June 1944, the Jagdpanthers transferred specialized anti-tank units to the 559th and 654th tank hunter divisions. According to documents, the strength of a typical Jagdpanther battalion was 30 combat units, but in reality, due to delivery difficulties, this rarely happened. Perhaps the only time when the number of vehicles exceeded the approved combat strength occurred when 42 units were delivered to the 654th unit. The vehicle was in operation from 1944 until the last days of the war. The Jagdpanther gave the Allies an unpleasant surprise during the Ardennes campaign in December 1944. Although the vehicle was popular with crews, during the production period from January 1944 to March 1945, only 382 units were produced.

After defeat in the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having anti-aircraft artillery at all, and existing anti-aircraft guns were subject to destruction. Therefore, from the late 20s until 1933, German designers worked on anti-aircraft guns secretly both in Germany and in Sweden, Holland and other countries. In the early 1930s, anti-aircraft units were also created in Germany, which, for the purpose of secrecy, until 1935 were called “railway battalions.” For the same reason, all new field and anti-aircraft guns designed in Germany in 1928-1933 were called “mod. 18". Thus, in case of requests from the governments of England and France, the Germans could answer that these were not new guns, but old ones, created back in 1918 during the First World War.

In the early 30s, due to the rapid development of aviation, an increase in flight speed and range, the creation of all-metal aircraft and the use of aircraft armor, the issue of protecting troops from attack aircraft became acute.
The existing anti-aircraft guns created during the First World War did not meet modern requirements for rate of fire and aiming speed, and rifle-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns did not satisfy the range and power of action.

Under these conditions, small-caliber anti-aircraft guns (MZA) of 20-50 mm caliber turned out to be in demand. Having good rates of fire, effective fire range and projectile lethality.

Anti-aircraft gun 2.0 cm FlaK 30(German 2.0 cm Flugzeugabwehrkanone 30 - 20 mm anti-aircraft gun of the 1930 model). Developed by Rheinmetall in 1930. Guns began to arrive in the Wehrmacht in 1934. In addition, Rheinmetall exported 20-mm Flak 30 to Holland and China.

The advantages of the 2 cm Flak 30 machine gun were the simplicity of the device, the ability to quickly disassemble and reassemble, and its relatively low weight.

On August 28, 1930, an agreement was signed with the German company BUTAST (a front office of the Rheinmetall company) to supply to the USSR, among other guns, a 20-mm anti-aircraft automatic gun. The Rheinmetall company supplied all the documentation for the 20-mm anti-aircraft gun, two samples guns and one spare swinging part.
After testing, the 20-mm gun of the Rheinmetall company was put into service under the name 20-mm automatic anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun model 1930. Production of the 20-mm gun model 1930 was transferred to plant No. 8 (Podlipki, Moscow region ), where it was assigned the index 2K. Serial production of guns was started by plant No. 8 in 1932. However, the quality of the produced machine guns turned out to be extremely low. Military acceptance refused to accept anti-aircraft guns. As a result, defectors from the Kalinin plant (No. 8) were unable to cope with gun production.

Based on the results of the combat use of the 20-mm Flak 30 in Spain, the Mauser company modernized it. The modernized model was named 2.0 cm Flak 38. The new installation had the same ballistics and ammunition.

All changes in the device were aimed at increasing the rate of fire, which increased from 245 rounds/min to 420-480 rounds/min. It had a height reach: 2200-3700 m, firing range: up to 4800 m. Weight in combat position: 450 kg, weight in stowed position: 770 kg.
Light automatic cannons Flak-30 and Flak-38 had basically the same design. Both guns were mounted on a light wheeled carriage, which in the firing position provided all-round fire with a maximum elevation angle of 90°.

The principle of operation of the mechanisms of the model 38 assault rifle remains the same - the use of recoil force with a short barrel stroke. An increase in the rate of fire was achieved by reducing the weight of the moving parts and increasing their movement speeds, and therefore special shock absorber buffers were introduced. In addition, the introduction of a carbon spatial accelerator made it possible to combine the unlocking of the shutter with the transfer of kinetic energy to it.
The automatic sightings of these guns generated vertical and lateral leads and made it possible to aim the guns directly at the target. Input data into the sights was entered manually and determined by eye, except for the range, which was measured by a stereo rangefinder.

Changes to the carriages were minimal; in particular, a second speed was introduced in manual guidance drives.
There was a special dismountable “pack” version for mountain army units. In this version, the Flak 38 gun remained the same, but a small and, accordingly, lighter carriage was used. The gun was called the 2-cm mountain anti-aircraft gun Gebirgeflak 38 and was a weapon designed to destroy both air and ground targets.
The 20-mm Flak 38 began to reach the troops in the second half of 1940.

Flak-30 and Flak-38 anti-aircraft guns were a very widely used air defense weapon of the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and SS troops. A company of such guns (12 pieces) was part of the anti-tank division of all infantry divisions, the same company was an integral part of each motorized anti-aircraft division of the RGK, attached to tank and motorized divisions.

In addition to towed ones, a large number of self-propelled guns were created. Trucks, tanks, various tractors and armored personnel carriers were used as chassis.
In addition to their direct purpose, by the end of the war they were increasingly used to combat enemy personnel and light armored vehicles.

The scale of use of Flak-30/38 cannons is evidenced by the fact that in May 1944, the ground forces had 6,355 cannons of this type, and the Luftwaffe units providing German air defense had more than 20,000 20-mm cannons.

To increase the density of fire, a quadruple installation was developed based on Flak-38 2-cm Flakvierling 38. The effectiveness of the anti-aircraft installation turned out to be very high.

Although the Germans throughout the war constantly experienced a shortage of these anti-aircraft installations. Flakvirling 38 was used in the German army, in the anti-aircraft units of the Luftwaffe and in the German Navy.

To increase mobility, many different anti-aircraft self-propelled guns were created on their basis.



There was a version intended for installation on armored trains. An installation was being developed, the fire of which was supposed to be controlled using radar.

In addition to the Flak-30 and Flak-38, the 20-mm machine gun was used in smaller quantities in German air defense 2 cm Flak 28.
This anti-aircraft gun traces its ancestry to the German “Becker gun,” which was developed back in the First World War. The Oerlikon company, named after its location - a suburb of Zurich, acquired all rights to develop the gun.
By 1927, Oerlikon had developed and put into production a model called Oerlikon S (three years later it became simply 1S). Compared to the original model, it was created for a more powerful 20x110 mm cartridge and was characterized by a higher initial projectile speed of 830 m/s.

In Germany, the gun was widely used as a means of air defense of ships, but there were also field versions of the gun, widely used in the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe anti-aircraft forces, under the designation - 2 cm Flak 28 And 2 cm VKPL vz. 36.

In the period from 1940 to 1944, the volume of transactions of the parent company Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon (WO) with only the Axis powers - Germany, Italy and Romania - amounted to 543.4 million Swiss francs. francs, and included the supply of 7013 20-mm cannons, 14.76 million pieces of ammunition for them, 12,520 spare barrels and 40 thousand cartridge boxes (such Swiss “neutrality”!).
Several hundred of these anti-aircraft guns were captured in Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Norway.

In the USSR, the word “Oerlikon” became a household name for all small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery during the Second World War.

For all their advantages, 20-mm anti-aircraft guns were unable to guarantee 100% penetration of the armor of Il-2 attack aircraft.
To correct this situation, in 1943, the Mauser company created the Flak 103/38 anti-aircraft gun by placing a 3-cm MK-103 aircraft cannon on the carriage of a 2-cm Flak 38 automatic anti-aircraft gun. The gun had a double-sided belt feed. The operation of the machine's mechanisms was based on a mixed principle: unlocking the barrel bore and cocking the bolt was carried out using the energy of the powder gases discharged through the side channel in the barrel, and the operation of the feed mechanisms was carried out using the energy of the recoil barrel.

Into serial production Flak 103/ 38 launched in 1944. A total of 371 guns were produced.
In addition to single-barreled ones, a small number of twin and quad 30-mm mounts were produced.

In 1942–1943 The Waffen-Werke enterprise in Brune created an anti-aircraft automatic cannon based on the 3-cm MK 103 aircraft cannon MK 303 BR. It was distinguished from the Flak 103/38 cannon by better ballistics. For a projectile weighing 320 g, the initial speed of the MK 303 Br was 1080 m/s versus 900 m/s for the Flak 103/38. For a projectile weighing 440 g, these values ​​were 1000 m/s and 800 m/s, respectively.

The automation worked both due to the energy of gases removed from the barrel bore, and due to the recoil of the barrel during its short stroke. The shutter is wedge. The loading of cartridges was carried out by a rammer along the entire path of movement of the cartridge into the chamber. The muzzle brake had an effectiveness of 30%.
Production of the MK 303 Br guns began in October 1944. A total of 32 guns were delivered by the end of the year, and another 190 in 1945.

30-mm installations were much more effective than 20-mm, but the Germans did not have time to launch large-scale production of these anti-aircraft guns.

In violation of the Versailles agreements, the Rheinmetall company began work on the creation of a 3.7 cm automatic anti-aircraft gun in the late 20s.
The gun's automatic operation was powered by recoil energy with a short barrel stroke. The shooting was carried out from a pedestal carriage, supported by a cross-shaped base on the ground. In the traveling position, the gun was mounted on a four-wheeled cart.

The 37-mm anti-aircraft gun was intended to combat aircraft flying at low altitudes (1500-3000 meters) and to combat ground armored targets.

A 3.7 cm cannon from Rheinmetall, together with a 2 cm automatic cannon, was sold by the BYUTAST office to the Soviet Union in 1930. In fact, only complete technological documentation and a set of semi-finished products were supplied; the guns themselves were not supplied.
In the USSR, the gun received the name “37-mm automatic anti-aircraft gun mod. 1930." It was sometimes called the 37 mm "N" (German) gun. Production of the gun began in 1931 at Factory No. 8, where the gun received the 4K index. In 1931, 3 guns were presented. For 1932, the plan was 25 guns, the plant presented 3, but military acceptance did not accept any. At the end of 1932, the system had to be discontinued. Not a single 37-mm cannon model hit the Red Army. 1930

The Rheinmetall 3.7 cm automatic cannon entered service in 1935 under the name 3.7 cm Flak 18. One of the significant drawbacks was the four-wheeled carriage. It turned out to be heavy and clumsy, so a new four-frame carriage with a separable two-wheel drive was developed to replace it.
The 3.7 cm anti-aircraft automatic gun with a new two-wheeled carriage and a number of changes in the design of the machine gun was named 3.7 cm Flak 36.

There was another option, 3.7cm Flak 37, differing only in a complex, controlled sight with a counting device and a predictive system.

In addition to standard carriages mod. 1936, 3.7 cm Flak 18 and Flak 36 machine guns were installed on railway platforms and various trucks and armored personnel carriers, as well as on tank chassis.

Production of Flak 36 and 37 was carried out until the very end of the war at three factories (one of them was in Czechoslovakia). By the end of the war, the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht had about 4,000 37-mm anti-aircraft guns.

Already during the war, based on the 3.7 cm Flak 36, Rheinmetall developed a new 3.7 cm assault rifle Flak 43.

Automatic rev. 43 had a fundamentally new automation scheme, when some of the operations were carried out using the energy of exhaust gases, and some - due to rolling parts. The Flak 43 magazine held 8 rounds, while the Flak 36 was designed to hold 6 rounds.

3.7 cm machine gun mod. 43 were mounted on both single and twin gun mounts.

During the Second World War, there was a “difficult” level of altitude for anti-aircraft guns from 1500 m to 3000. Here the planes were out of reach for light anti-aircraft guns, and for the guns of heavy anti-aircraft artillery this altitude was too low. In order to solve the problem, it seemed natural to create anti-aircraft guns of some intermediate caliber.

German designers from the Rheinmetall company offered the military a gun known under the symbol 5cm Flak 41.

The operation of automation is based on a mixed principle. Unlocking the barrel bore, extracting the cartridge case, throwing the bolt back and compressing the bolt knurled spring occurred due to the energy of the powder gases removed through the side channel in the barrel. And the supply of cartridges was carried out due to the energy of the rolling barrel. In addition, the automation used a partial fixed rollout of the barrel.
The barrel bore was locked with a longitudinally sliding wedge bolt. The machine is fed with cartridges from the side, along a horizontal feed table using a 5-round clip.
In the stowed position, the installation was transported on a four-wheeled cart. In a combat position, both moves were rolled back.

The first copy appeared in 1936. The development process was very slow, as a result, the gun was put into mass production only in 1940.
A total of 60 anti-aircraft guns of this brand were produced. As soon as the first of them entered the active army in 1941, major shortcomings emerged (as if they had not been at the training ground).
The main problem was the ammunition, which was poorly suited for use in an anti-aircraft gun.

Despite the relatively large caliber, the 50 mm shells lacked power. In addition, the flashes of the shots blinded the gunner, even on a clear sunny day. The carriage turned out to be too bulky and inconvenient in real combat conditions. The horizontal aiming mechanism was too weak and worked slowly.

Flak 41 was produced in two versions. The mobile anti-aircraft gun moved on a biaxial carriage. The stationary gun was intended for the defense of strategically important objects, such as the Ruhr dams. Despite the fact that the gun was, to put it mildly, unsuccessful, it continued to serve until the end of the war. True, by that time there were only 24 units left.

To be fair, it should be said that guns of this caliber were never created in any of the warring countries.
The anti-aircraft 57-mm S-60 was created in the USSR by V.G. Grabin after the war.

Assessing the actions of German small-caliber artillery, it is worth noting its exceptional effectiveness. The anti-aircraft cover of the German troops was significantly better than the Soviet one, especially in the initial period of the war.

It was anti-aircraft fire that destroyed most of the IL-2s lost due to combat reasons.
The high losses of the Il-2 themselves should be explained, first of all, by the specifics of the combat use of these attack aircraft. Unlike bombers and fighters, they operated exclusively from low altitudes - which means that they were in the range of actual fire from small-caliber German anti-aircraft artillery more often and longer than other aircraft.
The extreme danger that German small-caliber anti-aircraft guns posed to our aviation was due, firstly, to the perfection of the material part of it. The design of the anti-aircraft installations made it possible to very quickly maneuver trajectories in the vertical and horizontal planes; each gun was equipped with an anti-aircraft artillery fire control device, which provided corrections for the speed and course of the aircraft; tracer shells made it easier to adjust fire. Finally, German anti-aircraft guns had a high rate of fire; Thus, the 37-mm Flak 36 installation fired 188 rounds per minute, and the 20-mm Flak 38 – 480.
Secondly, the saturation of the German troops and air defense of rear facilities with these means was very high. The number of barrels covering the targets of the Il-2’s strikes continuously increased, and at the beginning of 1945, up to 200-250 20- and 37-mm shells could be fired per second (!) at an attack aircraft operating in the zone of a German fortified area.
The reaction time was very short, from the moment of detection to the opening of fire. The small-caliber anti-aircraft battery was ready to fire its first aimed shot within 20 seconds after the detection of Soviet aircraft; The Germans introduced corrections for changes in the course of the IL-2, their dive angle, speed, and range to the target within 2-3 seconds. The concentration of fire from several guns on one target they used also increased the likelihood of defeat

Based on materials:
http://www.xliby.ru/transport_i_aviacija/tehnika_i_vooruzhenie_1998_08/p3.php
http://zonawar.ru/artileru/leg_zenit_2mw.html
http://www.plam.ru/hist/_sokoly_umytye_krovyu_pochemu_sovetskie_vvs_voevali_huzhe_lyuftvaffe/p3.php
A.B. Shirokohdrad "God of War of the Third Reich"

The 88 mm became the most famous German anti-aircraft gun in the history of World War II. Excellent in the fight against enemy aircraft, the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun was excellent at fighting enemy armored vehicles, and until the very end of the war, its armor-piercing shells could penetrate the armor of almost all tanks of the Allies and the USSR.

Work on the creation of the gun began in the mid-20s and was completed in 1928. The new anti-aircraft gun was named "88-mm anti-aircraft gun model 18 - Flak-18". The new air defense system began to arrive in motorized anti-aircraft batteries of the Wehrmacht in 1933, so the official name mentioned the date 18 to hide the fact that developments in the creation of anti-aircraft guns were prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles.

The 88-mm cannon, which had a semi-automatic bolt that ensured extraction of the spent cartridge case and erection of the mainspring due to recoil energy, had a rate of fire of 15-20 rounds per minute. The design of the carriage allowed the gun to be aimed vertically in the range from 5 to 85 degrees. The recoil of the barrel was limited by a limiter. A knurl was used to return the gun to its original position. Spring compensators are mounted under the gun barrel in two cylinders, facilitating vertical aiming of the gun.

The values ​​of elevation angle, rotation and fuse installation necessary for firing at air targets were determined by the fire control device and transmitted to the gun to a tube transmitting device through a 108-core cable. The same information could be transmitted to the gunner by telephone.

For firing, cartridge-loaded shots with projectiles for various purposes were used. Fragmentation shells with a remote fuse were used against aircraft. The initial speed of such a projectile was 820 m/sec; with a projectile weight of 9 kg, the explosive charge was 0.87 kg. The vertical firing range of this projectile reached 10,600 m.

The gun was transported using a two-axle trailer, the rear axle of which had double wheels, and the front axle had single wheels.

Having summarized the experience of using anti-aircraft guns in Spain, it was decided to develop armor-piercing and cumulative shells for the gun. 88-mm anti-aircraft guns performed well against ground targets, so it was decided to equip the guns with shield cover.

Modifications of the Flak-18 were Flak-36 and 37. The Flak-36 had a simplified carriage and an improved barrel, which led to a reduction in the cost of production of the gun. This modification appeared in 1935. All brass parts were replaced with steel ones. The gun was transported using two identical single-axle trolleys, since the front and rear frames became interchangeable. Flak-37 had an improved fire control system. This modification appeared a year later. Flak-18 was produced in large quantities. In the summer of 1944, about 10,000 of these guns were in service with the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Navy.

In 1942, the Rheinmetall-Borzig company presented for testing a new modification of the 88-mm anti-aircraft gun - Flak-41. The new gun had a rate of fire of 22-25 rounds per minute, and the initial speed of the fragmentation projectile was up to 1000 m/sec. After a series of tests, the gun was put into service under the designation "88-mm anti-aircraft gun model 41".

The gun had a hinged carriage with four cross-shaped frames. The design of the carriage ensured firing at an elevation angle of up to +90 degrees. All-round shelling was possible in the horizontal plane. The Model 41 gun had an armored shield to protect against shrapnel and bullets.

The 6.54 m long gun barrel consists of a casing, a pipe and a breech. The semi-automatic bolt is equipped with a hydropneumatic rammer, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire of the gun and facilitate the work of the crew.

To combat air targets, each battery was given an anti-aircraft artillery fire control device, which instantly generated the necessary settings for firing. When firing at air targets, fragmentation shells were used, and armor-piercing and sub-caliber shells were used to fight tanks. An armor-piercing projectile weighing 10 kg with an initial speed of 980 m/sec at a distance of 100 m penetrated armor up to 194 mm thick, and at a distance of 1000 m - 159 mm of armor, at a distance of 2000 m - about 127 mm. A sub-caliber projectile weighing 7.5 kg with an initial speed of 1125 m/sec pierced armor 237 mm thick from a distance of 100, pierced armor 192 mm thick from a distance of 1000 m, and 152 mm from 2000 m.

Transportation of the gun on mechanical traction using two single-axle trolleys did not provide sufficient maneuverability as was the case with the Flak-36, so work was carried out to install the gun on the chassis of the Panther tank, but such a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was never created.

The Flak-41 was produced in small quantities - by 1945, the German army had only 279 Flak-41s in service.

88-mm anti-aircraft guns showed themselves well not only in the fight against air targets, but also against ground targets, so these guns were actively introduced in the production of tanks and tank destroyers: "Tiger", "Nashorn", "Hornisse", "Jagdpanther", " Elephant." Options for installing the Flak-18 on a railway platform and on an extended chassis of the Bussing NAG 900 were also developed.

Flak-16/36/37

Flak-41

German 88-mm anti-aircraft gun 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37 (8.8-cm-Flugabwehrkanone, 8.8-cm anti-aircraft gun model 1918/1936/1937)

The famous German anti-aircraft gun FlaK 18 (Flugabwehrkanone, from German “anti-aircraft gun”) was rightfully one of the most famous artillery systems of Nazi Germany in World War II. At the beginning of the war, the Germans appreciated all the advantages of this universal cannon, using it to combat air targets, enemy armored vehicles and to destroy enemy fortifications. In addition to the Germans, the FlaK 18 cannon and all its modifications (36/37/41) were appreciated by the British, Americans and Russians, since at the initial stage of the war, this cannon was an effective means of destroying the Matilda and T-34 tanks. .

The history of the creation of the German FlaK18 anti-aircraft gun

The first representatives of German anti-aircraft semi-automatic guns were created in Germany back in the First World War. These medium-caliber guns were created by two major companies: Rheinmetall (then called Erchardt) and Krup in 1917. With the defeat of Germany in the First World War, all of its artillery systems were withdrawn from the army and, basically, all were destroyed. Let us recall that the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles prohibited defeated Germany from having anti-aircraft artillery, as well as from creating devices for controlling the fire from these guns. However, German artillery designers continued to secretly create their artillery systems in the 1920s in Sweden, Germany, Holland and other countries. In those years, almost all of the guns created were designated by the number “18”, which meant “model 1918”. In part, this was done in order to veil (or hide so that there would be no doubt among the allies) and show that Germany still complied with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and did not violate it. However, the new FlaK18 gun was very different from the previous gun of the 17th year.

The need for such a gun arose among the Germans in connection with the appearance of heavy Haley-Page bombers in the Royal Air Force of England, which could rise to a height of more than 10 thousand meters. In 1928, in Sweden in secret, German designers of the Krupp company began redesigning a new anti-aircraft gun. All work was carried out at the Swedish company Swedish BOfors, controlled by Krup. The first samples of guns were made in the city of Essen. Secret field tests of new anti-aircraft guns soon followed, based on the results of which the designers made a number of changes to the design of the units. Krup himself played a huge role in the creation of new weapons, who selflessly participated in the creation of guns.


Sketch drawing of the 88 mm FlaK18 cannon. Right view.


Sketch drawing of the 88 mm FlaK18 cannon. Left view


Sketch drawing of the 88 mm FlaK18 cannon. View from above.


Sketch of the recoil device balancing spring


Sketch of the breech of the FlaK 18 cannon


FlaK 18 gun barrel sketch


FlaK 36 gun barrel sketch


This is what the 88 mm FlaK18 cannon looks like from above


Sketch drawing of the FlaK18 cannon carriage (16 hooks on the spars for lifting on a winch, 17 stakes for driving into the ground, 18 shovel, 22 eye, 37 device for positioning relative to the horizontal plane


Sketch drawing of the FlaK18 cannon carriage, top view


Sketch drawing of the FlaK36 cannon carriage, top view

During the design process, German designers introduced a lot of innovations, one of which was the ease of manufacturing the 88-mm FlaK18 cannon. In addition, the gun could be mass produced in tractor and automobile factories without the use of specialized assembly lines. The first demonstration to the Wehrmacht military took place in 1932, where Krupp personally demonstrated the capabilities of the new weapon. The military was delighted with the new anti-aircraft gun. A contract was immediately concluded for the supply of FlaK18 guns to the Reichswehr. Soon the German army formed 7 motorized anti-aircraft batteries, which were armed with 8.8 FlaK18 guns. In 1933, batteries with new guns went on combat duty.

Design of the FlaK18 anti-aircraft gun

The FlaK18 gun barrel consisted of a breech, a free tube and a casing. The cannon's rate of fire of up to 15-20 rounds per minute was made possible by the original breech, which was a horizontal, semi-automatic wedge bolt that ensured the removal of the spent cartridge case, and the construction of the mainspring due to recoil energy. It is worth noting that the rammer together with the charging tray worked poorly in some cases, therefore, the future crew of the gun removed it in the field with the help of field workshops.

Recoil devices included a hydropneumatic knurler and a hydraulic recoil brake (spindle type). With the help of the knurl, after the shot, the barrel returned to its original position. The recoil of the barrel after the shot was limited by a limiter. To facilitate vertical aiming of the gun, two spring compensators were mounted under the barrel of the FlaK18 gun in two cylinders. The gun recoil brakes were equipped with a compensator. The length of FlaK18's retracement was variable. As already indicated, the gun’s rate of fire reached 20 rounds per minute; this was an undoubted advantage of this weapon; it was also ensured by the presence of a mechanism for automatically ejecting spent cartridges. The trained crew of the FlaK18 cannon can easily fire at such intensity. However, this required some physical training, since the assembled cartridge weighed 15 kilograms, and the anti-aircraft fragmentation projectile weighed 10.5 kilograms.

The gun had a carriage, which was connected to an 8-sided base by a hinge. The base itself was supported by a cross. The crosspiece had side frames, which rose upward during the transition from the combat to the traveling position. A longitudinal beam ran along the cannon, which served as a cart when traveling. At the base of the carriage there was a cabinet on which the upper machine (also known as a swivel) was mounted. The lower end of the swivel pin was inserted into the slide of the leveling mechanism. The rotating and lifting devices each had 2 guidance speeds. There was also a spring-pull type balancing mechanism. In the horizontal plane, the FlaK18 gun provided circular fire; in the vertical plane, fire was provided in the range of +5 degrees. up to +85 degrees.

Composition of units of FlaK18 anti-aircraft guns.

The light anti-aircraft unit included each FlaK18 gun. At the discretion of the management, absolutely any number of FlaK18 cannons could be combined into a battery, which was attached to the command post. Each unit was armed with a trailer with guidance devices and a search light, which were powered by an autonomous diesel generator.

How did the searchlight interact with the FlaK18 anti-aircraft gun unit?

A searchlight attached to the object being protected from night raids by enemy aircraft searched for and “captured” (illuminated in the night sky) the target. After which the aiming installation operator had to provide visual tracking of the target. At the same time, the devices that were built into the target tracking (tracking) installation automatically sent data on the angle above the horizon and target height to the target guidance devices of each FlaK18 anti-aircraft gun. The rotation angle, elevation angle and fuse installation necessary for firing at enemy aircraft were determined by a special device, which transmitted them to the FlaK18 gun unit via a 108-core cable through the Ubertransunger 37 transmission tube device. In the event of a device failure, this information was transmitted by the operator by phone. Before the modernization of the gun, the fuse was installed next to the gun at a distance of 10 meters, then a device for installing the fuse appeared, which was mounted on the gun carriage. All fire control devices on the 8.8 mm FlaK 36/37/41 gun were duplicated. From the command center, data was displayed on the small dials of the gun. The gunner set exactly these values ​​on his large dials and fired. Thanks to this decision, the entire firepower of the battery of 8.8mm FlaK 36/37/41 guns was tightly concentrated on one target, which had little chance of getting out alive.

The 8.8 FlaK 36/37/41 cannon was transported using 2 trailers (the Russians called rolling single-axle carts - “moves”) Sonderanhaenger 201. In the combat position they were detached, and joined during the march.

For all crews of 8.8 mm FlaK 36/37/41 guns, there was a standard according to which the crew had to “uncover” (remove the gun from the carts and assume a firing position) in just 20 seconds, and install the gun in no more than 1 minute. This was especially true when changing positions after firing shots, since in response the crew was covered by enemy artillery.

The 8.8 mm FlaK 36/37/41 cannon was armed with cartridge-loading rounds with projectiles that varied in purpose (anti-aircraft, anti-tank (several armor-piercing variants), anti-personnel). For flying targets, a fragmentation projectile was used, which had a remote fuse. With a projectile weight of 9 kg (explosive weight 0.87 kg), the initial velocity of the projectile was 820 m/s. The vertical range of the fragmentation projectile was 10.6 km.


German 88mm Flak37 anti-aircraft gun installed in Rendsburg


The progenitor of the 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37 cannon - Krupp Flak L/45



Anti-aircraft gun 8.8 cm FlaK 18


Anti-aircraft gun 8.8 cm FlaK 36 in stowed position


Anti-aircraft gun 8.8 cm FlaK 18 in position for firing at high flying targets (max. 85 degrees)


88 mm FlaK gun with crew


Camouflaged 88 mm FlaK gun on the Eastern Front


88-mm FlaK cannon on the Eastern Front. Firing.


Left: in alarm, the crew runs to their gun. Right: Luftwaffe soldier wiretapping with acoustic early warning devices (sound detection systems).

FlaK - German abbreviation Fl(ug)a(bwehr)-K(anone), denoting an anti-aircraft (anti-aircraft) gun, which was the original purpose of this weapon. Unofficially, the Germans called them "Acht-Acht" (eight-eight), shortening the full name "8.8-cm-Flugabwehrkanone".

Semi-automatic large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were created in Germany during the First World War. But the provisions of the Versailles Treaty prohibited the Germans from having anti-aircraft artillery and all guns were destroyed. Work on their creation resumed secretly in the second half of the 20s and was carried out by German designers both in Germany itself and in Sweden, Holland and other countries. At the same time, all new field and anti-aircraft guns designed in Germany during these years received the designation number 18, that is, “1918 model.” In case of requests from the governments of England or France, the Germans could answer that these were not new guns, but old ones, created back in 1918, during the First World War.
A group of designers from the Krupp company began designing an 88-mm anti-aircraft gun in 1931 in Sweden. Then the technical documentation was delivered to Essen, where the first samples of guns were manufactured. Since 1933, anti-aircraft guns, designated "88-mm anti-aircraft gun model 18 - Flak-18", began to enter the troops.


The gun had a semi-automatic shutter, which was in itself an achievement for that time. The spent cartridges were ejected automatically, so that a trained crew could fire 15-20 rounds per minute. The shooting was carried out from a pedestal carriage, which had four frames arranged crosswise. The beds rested on the ground with their jacks. In the stowed position, the gun was mounted on the Sd.Anh.201, which was a four-wheeled, sprung cart with two wheel travels; the middle of the cart was formed by the base of the gun carriage and the frame.


The 8.8 cm Flak-18 gun received its baptism of fire in Spain as part of the Condor Legion. Based on the results of combat use, some of the Flak-18 guns were equipped with an armor shield to cover the crew. In 1936, the modernized 8.8 cm Flak-36 cannon was put into service. The internal structure of both guns and ballistics were the same. For better maintenance, the barrel design of the Flak-36 was made composite - now it was enough to replace the most worn (usually the lower) third, instead of changing the entire barrel. The special trailer Sd.Anh.202 was used as a vehicle. The design of the carriage was simplified. An 8-ton Sd.Kfz.7 "Klaus-Maffei" half-track tractor was used as a towing vehicle for the anti-aircraft guns.


By September 1, 1939, the ground units of the Luftwaffe included 2,459 8.8 cm Flak-18 and Flak-36 cannons. The ground forces first received 8.8 cm cannons in 1941. In August 1944, the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe had 10,930 Flak-18 type guns, which were used on all fronts and in the Reich air defense.
During the French campaign, it turned out that 37-mm anti-tank guns were absolutely powerless against the armor of most French tanks. But the remaining “unemployed” (German aviation dominated the air) 88-mm anti-aircraft guns coped with this task perfectly.


The even greater importance of these guns as anti-tank weapons was revealed during the battles in North Africa and on the Eastern Front. While the British, for example, in North Africa limited the role of their very powerful 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns to fighting aircraft, the Germans used their 88-mm guns to fire at both planes and tanks; they even produced two different armor-piercing guns for them. projectile. In November 1941, the entire Afrika Korps had only 35 88-mm cannons (their cost was then 33,600 Reichsmarks), but, moving along with the tanks, these guns inflicted huge losses on Allied tanks.


For clarity, historical quotes from two books describing the role of these guns in the Afrika Korps.

Mitcham Samuel W. "Rommel's Greatest Victory"

The 88mm gun sent its 21-pound shell over a distance of 2 miles with exceptional accuracy. For example, in the battle of Sidi Omar in November 1941, a British tank regiment lost 48 of 52 tanks. All of them were destroyed by 88 mm guns. None of the British tanks even managed to get close enough to fire at the German guns. The historian of the 9th Royal Lancers writes:
“A direct hit (from an 88-mm gun) was like hitting a tank with a huge sledgehammer. The shell punched a neat round hole about 4 inches in diameter, sending a whirlwind of red-hot fragments into the turret. Such a hit usually meant death... Until the very end of the war, 88-mm guns remained our most dangerous enemy."

General Nehring responded immediately. He shouted to Colonel Alvin Voltz, commander of the 135th Motorized Anti-Aircraft Regiment: “Anti-aircraft guns forward!” 16 deadly 88mm anti-aircraft guns were quickly moved forward and the regiment deployed in a line about 1.5 miles long, organizing a cross-fire system. The British tank crews, having finished off the grenadiers, attacked the last line of defense just at the moment when Volz completed its preparation. It quickly became clear that the Grants could not withstand 88mm shells fired from a distance of 1200 yards. Soon 24 Grants were already burning, and the survivors hastened to retreat...


Shooting "on the move" - ​​the frame is fixed "in a traveling manner" - without removing the wheels

Alexander Bevin's "10 Fatal Mistakes of Hitler":

Rommel had only one "secret" weapon - an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, which, as he and other German generals learned during the 1940 campaign, could penetrate up to 83mm of armor at a range of 2,000 yards. This made the 88-mm guns a very formidable anti-tank weapon...

When on June 15, 1941, the British Matildas moved towards Halfaya, which British soldiers nicknamed “Devil's Fire Gorge,” their commander managed to send his last radiogram: “They are tearing my tanks to pieces.” Only one of the thirteen Matildas managed to survive the deadly fire of four 88-mm German guns. The British attack failed...


On the eastern front, 88-mm guns were also in combat formations of tank units. When the latter came across new Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, anti-aircraft guns came into action. Similar tactics were used by German troops until the end of the war.
The successful use of these guns as anti-tank guns led to the creation of a separate series called the PaK 88 (Panzerabwehr-Kanone - anti-tank gun), and they also served as a model for the creation of turret weapons for the Tiger and Tiger II ("Royal Tiger") tanks. .



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