Hey guys, I was surfing you tube like always,
When I came across this video of a FlaK 88 in a firing situation. I had no idead that the 88 could fire that many rounds so quicky.

Ps, it is in French, but it is short.

__________________
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget

The link man!
You've forgotten the link .





(I know the feeling)

__________________
"Wars cannot be fought with dream stuff" - Sir Percy Hobart.

YouTube - Flak 88mm

sorry, there you go. It took me ages to find it again

__________________
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget

While it could sustain such a high rate of fire, I would think it inefficient in the tank killer role. It would be pretty difficult to track a moving target with the recoil. Perhaps it was propaganda or used in suppressive fire. Though, I agree, impressive footage.

__________________

American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

Tomcat nice link! Thanks!! Don't sweat the forgetting thing, we all do that, I call them my "senior" moments!!

__________________

This is a pair of Dutch resistance crystal radios, built into a small metal can, and a matchbox. The image is from a postcard bought at a Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. The matchbox is marked in Swedish, but Swedish matches were sold in Holland for many years..
Scott

__________________

Let me rephrase that............perhaps it was staged. An 88 crew was not that many men. They were hitting the same spot so it was not against tanks.

__________________

American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

The shooting was impressive. How many rounds a minute ? It's like an 88mm machine gun.... Ever heard that song " Gotta Keep Her 88's Straight " ? I think that was the title.

It would seem obvious for a Anti-Aircraft gun to have a high rate of fire.

__________________
For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

Maybe not so obvious for an anti-aircraft gun to fire in a horizontal position at that rate of fire. Especially an 88. Pleased to meet you .

The "official" crew was nominally 12 men. The gun requires minimally three to operate: A trainer, a layer, and a loader. The additional crew include a section commander, range taker, phone talker, and more ammunition numbers one of which is the vehicle driver for the tow vehicle.

__________________
Truth is stranger than bullshit!

It is still very impressive whether it is firing in an AA or ground attack role. The crew is certainly either very well trained or experienced even if it could be a staged firing.


This link to the setup procedure for a FlaK 88

YouTube - Setup procedure for German WW2 8.8cm flak

I have seen footage of the gun being fired while still on the 'wheel attachments'? is it more accurate while unmounted, or easier to use because it is lower? It appears to be easier to hide while it is unmounted, but easier to move while mounted, so what is the difference?

__________________
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget

When it is unlimbered the side cross-members are lowered and the entire cross is nailed to the ground, litterally. It provides a much more stable firing platform. When firing from the wheeled position it is very unwise to fire along the shorter axis (sideways, 90º left or right from the longitudinal axis), or it will topple.

__________________

How would they nail her down?Looks like there were stakes they carried , and kind of pounded them in like a tent peg . How would you remove them when it was time to leave in a hurry?..Very interesting footage by the way.

Looks like the end of each arm have an attachment for digging in.

__________________
For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

And a jack on the end of each leg for lifting up the pounded in pegs. I never knew that.

I always ponder if one was put against a modern tank.

__________________
Time is only enemy you'll never get rid of.

very good question against a modern tank of todays standard the inpact
of a 88 shell
krieg

__________________
for thow . will be ours someday.we shall have it all
... und mear.......

The shield on the front of some 88's is that an after feature based on war time experience, or is that just used on the anti-tankl version?

__________________
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget

Complete and utter rubbish.

May I ask then why all tank guns from the 60s on the Western side have developed on 90mm, 105mm and 120mm, all having nothing at all to do with the 88mm, L/56 or L/73? Are you crazy, a gun 65 years old?

The German Leopard I was developed in the fifties with the 105mm British gun that was also equipping the Centurion and M-60 series (the M-48 mounted an 90mm gun). If the 88 was so damned good why did the Heer use the "inferior" foreign weapon?

Meanwhile the Russians grew from the T-54 100mm gun to the current 125mm whopper.

All of the above fire a variety of projectiles of technology much different than the good old AP of the 88s, it's all APDSFS (Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot Fin Stabilised), going through several other models like HEAT, HESH, etc.

Oh, and modern tanks have frontal thicknesses of 600mm of complex layered materials, so your 88 would sctrach some paint and that would be it. Even the good old M-60 was 200mm thick in the turret front.

Royal Ordnance L7 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for instance.

Challenger 2 tank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia And this is what a modern tank looks like.

But that's alright, if you believe in magic you'll believe anything.

__________________

What anti-tank version? The Flak 36 8.8cm gun was a good AA anti-air gun which was also found to have a more than decent secondary capability to fill an emergency role as an anti-tank gun. Therefore it was found useful to add a shield to provide some protection against small arms.


Here's something in good old Wikipedia: 88 mm gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Achtung Panzer! - 88mm Flak Series

More photos here The Dreaded 88

__________________

Za yes there was AT versions of the 8.8cm if that is what you were asking besides the famous Flak series, though the Flak Abteilungs in later years used their weapons in the role of AT protection especially on the Ost front.