41 and PaK 43 1936–45 - PDF Free Download

~~ FlaK 18/36/37/41 & PaK 43 1936-45 ill New Vanguard • 46 88 mm FlaK 18/36/37/41 & PaK 43 1936-45 John Norris· Ill...

Author: John Norris

482 downloads 1025 Views 7MB Size Report

This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!

Report copyright / DMCA form

DOWNLOAD PDF

~~

FlaK 18/36/37/41 & PaK 43 1936-45 ill

New Vanguard • 46

88 mm FlaK 18/36/37/41 & PaK 43 1936-45

John Norris· Illustrated by Mike Fuller

OSPREY PUBLISHING

Fm ~ .. G--. Brttao1"' 2002 bji o..prey PiJblisl"ng, Elms Court, ChapoI w.,. BoIlty, Ol
Author's Note AI black aM "Me p;et""'" are COl.01""y of tile ImP9'iaI WiN Mu-.m ""less oltref'wise Cfedited,

C 2002 ~ PubIis/Iong Ltd All right. res.erw>d. Aparl Ifom any fai, dealing jo.- tr>e pUfPOstl 01 p'ivate stlld>',

researd1, critICism

0.-

rev...... as P9'mittoo un{1Qf the Copyright, Designs aM

Palents Act. 1981l, no part of this publication may tie reproduced. stOfOO". retr....al system,

Of

transmitted", any fOfm Of

b~

any meaos, eIo<;tror»c,

I!oIectric31, ohemical, mechankal. optical, p/IoIocopying. reoon;Iing or othefwlSe. Without the

"'<>< w,itten pefmissiof1 ot tIl
acldressed to tr>e Publishers ISBN 1 84176 341 1 Edit",: Smone Orinkwate< Design: Koo Vail Graphic Dooign, CNnbridge, UK b~ AAl~

Index

Rutt...

Originated by M3gMt Haflequin, Uxbfi
i~

Q2{)3

()405 00

For

~

CI'ona through Work! Print Ltd, 109B765432

cst310gue of aI booI<s published by Osprey

M~il3ry

,.,d A";atiof1 please oomact: The Marl<etil'lg M"""9"<. Osprey DIroct UK, PO Box 140, ~~gh, Nortr.a.nts, NNB 4ZA. United Kingdom

Erna': infoOospreydirect.co,uk The MarI<eting Manage<. Osprey Dtreet USA. c/o MotorbO<>ks lfiten"'tional. PO Box 1,

0sc00Ia. Wf 54020--0001. USA. Emal: infoOospreydirect""".com

88 MM FLAK 18/36/37/41 AND PAK 43 1936-1945

INTRODUCTION

Two 88. 8Nndon..:l by Getman_ nellr Men.. Matruh In 18042. They lack

u.. gun I.hields fitled to

twin·ty.ed carrl8fl'U.

Unarguably the mOSI EU1\OUS pi~cl.· 01 German artillt"'1 10 ha\'c sec.'11 sen-ice during the whole of the Sc.."<:ond World War. ,he RR mill ~llll was originall\' designed for use as;:\II i1nti-aircrali \\'Capon. I\ya Slr.lIl}{C quit-k of fa Ie. the design became instead the mOSt [ormid..bl(· ;lIlli-l;:m" gun of the \\'ar. KLlt despite its change of usc Ull the b.,nlcficld. large number.> continued to serve in me ami-aircmrl role. The 'Eighly-eight" (or JUS! '88' :ll> the Allies refcl1wl (0 it) cllu.'rl-'1I service in 1933. It had been de.-...·c1opcd in great se<:rcC\' by a team of Iffhnicians from the C'.ennan annamcnb Walll Krupp ,,-!lo had lwen on secondment to l\oror~, tht> SWf..--dish annamc::nlS linn. bet....·('('11 1920 and 1930. In the earl\' i11lel"-\'~lf \'(';11.... ,,'hcll Gcnn;,\m lurcll(.'C1 frolll one political crisis lO lhe nex!. Il()-()nc could ha\'e foreseen ,,'hal a ,'t"I"SaI,ile weapon lhe Wehnuaclu had al its di~I)(I',aJ. Oillcrelll \'t"rsions \,'ere used al '",lIions times by all lhree br.mche~ of lhl' Gcrman anned forces. and altholl~h lhe Allies had comparable "'capons of Iheir 0'\11 (lile British 3.7 ill. anli-aircraft gUll. the French 90 111111 h'llll ami thc Americlll 90 mill allli-aircI
3

The first 88 The forerunner of the 8S W;I~ all 8.8 em FlaK or anti-aircr"r, gUll, dcw:lopcd ill 1917 by Krupp ;md Erhardt (Erhardt later ]weanw Rhcinlllclall). 11 W,IS filled with ;\ '>CllIi-aUlomalic ,lCtiOIl, a hori;-,onlaJ sliding bn.'cch blod.. ami W;IS cap:tblc of firing 9.5 kg sheik A good crew could lire lip to len rolllld~ pcr minute. The gun \\"('ighed 7,100 kg in action. and \\~t1> filh'd lu a jll:dCSI.II:.lh lm..t'd. it i~ nllrkrMood thai .here were plano; 10 mOllnt some gum on IIH-' ft'a .. of .ifill\' lorries to prmide beller mobility. The b:lrrel could be e!e":lh'c1 10 more than 70 degre("S, and with a Illullic \e1odl~ of is!'", m/liee. lhe \eniea] ceiling of the shell was 3.850 Ill. so ,he gun \>'as more thall adequate 10 engage lhe slow-mo\'ing aircran of Ihe d:l\', ~Iollllled on a pt"e1eslal. Ihe gun could be tr,nersed through ~6() degrt"es 10 follow a largel: in the ground role, the 88 mm gun ....'as capable of filing a ~hell oul 10 a horizont,,1 range of nearl) 10.800 metres, The 88 rulll gun ......~ u<;eel to defend industrial celures around the Ruhr and Rhine. \\'hich ....·cre \1.llnerable to Allied bombing r.lids. In an elTort to oppo<,(' aU"cks by aircraft such as Ihe Handlt")-I'age bombers of ,he n:\SCen, Ro~-al Air Force. factories "nd power stations were pro1(.'cted by batteries containillg between six and eight guns. After the war ended in 1918. the Allies illlp0'led sc\cre limitations on Germany's armaments indust'l' prohibiting the ownership or de\'e1opment of :Inti-aircraft artillery. tanks. aircraft or weapons of mass-destruction such as poisonou:!I gas. Ami so the adv,lIlced design for the 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun was apparcl1lly consigned to the SCI-ap heap.

DEVELOPMENT In the anermath of the )<"ir:.t World War many German amlaments finns I\'em out of busillC~:' a:. a rcsult of the reslrictions imposcd by the Tre-dty orVer\ail!cs in 1919, 110\\,1,"\'1,"1', sornc cOlnpallics, sLlch as Krupp, chose to relocate their highly cxperknccd stall' of designcrs amI researchers to foreigll al'lll,llllCllrs (Ulllpallks across Europe, Sonle production teams of Genn; lllanag"cd to cvade arms controls by forming alliallcc;>; willi fOl'cig-lI companies and at the same time gaining "aluable

4

It AflK 181i1un In tl'lt\leUlng

mod
11 ""If·tnlck. The liIun waa elwar- towed with the berrel feclnlil forward towarda the pnme-mo...lnlil ...ehide. The crew rode In the ...ehlcle and could quickly deploy to brIng the gun Into .clion. (Ian HOliIliI)

cxperience. One such co-operativc move involved a team headed by Krupp artillery desii{ners who wentlO ",ark willi Bofors in Sweden during the 1920s. Krupp held some six million shart.'S (oulofthe tOlal [9 million shares) in this leading Swedish ,umaments manufacturing company. In 193 [ the Krupp team of temporarily expau'iatc technicblls decided to make a pre-emptive movc and returned lO their faCtol)' at F..ssen. Ilere they unveiled their plans for a completely new anli-aircraft gun WiTh a calibre of88 IIun (sometimes n.:fcrred to as 8.8 em), which they had been working on in Sweden. Such weapons developmellt COlltraw.'ll!:'d the Treaty of Versailles and Germany \I~IS breaking the I\-filitary Code. Knlpp organised a secret series of intense tests and lield trbls, during the courst.: of which some s[ighl lllOdiiications were recommended. Otlt'\~lrdly, there W,l~ lIothing unusual about tlle new gUll. HO\\'ewr, on closer inspection it \\~IS revcaled to hal"e a number of innovative features. [n fact, the design W,IS so ad\mlCed that the weapon could be mass-produced on 'now-lines', for example at car 1;lclOties or tractor plants, wirhouT The need for spccialised cquipmcnt. \'\lhen Adolf Ilitler came 10 power ill 1933 he illllllcdiately dismissed the- Treary of Versailles which prcvclltcd Gcrmany\ armaments developmenl. The German army had, by various subterfuges, still man:lged TO maintain Ihe skills and techniques surrounding the de\'elopmenr of anti-aircraft gunnel)', so by 1934 whetl Hitler openly declared lImr Germany ",
•

View

_leh Front • ~ravclhnq.

A FlaK 18 on a travelling carnage. Note the single pneumatic tyres fitted to the carriage and the towing bar. The rarge gun shreld afforded the crew some degree of protection from small arms fire and shell splinters. (tan HoggI

The 88 mm FlaK 18

Krupp had secretly built a protOType of the new gun and demonsTrated itlO the German army in 1932. Krupp's investmcllt in time and attcTllion to deL.il ensured that rhe 88 was appro\"{~d almost illltlH.:diatdy by lhe army. After successful field trials the glln went into full produCiiou and entered service in 1933 as the 8.8 CI11 FlaK 18 (RlIgflfmlf'hrl!r/fiOnf 18). The gun itself \\"lS of fairly conventional design, but lhc barrel was built in t\\'o sections, contained within a JackeT'. If one part bccamc

5

worn Ollt through firing, it could he replaced without havill~ 10 replace the whole barrel. The harrel was an L/56 type of 53 calibrcs ill len~th, gh ing an o\"er'all length of 4,664 nH'trt'~" Ilowc\'er, tht: rcal illg-ellllity lay in the hOl'i"onlal sliding brcech mechanism which was operated 1>clllialilomaLicall)' by spring power, which \\~tS in l.urIl lensioncd a~ lhe I;llll recoilcd on being fll'cd. The gun carriage I\'as filled with IWO p..... irs of hogie~ for Lr.wdling. comprbing singlc-w'hecled pneumalic I)TeS which could Ilt:' rClllon:d 1lt:'lorc the gUll ,or.tS deplo}cd lor use, in which order il weighed 6.681 kg, In many respects. the platform was similar to lhe lype used on lhe OIihtlna1 8.8 cm FlaK of lhe FirSI World War: it was a four-legged unit of cruciform shape (I..nown in Cerman as kmdllftlll') in plan \'iew', whidt c.micd a cenu"al pedcsl.lllO which W'a:. moulllcd the barrel. This pcnniued the we.1l)011 10 If.uel'S<.' a full 360 degrees and the barrel could be dl'\;:lled bet....eell -3 degrees, for engaging ground Largets, and +85 dq.,'Tel'l> for the ami·aircr:th role. T....o sets of two-wheeled limbers could be IU.JOkt.'d 011 to the t;"mb to al1ol\ the gun to be to\\'ed b) prime 1ll0\"illg \'ehicl~, ~llch as the FA,'10 or Hanomag SdKf7 11 half·tr:ack carriel"'i. These \ehide~ al:.o tfal\:.poned the gun crews. with otlwl' atll'IJ(lant I'chiell's hringinK up resupply amlllnnition. A wdl..lmined crew could fire up to 13 rounds of high+('xplosiH' all1l1llmitiun in one minute; one higlH:xploshe projl"'Clile weighed I 0.'1 kg. Liter 011. a ~hdl cOIll.tining-.1 9.2 kg annour-piercing round wilh a muule n:lucil}' 01'820 m/~. .c ()nd would al~ be produced. The high \uhune oflil'e ,\~tS made po~iblc panh b)' Ihe u'>C of 'fLxed roum!' shells: the projectile head and Gtruidg-e r;L~e were in olle piece, rather like a briant lille bullel. ludeed. Lhis was 10 be a Icalul't:'" Lhrougholll lhe life 01 lhe 88 n1l11. e\'en whell oLher 1II00lcls (If the gUll. \\ilh enlarged chambers. were de\l~lopcd. The weight of Ihe FlaK IS in aClioll was 4.985 kg and it pro\'ed accurate ill bolh lhe hori/ontill ami \'enical planes. The standard high

•

BElOW AND RIGHT Men 01 172 Battery, 58 Light AntI..Alrcraft regiment, Royal Artlllefy using 88 mm guns ae-Inst their former owners, Decembotr 104<1.. Hote the spent shell eases being ejected and ~ man at right hcMding • firing l.nVerd. Each of the wlcke,,"type ammunition eases conteln three shells.

explosive shell could reach a height of 9,900 Ill, but its elTe-ctivc ceiliHg - the hei/o!:ht at which il was most powerflll - \\~IS 8,000 metrl.-"S. Tht: FlaK 18 had it ma."jmulll ground range of over 14.800 m. which '.~IS lI~d to prO\;de co\'cnng artillery firc to screen ad\.mcillg illfantlJ. The FlaK 18 also be<:ame '1Il effective anti-t.U1k weapon, e.lpablc of engaging 1;;lrgcts al rang<."S of up to 3,000 mCIROS. In e[feci. \,'hate\'cr larget the crc\\' of thc 88 mm could see to aim ai, they had a good eh;mcc of actuall}' hitting, In 1939 the Waffenanu realised the deadly potcntial of the FlaK 18 in the anti-tank role and ordtrcd tell units of the glln. 111er ,,'ere mounted on the chassis of the 12-tOllne Daimler-Benz OHIO Zugkraflwagcll and given Ihe designation SdKfz8. These were 10 be med as heavy
The Spanish Civil War 1936-39

\Vhen the Spanish Civil War erupted belween th~' Communisl Republican forces and the N;lIionalislS in 1936, Ilal}' and Gcnnan}' "C1ll \'olunleer forces and milital)' aid to suppOrt lhe Nationalist:. led by Generalis~illlo Francisco F.-anco. The Gcnnan conlingent known as the 'Kondor Lq,..;oll' was mainly Luftwaffe persollnel. and was c
7

of articles in sllch propa~al\{Ja llew~sheeL~ as Ocr Adler and Dre 'Nehrmuchl discussed the new WilZArieg tactics, especially the role of the artillery branch. The book Deulsche KamJifen in Slmnim explained how anti-aircraft guns could be Ilsed in an anli-tank role: 'From the beginning of [9~7 "FlaK" arlillery was Ilsed more and more in ground warfare, for which its precise aim, its r
An abandoned FlaK 36 In an area possibly south of Caen in France. It was sited In a location close to a railway line. Note one of the outrigger legs is in the upright position.

German army on the move In North Africa, January 1942. The 68 is being towed in the standard method, with crew riding on the prime mover stacked with extra fuel, ammunitIon and personal equIpment. Note the 'kill' rings painted on the barrel which indicates the number of targets destroyed by the gun crew.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF FLAK GUNS 1936-37

•

~

8

•

From experience gained during lhe fighting in Spain dIe German allny looked closely at tactics and weapon dtc--siJ:,'l'IS. It noted a few we;lk points in the FbK 18's design and recommended modifications. This led to the introduction of two impro\'ed models of the RR, the FlaK 36 and the flaK 37. On Ihe ombrcak of the Second World \Var in September 19~9 there were three versions of the 88 mm !,'l.I11 in service, all of \·:hich were termed as F1aK, being shOrE for either HugumgabruelukanlJ1/1! or Hugalrwehrkllnone, anti-aircntli. gUll. An official German army training mallllal entitled PrrKedllres for Ihe At/ad!. of Fortified Defensive Posilions

.

Towed by. h.lf·trKk prim. mo....r, .n 88 moves forw.rd _ the Eastern Front. ,.,.. g\On'l; 6eedty lire w •• directed .g.inst mass armoured .Itee.... by the So...iet armv.

was isstled in the summcr (If 1939, jllSl before tilt: f'..enll;1l1 im"t~ion of Poland. II stated: 'assault detadltlleI1L~. closely follow<x1 b\' allli-t:lnk and 88 mill J.,"-IllS, will be t.hmSI tluoug:h am g;tp in tile defellsi\'e fronL..· HUI \\'hile t.hi~ WilS stmed tactical docuille, the realit)' could nOI be fun her from the lnlth whell put int.o practice. The rapid it" of the Gennan ad\'allce illlo Poland was 1>0 swift. and the Pnlb..h Air Force so compICLcI}' overwhelmcd b)' the Luftwaffe. that those fIR 111m gUllS in the front line werc hardly cvcr deployed ,lS laid down in the texL books. The 3i mm allli-t;.lIIl.. PaK 36 guns in sen;cc \'I;th the Genllan anll\, at the time were lIIore than equal to U1C t;:l.~k of destroying the lightlv annoured Polish (;:Ink.<; ~llch as the TK-3 and TrP. At tile time of the Ptlli~h im
A singl. 88 de91ol'" In the micldle of • n:oed In en unidentifled town _ the Ru$$len Front. AtthoYgh not teetleally conce.led, the gun COYId quickly provide fire support aogelnst aerial targets 01' IICftkfes moving directty ;tgain.t posltion.

9

A crew of an 88 mm FlaK 3e in

action In Runla. The gun Is being lirwod 'rom 11$ cruclfonn base with the wh. .ls retJ'IO¥ed. One set 1$ 'lftible to right of picture. Note the wklter case. in the fol'eflrouncl which contained shell. fof" the (tUn. (1a.n Ho9g)

The FlaK 36

Com hat t'Xlwrience in Spain sUl{~c~lcd lhat some modifications were required tu the FlaK lR hoth 10 sirrlplify 111~\II11E-tcIllIT of the gUll ami to illlpnll'e ()pt:ration in cOl11hat cOllditiolls. The platform carriaKc was mudified to illlpro\'e gun ~labilit>" ami lhe desiKll W~L~ .~il1lplili('d to casc produclion. For example. thc frOlil and I"ear whed limher seclions wcrc made idellllcal wilh pncumalic l~'fcd double-whed" lhal could be hook('d up lO either end of the crucilonn platform. Each ,>cction was lilted Wilh a barrel support. \\'hich lllcalH lhat lhc huesl H',...iOIl of lilt:" 88 gUll. lilt" FlaK 36, could be t(med willi lhe lxUTel facing in l.'ilhcr dirl.'Clion, II did nOi ha\e to be .)pt.."Cialh .)(owl.'d in ;:\ tr.l\elling pOSilioll. which great!\ speeded up the lime of going into
10

A FlaK 4t captured bW the British 8th ArmW In March tIM3 during the Mtvance fTom El Hamm;ll to

Gebes. It M. been abandoned along with itlI prime mover wehic.... Note the fokllng sides to the 9I'n toh~, characteri.tlc of the AaK 41.

The harrd IengLil of lhe flaK 36 was idcmical to the flaK 18, at 4.6(-.4 m and w;:tS Ii lied with the same tnx: of semi-alilomatic. hO';70ntal s.Iiding hreech. Tr;l\Crse remained at 360 debrrees along with the s..'une-3 dcgree~ to +85 degret."S of elevation, TIl(: effl-"<:ti\e ranges of the flaK 36 in bolll hOlizolltal and verticil planes were exactJy the same ;~ for the FlaK 18. The FlaK 36 was also fiued with a gun shield as 011 tile FlaK 18, Dwing the war another version of the flaK 36 gun was de\dopcd and pressed Imo sen·icc as a StOI>irdP weapoll, TIlis ",..as known as thc 88 mill FI"K 36/43 and W
Impro\CmenlS cotllitlilcd to lhe sights of anti-aircraft b"ln~ and the fin.--eolltrol S\"SICIll, The gunla}er's dial~ wcn.' ch;:mged to a simpler 'folluw-the-poinlf"r' 'l}'Stcm. I n the anti-aircraft role, twO mcmbers of the ~tlll erew controlled Ihe el<"\
A flaK 37 shown fitted with a dat. tnansmission system. ThIs model was a d«Ik:ated "'11·al~,..ft gun and unlike lhe o1her versions of 1he 88. eould not engflge ground 1artlets, (Ian Hogg)

11

oe"u of the 'follOW tne poInter" Which were Important to determine the uact moment of flrlnSl to enSl_Sle .Ircraft. This Information wa. fed to the gun from. central comm8nd post. (Ian Hoil91

dlala on the FlaK 31

12

The infonualion was passed to the gun by mc:;ms of a Fllnkr~JI' or 'I'rediClor', a mechanical analogue compuler. which was used to c'llculale the position of an aircrafl and the firin~ dat.\ fur the antiaircr"n g-Ull. The operalOr of the FUI/Hl/w,ng",.,'!I, llscd " lracking It:lescope lO aClluire the t;arget and from this, the aircmft's ;v.imlllh and e1cvation was calculatt--xl bv means of an in-built clock, This target information ....'d'i fed 10 the gUll l>osition along \\'ith the speed and COllrsc of the aircraft. The PrlllJmu"ssj,,'l'J"(111' also cOlllained information about the site of the gUll and ballistic data on the l}pe of shell and fuse, Once the position of the aircmft had been Gilculaled, 111(' Fllllkllless~'t'mle would compare weapon data t:d, the FlaK 37/'11, which was intended LO provide a highperformance gun while tltc FlaK 41 was in dew:lopmellL A:; wilh the FlaK ~6/41. it was simply a normal FlaK 3i titled with a llCW barrel which had the same dimensiolls as lhe FlaK 37 barrel externally, but had an enlarged chamber tu cnable it 1.0 fire a shdl with a more I>o\\'crful cal'1ridge. For this re:1SOIl il was fined with .1 doubk...haffie muule brake to assist in recoil COTltrol. A 10l.:'l1 of 12 flaK 37/41 guns were buill for testing, but by tht:' timt:' the)' here complctcd the problems with the FlaK 41 had been O\"erCOl1le, produClion was under way, and there \\....5 no longer any net--tl for Ihe stol>ir-lP design. TIle ~1odel 37 appe:u'ed shortly aftel·w:u'ds. which incol'l>omted several technical impnwcmenlS, but essentially the gun's performance was unchanged. On the bauleficld the standard method of deploying emplaccd 88 anti-aircraft batteries was typic.ally four guns, each served by a crcw of ten, laid Ollt ill a 'square' formation. 111 the cenlre ofthcir posilion was the Ioccolldar)' comm<\nd POSI with range-finding equipmellt. in direcl

A Luftwaffe crew 01 a FlaK 37 placing nose cones Into the fuse setter. (Ian Hogg)

cOllllllunicalion with each of the guns within the ballery. Th is command pOST was also ill direct communicaTion with lhe bauery comm"nder eqllipped with tile off·c"rri"ge l'illlkll/t:ssgrralf' filT-eontrol system. This pOST was, in tum, linked to e"ch of the gnns by means of a distributor box. As the Allied air threat increased againsT cilies ,md industrial centres, so the Germans built special FlaK Towers which mounted anliai rcraft b'llnS of all calibres, including versions of the 8H. A~ early as 194 I, \lullich, for example. was riui{ed by 33 bal1eries of allti-aircraft guns, including 66 RH 1Il1ll gullS. TOi{cther, the three versions of allti-"ircr
A FlaK 37 gun with barTel well elevated to engage aircraft. Note crewmen on left are operating the 'follow the pointer' dials, while the crew on the right handle shells into the fuse setter. The white rings on the barTel indicate credifed 'kills'.

13

DetM of the ,..,,,,1"11 ~ for the FlaK 41. ThIs w. . " ~ when 'oading the hoNvier 1IItel1, into the bnMteh. PIlr'ticullltly when the bIIrTeI _ a1 • tMgh angle 01 elevation. (I.... HoggI

/{"ns, FlaK 18/~6 and 37, cOllsututed the backbone of tlw Cermall air defence S}'Slems oolh within the Reich and also on the frontline. In fact. by Augusl 1944 there \\·erc ncarly 11,000 ImilS of RR IllIII FlaK gUlls ill service. When the AA mm gUlls wcre deployed for ll"e with t.he German army they equipped the heavy uallelie" 01 lhe divisional avtrilllllgl'll ;Illd also certain HeersJlak (WtI'iIIllIWII (aflllyanu·aircr"f1 bau again:'>l bombers of the US 8th Air Force. It concluded lhal 'During the tlm:.'C mOlllhs ending AlIgml 19-1-1. Gcnnan A-\ lire accoullled for 110 It;:>s lhan 66 percent of dle 700 bomOcrs lost and 98 percent of the 13.000 Ixllllbc::rs damaged. In 1943, 3~ percelll of the bombers IOSI and 66 percell I of the damaged were ,utribllled to Flak', It can be seen from this report lhal the Gcnnans took the air defence of their cities \'cl) seriOIL~lv. ali(I ex,lcll'(! a ri~ing loll in Allied aircmfl which \''as e\·en grealer ,han ,hal illflicllX! b} Iighler cm·er. UUI it is 1101 possible to slale exact]} whal proporrioll of lhe losses inflicted on the US Air Force can be directly ;lllribuled \() lhe &"llltlil w-ms. Allli-aircr<1ft ballclies \,·ere concclllraled mainl}' ill Ihe lIlrn.t hea\"il~ Ihre;llened areas such as Berlin and lhe induMrial heml of Gcnnan}', lhe Ruhr. In 19..3 the fonnalion of'GmsWlIlm"" ,,"en.' aUlhOliscd. ;md ~uch Ullil~ could contaiu 18 88 mm guns or fewer nlltllbel'S uf larger calibre weapons. [;tch Grwsvatfe11nl \\~LS controlled hr a siltg1c radar leeding information into die Fllllktll~ssgf'rtlll'or prediclor. '\'orjl'ldlmflmm' or 'line of approach balterie,,' pro\"iclt-d ,moliler Illelhod of orb'anising alHi-airC1~lfl guns: lwer 600 h'lITlS of all calibres encircled a threatened area. The 88's repulation as an !:'tTicient ami-tank gUll began in lhe carl}' Slages of lhe \\~Ir and special ammunition \\'as de\"eloped for thi~ role. This success lcd to anti-tank ammllnition beill~ developed for various oth!:'r types of anillery, illcluding arlli-aircrafl guns lip to the Gllihrc of I ~~ mill. The reasoning behind this \\~l.~ that tanks mighl aJ>l~ar anywhcre on the h,lltldidd, perhaps b}-passing anti-tank gUliS, and tlH~n;fore, other arlille!"), including
_.14

_

........ 0:=

* _ ,I.

Wilh ilS SOllnd dl,.'Sign, the 88 mill gun \I~.ts to remain the bad.bone 01 German air defellce lhrolighoUllhe \\~1I; and was uS<."(1 b}' all br;mchc.~ of the (,c:·nna.l1 amlt.·d forCes. [n.:n;u lhe beginningof the- "'-at the LlIfI\\~lfTc realised lhe need for CS being ready in earl}'

1941, but first (kliverie~ of their 88 mill gun, lenncd ..he flaK 41, were llot made until March 1943. The upgraded wrsion of the 88 mm was a "cry good weapon with greater ballistic performance and a much improved mechanical de~igll. Improvements made on this model included changing I..he recoil and rccupemtor gear, which could be a(ljustcd to compensal.e for e1ev,nion ill tlle ami-aircraft role. The cradle was altered from a ycnical to a horizontal design which lowered the weapon's heighL 111C pedeslal mourning W,I~ replaced by a turntable on lhe platfonll, which complemented its 100H'r silhoueltc and improved swbility. The barrel W,LS a complicated 1./74, nlllstructed of three bore secrions held by a 'sleeve'. which resulted in dillinrhies with the extraction of fired sllPll ca~es. TIle problem was irlentitied as being the joint belween two harrel sections which met at the morrth of the shell case. On firing, the rim of the steel case expanded into thi~ joint and got Stuck. Changing to bra.~s shell case~ resolwd the problem, but th(' barrel was cventually redesigned ro a Twoo-piece unit. The FlaK 41 had a trowelling: weight of 11,240 kg and \\"eight in actiorr was increased 10 7,800 kg. It was a much hea\~er weapon than allY of the three earlier 88 mm coullleq)art5. but was still milch lighter than any mark of the Hritish 3.7 ill. allti-aircraft gun. The barrel of the FlaK 41 \\~IS 72 calibres in 1cnj:{th, or 6,33fi m, and the IllLlZlJe I'elocity of the standard 9.2 kg high explosive projectile ....'
The VFW 1 with the

FlaK 41

barrel set at high angte. Note

the side

panets lowered

to

permit the crew to operate the

gun; the large fixed gun shield is standard for the FlaK 41.

ao

15

"'hich made il sollie 25 perccnt heller than the st
THE SELF-PROPELLED ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS III order to provide pru1eclion agClf-propelk"tJ ;lIIti-:lircraft gUll 011 lracket'l chassis'. TIll' concept orihrln
artilY was on the

FlaK 38 in operation against "round tafgelt. poplbty tanka In North Ah1ca, It la firing 'rom the

II.

wheeled carriaee with all crew

In appropriate posItions, Note crewman in left hand comer 16

with shell,

standard allocation of anti-aircraft vchicles was eight units to l>roleel one regiment of 52 tanks; the output of tanks ...."Quld barely have been affected by ..uch limitc..-d pnxluclion. -nle prototypes unden\'cnt field trials al the FlaK testing 'dng(.'S at Ostseebad-Kuhlingsbom in October 1943, \\'hieh showed the wcapon to have great promise. The project was hampered by the size and .....eight or the completed vehide, the 1',.5r. which had a combat weight of26 tons. and ....' aS heavier than a slandard self-propelled artillery piece. such as the Hummel which carried a 150 mm calibre weapon. The dimensions were also on the large ~ide; at 7 m in length it ....' as longer than many tanks and self-pl"Opclled gUlls in service and the width of3 m would have caused pl"Oblems whcn moving the vchicle by rail. Amazingly. howc\'cr, its overall height \'>':IS 2.8 III which came in under the 3 m regulation height restriction placed 011 armoured vehicles by the German ;:mny. The 88 mm gun was mount,ed in a turret fined with collapsible side panels which. when lowercd, allowed the gun to traverse through 360 degrtes. and the barrel t.o depress to -3 degrees to engage ground targets. The barrel could elevate to +8.~ degrees, but lhe drawback was all operations concerning lracking and engaging a target had to be

A self-propelled antl-aln:nlft Auf. SfllVc (VFW I) fitted with the barrel of • FI.K 37 gun. It is shown here undergoing troop trl.ls. it was not ••uccess, but the development proglllmme continu&cl until JanullrY 11145.

17

",. YFW 1 fitted wfth the bamtl of a FlaK 41, Hen !tent et the Knipp WOftIa In Essen. Note the alcM ~I. whidl .nt lowered to pennlt all·round ~ of the gun. It never entered IJervi....

performed by hand. Despite this, the ,'chicle could have provided an armoured column with comprehensi"e defcnce against air and ground auad:. A crew of eight served the weapon and wilh the Marb.l.ch HL90 enginc, the '"chicle could manage 35 km on roads with a combat range of 250 km on roads. The project lingered on until 13 January 1945, when Albert Specr, lhc Armaments MiniSlcr. finally cancelled it. Lighter calibre sclf-propellcd anli-aircraft gUlls wcre developed and this project was perhaps the only time whcn the 88 nun gun was llot sllcccssfully incorporated into a dt..'Sign during the war rears. PERFORMANCE OF FLAK AMMUNITION USED AGAINST ARMOUR

Pelletration of homogenous armour plate at 30 degAlltS from verticallmm} Weapon

FlaK 18 & 371L56

18

Ammunition Weight (kg)

pzgr

FlaK 18 Pzgr 39 & 371l.56

Mo_ 100 m

SOOm 1,ooom 1,500 m 2,000 m

velocity (m/sec)

9.5

810

97

93

87

80

12

10.2

800

127

117

106

97

88

THE PAK GUNS On 10 May 1940, following sc\'cral months of 'Phon)' \\'ar', the Gcnllans launched the much-\'
Although lhe 88 gUll had been llsed as an anti-wllk gun earlier in its history, it was really during German involvemenl in lhe North African campaign (1941-43) that it was to earn its fearsome reputation as a tank-killer. Gennan involvemelll in this theatre of operations did not begin ulllillhe arrival ofCeneml Erwin Rommel with the admnce force... of thc ncwly created Afrikakorps in February 1941. Consolidating his troops, Rommel went on to the offensive and reg-dined Illuch terrilol)' lost by the Iwlians during 1940. Under pressure frOIll Winston Churchill, General Wavell \\'as forced to launch Operation Bre\11Y in May 1941, directed to......u ds Rommel's posilions in Capuao and the I-Ialf")""d I~ass, which soon became known to the British troops as 'Hellfire Pass'. It emphasised just ho..... strong the Genllans could be in defence. TIle following montJl Operalion B:utlcaxe was launched on 15 June, and German anti-lank gunners once ag-din prmided a rude shock for many Allied tank crews. During this action the Brilish arc known to have

A PaK 43 on a wheeled camage fitted with solid rubber t»"res. Note the well-sloped gun shield, low silhouette and double-baffle muzzle-brake. (Ian Howl

19

10:,1 almost 90 lank.-'. to a battcry of ....·cll-dug-in 8&. To conceal the gun in a defensivc IOGuion required the crew to dig a weapon pit measuring 6 III X3 m, lea\;ng onl}' the lxlrre1 exposed above the rim of the position. With such a low profile, the guns werc lIot easily spotted and their fire ilg
20

.. gun crew of an 88 deploy In the W. .tem Des.ert, May 1042The g..... Is lowered on to its cnx:tform UN and the crew are In the process of unloading ammunltton. The man In the centre Is carrying II wicker ammunition case.

::!J

lIQ

o

,.". optk:8' sight unit fitted 10 •

PaK 43/41. Using this "'-t",ment 8n ...perienced crew could destroy

tanks at ranges In

••cna of 2,000 m. (tan Howl

limited visibility caused by ""md and dUSl storms, which added to the heat haze and hampered target i1cquisition. In this largely uninhabited thealn~ orille \\';11', it wa..<; not uncommon for indh-idual annoured brigades of the British ann)' LO take the initiative aud fight independently_ a f..lCI which also applied to German KamJiflJ"uN~ll (baulegwups). 011 19 l'\O\'clIlber 19-11, for example. olle lank regiment of the British 4th Armoured Brigade auacked positions at Cabr Saleh, which was held b)' rhe Gennan K..'lmpfgruppe Stephan, supported hy 12 field guns and four 88 tllm ,lilli-tank guns. The rcsull. for the Ilritish, was catastrophic. With a range of ~.OOO tn, The 88 111m could be llsed to cng",. lie ill tended to build up iL'i strength and laid plans which would lead to the lin'll cxpnl'iioll

21

I

1beM two photograph. $hOW tM tilt Batterie Hamburg-o.dorl which IolIW HfVice througtloYt ttaly and North .fnc. In 1~2.

l'he flaK 36 88 mm gun on a

prime moyer half-track In complete traYelling mode.

Crew of 1.t Batterie HamburgOsdorl in Betlon with gun Nt to engep te...... Note the hnpre$$M tally of 'kill' riog$

painted on the bllrTet.

I

22

and defeat of Axis forces from North Africa. This culminated in the banle of EI Alamcin. 23 October to 4 Nm·ernlx:r 1942, and ahcn'~drds he relentlessly pursued Rommel tow-dnls Tunisia. In his MemQirs, Montgomery records on 24 October, in the early part of EI Alamein, that, 'There was nOt Ul,U eagerness on the pall of senior commanders to push on and there was a fear of t.::lIlk casualties; e\"ery enemy b'Un was reponed as an 88 mm.' According to German records for 1942, the Afrikakorps only had 86 88s directly employed in the anti-tank role, but these were obviollsly bolstered by LuftwalTe guns. The reputation of the 88 as a '/Touped togetJler in a concentrated defensi\·e p0sition called a 'PaK from", to mCCt armoured thnlsts by the enemy. The concerled fire of thc ;lnti-t.ank guns would Ulcn break up the assault. Initially, thc tactic worked well, but massive Russian tank atlack.<; m"er-

Ab.ndoned 88 mm FlaK 37 gun belnll ex.mlned by British troops lilt they sdvsoc:e tOW.rdl the L'E..eaut canal near the Dutch

bonier. " appears tt\at the c..... used the trees .. natural. camouflage to screen the gun from Allied HriaI reconnalsunc:e.

whelmed such efTOIu simpl}' b), nllmelical supeliOlity. Unfortunately for the frollliine soldier, there was a lack of specialised allllllunition caused by a severe shortilge of tungsten, the tough steclused in armourpiercing allli-tank amlllunition. With supplies of this metal IllllCh reduced, it was decided to reservc exisling stocks for tools to make more weapons. 1-I0\I'C\'cr, in order 10 defe,lt Ihe -1:34 and he.wier So\'iet tanks, the army d(.'Sperately needed an ami-lank gun with higher mU7.zle velocity than the standard 50 mill POlK 38. Oeplived of such a weapon. the Wehllllacill demanded unrestricted supplies of tungsten-core ammunition which could be fired from exislillg g-uns and would pencu
Rrupp responded by modif}illg thc flaK 37. which became known as the 88 mill POlK 43 on entering sc.....ice in 19-13. It had a vcr), IO\\' silhoueuc and was tiued with a \,.ell-sloped shield to protect the crew. TIle gun was still mounted on the k»'m/liff'Ilf', cruciform carriage, and l1ued with pneumalic tyred I\'heels for transportation. bill the design now incorporaled two sets of single lYres. L..u er, the pncumatic lyres \\'crc :lhered 10 a solid design as rubber supplies declined. The Pak 43 could be bronght into action by simply loweringjacks which IXlre the II'eighl of the G1niage, while the two SCts of tr.msport \\'heels wcrc removed and the 'outrigger' srubilising anns wcre lowered into place. TI1C G1niage design was :l departure from the st:mdard practice of fiuing split trails to ami, lank guns. As a true ami-tank gun. lhe ele\
23

TIle la}'out of this lIew version ohhe 88 gun resuhed in a much lower profile, only 2.02 m in height, and when the wheels were removed from the platform, the PaK 43 could be set so close lo-the ground ,hat the height to l..he top of the gun shield was 1.5 metres, which made concc"lmcnt much c:lsier. The main drawb
A PaK 43/41 towed anti-tank gun with the distincllve doI.Ible·baffle muzzle brake. Note the well_ sloped gun shiP:! and junction whe... the to.nel connection is made. (Ian Hoggj

24

was a minor problem, since most anti-tank guns ,,'ere operated frOm well prepared defensive positions. With its bogie wheels removed, the combat weight of the I'ak 43 was reduced to 3,700 kg and when sited in prepared anti-UlIlk defences to form 'PaK Front~' the outrigger arms could be further secured by hammering in metal stakes to prevellt 1Il0\'emelll during recoil. The tiring mechanism was electric, an unusual fe-dture for a field weapon, and safery switches were built in to ensure that the gun would not fire if it happcned to be at a particular angle or elevation where the breech mighl strike OIIC of the platform legs on recoil. The breech mechanism was a semi·automalic vel'lical slide action, which ejected the lacquered steel caruidge case after firing. The barrel was 6.2 III in length and could fire lip 10 len rounds per minute with three types of amlllunition a\~,ilablc, all of which were the 'Iixed' type. 11 was also tined with a double-baffie 1lI11z;de brake lO help reduce the force of recoil on firing. The high-explosi\c projectile weighed 9.2 kg with a lIluu.le velocity of 968 m/sec, and could be fired out to ranges of 21.000 m to prO\'ide artillery support to infanul" In the antj-lank role the l)aK 43 fired the swndard armour piercing Ilmgslen cored shell, Ihe AP 40, which weighed 10.4 kg, and was termed AJ'CR (armour piercing core rigid). The AP 40 had a muzzle vclocit) of 1,200 m/sec and (Quid penetr.u.c some 16i mill of armollr at 1.000 III range at 30 d<:grees impact. Even at 2.000 III it could still penctnlle more than 139 lIun or ;1TI110ur at a ~O degree impact. Special anti-tank shclls llsing Ihe chemical eneq,'Y of high explosive, known as I IEAT (high explosive antitank) to penetrate armour \,'ere in the design stage when the war ended in 1945 and never s... . w senicc. IJ)' all)' standards, the POlK 43 was a trul)' outstanding design, proving itself to be a highly successful weapon whCt"e\'er it appeared.

A: THE FLAK 37

A

p

,•

•"

:" •z

. ii

B

C: THE FLAK 41

c

E

F

D

THE FLAK 18 KEY

SPECIFICATION

1 Hydro-pneumatIC recuperator tor sacuing bMeI when ... lronsll 3 Traversing pedestal to perrT\lt 360 degree traversiog to loHow targets 4 Gun cradle to supporl barrel 5 Trunnion beari,'lQS 6 CDp square 10 secure the bar~ trunnrns 1'1 place 7 &lanc.-.g gear support brocket for use when barrel IS elevated 8 Saddle of nvetecl and welded dcs'9n to support the barrel and pernllt mounting Of) 2 Barel rest

16 Recoil lube 17 Barrel ~l, screw threaded; straight stepped diSIIl)(;1 from later models such as FlaK 36 and risK 37 18 Telescopic sight lor direct tire in anti-lank

",,,

9 Metal sacurfig spI~e CJ( stake; hammefCd into QfOlXld 10 secure the cnJCiIorm legs of platform when used from dug-in defensive

".,,"""

10 Elevatng mecllarlsm handle for use in Mti-aircraft role 11 Filing platform: CfUC!!oonln plan view with

Height: 2.4 m Width {front): 219 m Width (rear): 2,3 m Overall dimension in firing role:

19 Sool tor antl·alrcraft gunner 10 monitor

Length: 5.8 m

predictor selll'lQS 20 Anll-mn;:mft SIght 001

Height: 2.1 m Width of outrigger arms: 5.14 m Weight in action: 4,986 kg

21 Gunner'S 5001 22 Spade usocl tor digging 10 23 HOfiZonlal lOvClhng mechanism for hne

balancing when 51100 In positiOn

pedestal

Overall dimensions In travelling role: Length: 7.7 rn

24 Angle indicator for

o~tkln

of barrel

Calibre: 88 mm Overall length of barrel: 4,7 m Length and type of rifling: 4 m with 32 grooves rigtlt t\{111{l twist Total weight of barrel: 1,336.7 kg

25 Traversng mechansm handle 2tI Muzzle of barrel

Munle velocity: 820 mlsec

27 Barrel

Maximum range horizontal: 14.813 m

28 Rommlog mechanlsm and folding gUo3fd

Maximum ceiling: 9,900 m

protector for use In anll rnrcraft role

29 Finng lever

Rate 01 fire: 15 rounds per rT'lII"lUle

Maximum effective ceiling at 70 degrees: 7,620 m Maximum etevatton: "S5 degrees

to the end of each arm to ~te for

30 Follow the pointer dials 9'\1lOg information when engaging alrCfaft 31 Telescopic SIftlt ZF20E to Pf(Mde elevation and attnvth oglllnst aH typeS Of mow19 targets: navVl. oonaI ond QfOlJIld

uneven ground

32 Eyepiece lor tcloscopic sight

Time into action Irom travelling with 6 man crew: 2.5l1ullulos

33 Fire control OQu1prnoot

Time out of action to travelling with 6 man crew: 3,5 mlnlltos

outrigger arms In lOwered posIHon 12 Fuze-selling 9QlJIPr'l'lenllor use WIth sheIs

in anll-a.-craft role 13 Slab*;.Ing jacks

'Of balance: OflC was fitted

14 Breed'l mochanism

15 Equilibrators 10 b;:llance the muzzle of the

""~

Maximum depression: -3 degrees Traverse: 360 degrees Length 01 wheelbase: 4,19 m Groond clearance: 34.7

em

Crew: 11 to 12 men ioclucliog dnver ot prime fT'lO\Ief lowwlg vctuclo

D: THE FLAK 18

Q: RAILWAY MOUNTED ANTI·AIRCRAFT GUN

G

PaK 43/41

- In order to eng
Thl~ resulting design was a large, cumbersome \\"'-·apon. \\'h;ch the troops quickly nickllamed 'Schl'lUll'tol. the '1).1.111 door', Ix'callse of ils huge J{UIl shield. W;th :111 o\er.11I tr.l\'elling lell~th of 9.1~) III it was Ile\'I-'r popular .....ith the gunners \\ho found it.s 4.~ kg combat weight dum.s)" to maIlOCU\TC. particularh ill the deep ~no\\ and mud on the Ru.s\>ian Front. l11t: PaK 43/41 was 2.53 III in width and 1.98 m in height. But, despitc this, there \\-.-IS nothing: wrong with the oper'llional performance of the IWW design; the only real d'-;I\\back was its weight which hampered mobililY. As usual there was a prict~ 10 pay for the lIew Icchnolobry. Tlie PaK 43/41, allhough still of HS IllITl C:llibre. was ,I lllurh-altered \\'('''pOIi and

II. 314 rear view of a PaK 43141

bnlech mechanism. Note the bol-girde,..type trail legs and the la~ spades which would normally be deployed when 51ted in 50ft ground. {tan HogS)

33

5

Side-on ",lew of the right side of e PeK 43/41. The wheels are fItted wIth -.otid rubber tyres rather then pneumatic. Note the length of the barrel which termln.ales In the double-bettie ml.lU.le brake which controlled recoil. (Lan Hogg)

34

bore lillie resemblance 10 Ihe original 88. The barrel lenglh W;IS 71 calibres and il was filled \\'ilh a double-baffle Illuule bmke 10 reduce recoil forces on firing. The larger shell weighed 23 kg, and produced dense douds ofsmo"e on filing. \\hich in cold. calm we.nher condilions could linger .Irollnd lhe ,ile oflhe b>'lln's position. This nOI onl" belmyed lhe posilion oflhe \\·capon. but il also obscured 1Il(" gunner's sighl when lravening Ihc weapon 10 engage lhe next largel. h was recommendt:d. lherefore, lhal rail'S of lire Ix" kepi 10 under 15 rOUllds per minUlC in order 10 prevenl build-up of vibralion in the barrel. Howe\er, no gun cre\\' could ('\cr expccllO lire 15 rounds per minule. especially ghen Lhe I:ICI lhal lhc IICW ~hdb weighed almosl ll\'ice as much a~ the original 88 11\11I shell, and ICII rounds pcr minule \\'"as lhe given spedlic:llioll. Evell al r:mg(''! of lIIore than 3,000 III the ne\\' shell sli1l had more 1>CIICII~lIive powcr lhall lhe orihrinal 88 mill shell al 1.000 m. At c1o~(' l<mgl's till: nl:W shells wen, Iruly de"ast'lling. and one doctlmented accourH illll~tnl1e'! how w('llthe 88 111111 gUll fUllctioned 011 the RIlS~hlll Front: 'pe1H,tl~l1i\'l' performance of the Panzergranat 39 [the s\.andard armour-picrcing shell for the RR 111111 as also used by thc gUllS of Tig'er tanks] is .'lalisf:1C'1011' at all rang'Cs, so that all ctlcmy lanks appearing' in litis seCIor - -1:'~4, KV1, .JS2 - could be cllg'ag'cd with dcslrorillg' e!leel, On h,;ing hit, lht' tanks showed danillg' flal11e lhrec l11elrcs l1ig'h and were hllrned (1111, TIIlTets w(~r(' 1110StJr kllockcd of1'or tonI away, A 1:';14 was hit from lhl' 1"('ar al a rangl; of 400 lIlctres alld 1I1c eng'inc block was tlung ml! a dislarU'j' of fi\'(' mctres and the ILllTel cupola for 15 l11elres', Allhough lhe PaK 4!\!41 wa.~ lIlOSt widdr used on the Russian Fronl, some units wert: :d'lo c1epl0Y',rt against the Weslern Allics as lhey foughl 10\\';lrds Germany. 1\)' 19·14 lhe Allies had even t'ncollllu:red thc 88 in hair••md a grudging respect for lhe powerful gun hegan to emcrge. In 19-16, a German officer caplllfed al Salerno explained the actions of his b::1uerr of 88 mm anli-tank gUIl~ to an American onicer: '\I.,'el1, it's like lhis. I '\~l'! on a hill as a ballcl1' commander with ~ix RR mm anti-tank b'lIllS, and lhe AmeriGlIls "Cpl scnding t:lnks down this road. We kepI knocking them out. [\Cl"\ limc thc} selll a tank \\'C "nocked il OUL Fin.tlly. we rdn out of

Rear view of Pak 43/41 10000Ing forwan:l along the length of the gun ft'om the bl'eech end. TlMt bo:o:-glrder trails are de9loyed with ~ lo_rect. Note the very narrow wMtth 01 the gun which helped In com:ealment on the battJefie4d. (Ian Hogg)

"

arnllllllliriOIl and the AmcriGU1~ didn't run Ollt of latlks.' To put it alll/thel' way. the action, althollg-h rcklli\cly low scale. \\~tS O1lC uf aLlri,iOIl, to set' which side would give lip tirst. But thai is no way 10 condUCt a combat aninll. The lI(:xl trying time for Ihc.' Wt:slern Allied armour Glllll' dllrillg" DoDay Ull G Jllllf' 1944. Jlere. tIll' news of the 88s in all \'('I'S10115,

including rhe FlaK lR and PaK 43. as well as tank guns and "cll~ propelled models. were wailing fe)l" the Allinl armour. As til(: fighting: extended inland to the area or Frcl\ch countryside known a.. the /J{J("(/f:!". the XR cominlled to exact a loll Oil Allic.:d tanks and other (·quipnwllt. In OIlC cng;.lgl:Jllent. for example, ,II 51 Aignanr1l·-Cr.llI\l'~llil. the I'olish 2nd Armoured Regimelll W,IS badly mauled and lost ninc tanb 10 tltlC 88. out ufa total of26 tan\..s deslrovcd. Br '\ugu,1. aftcr much hard lighting tht.· Allies were approachillg Paris. where defell("('" \\'en: Ix:lic\,t.·d

Detail of the breech mechanism of a PaK 43/41 showing the hori:r.ontal action of operation. Being semi-automatic. It ejeetect the shell case when opened wtlk:h allowed the loadef- to Insert another round with little delay. (Ian Hogg)

10 illdudt.' at least 20 h;Hteries of HH gUlls. In the ('\elll. Pari.. was declared an 'open cit}'. hut e\'en as the Allies ellu:red. sporadic lighting broke 0111 ami sOllie German ami-tank gunners used all 88 to opel1 lire 011 a French armoured columll

('quipped Wilh Sherman laub. The French retllrllCcl lhe lire with amal'ing accuracy aud dCSIl"O)'cd the gUII'S position.

•

Detail showing the c_tNCtlon of the Pall 4314' 88 mm barrel. It shows how sections are built up to allow any worn-out or damaged sectlons to be replaeed. Note the method of attachment for the dOYbie-baffle mu:r.:z1e braka. (tan H0fl9)

35

THE TANK GUNS The l>anzerKampfwagen VI 'Tiger r , SdKfl 181 AilsI' E. was introduced into sen"ice in mid-J942. [t \\'3S a slower and heavier lank thall previously used by the German army and had be(;n dC\'c1opcd ill rt..'spunsc to the appearance of the Russian K\'-I and T·3'1 lan~ on the [ ..stem Front. II had been decided l..h:u l..his 55 tonlle lank, with armuur up to 110 lIun chick in Il."lrts, would be (."{Iuippcd Wilh an 88 llllll !-I"llll as the main annamem, rather than a 75 nUll weapon. The weapon selected was it

The Hotn/,.. SdK'z 1&4 ..11propelled h
Russia. (Ian

'II

36

H~"I

--

version of the 88 111m FlaK 36 with a ha'TeI ICllglh of 56 Gllibrcs and tcmu~d KwK 36 L/56 (Kmlll'.!wilg,."klmOl/l' 36). II \\~t.~ balanced by a he:ny spring comained in a lUbe 10 Ihf' If'n of the IUITel. The haorrel wa<; fined ,,;th a double baflle lllu7.Zle brake in order 10 reduce the recoil. along ";lh a recoil mt.'Chanism which ll..<;c..·d a s}'<;lem of hrrlraulic buffers ,,;th hydropneumatic rt.'Cuper.llors, which allowet'llhe b.... m to he filled imo the LUITet of the Tiger 10 The breech mffh:lIlism for the KwK 36 was similar ill dcsij.,'ll to the 75 mm calibre IA3 anrilAR lank b.... ms. and uniquely. the Tiger I Ausf E w,..... the on I}' \'ehide to hl' filled '\ith this \Oersion of the 88 TTlIll gun. The gun \\';1..<; still e1ecuicallv fired. as were all German tank b'llllS, and used the s..u ne 'Hle of ammunition as the !-laK 18. 36 and 38 gUlls. although it W'I..<; referred 10 as ";mzergr.mate (pzgr) to identify <;to<:\.:...<; a<; "mk ammunilion. The ammunition. as wi,h all ,..mk gUllS, was <;Iill of the fixed round 'HlC. Two I\'pes of ammunition were used b}' the KwK~} LlJ6 gun, the pzgr 39 and I'/gr 40, \\'hich could penetrale up 10 100 mm and 138 mm of annour plate at ranges of 1.000 m rlC'SpeCli\'c1}. The Tiger Inonually carried a lotal of92 rounds rcold}' to USt' within the \Oehicle, hut some 8-1 tanks were fitted with additional mdio equipmelll which reduced the number of rounds carried to only 66 shells. The first combat unil 10 receive the Tiger I waS the 1st Plaloon of Ihe 502nd schwere Panlt'rabteilung. w'hich \"('111 into anion at Leningrad in August 1942. The Tiger [ saw sen ice \\'iLh hea\)' lank llniLS of at least three SS di\'isions, indlldi ng Ihe (;rossdClllSChl;llld Division, and inllicted hea\y losses on all fronts where it \\';.15 deplored, Perhaps aile of tile finest momcnts - and a demonsu";'ltion of tile power of the wcapon - came at the hands of Obersturrnfldlrcr ~'licllael Wittlll,tnll, cOlTllnallding the

An 88 destroyed by the RAf ltylng In support of the British 8th Ann" Note the twin-tyl1lCl ~.tio; wheels and barTel suppott. it has been ",""heel

.Iong with its half-track prime mooring vehicle,

2/sSS-I),.Abl 101, during Ihe ~orulandy Calnp;li~"1 ofJune 19+1. On lhe morning' of 13June Will manu cOllcl'aled him~e1f in a small cop~e he~ide lhe road leading OUI ofViltcrs-BocaJ.{c where he could ob~ne a colllmn ofvcJlicles from the 7th AnllOlll'ed Division Ill\l\'illg frolll the town, Tllt~ COlU11lll illduded a lank haHalioll from lhe 4th County of Lundon Yt'Oma11l)' (Sharpshoolers) and elements of 1st Kine Brigade in half-lrack carrier... \Viu111ann wailed Ilrllillhe column \'~lS lc.~s Ihal180 1ll a\\~l)' from his pmilioll, ;lIld opened firc on the leadin~ tank, a Cromwl'll, deslro)'ing il Wilh a ~illgle ShOL The road fOl'ward was now blocked 10 Ihe column, and, l:Ikillg advantage of the ~itualioll. \\'iltmann moved along the length of the colulIIlI firing as he \,'ClH. For d;uing and audacil}' the action was a mastenilroke, bUl AJlied sliperioril)' in llumbcrs ol'\·chiclt."S IllCalll that such cng-.lgements could nOI be maintained b} Ihe Gcnnans 1\110 were experiencing I(~>istical resllpply problems. The Tiger I was ill scnice from 1942 umillhc end of the war ill 1945 bUI despite it~ psycholog'ical valul:' its size ami weight meant that it could be OUI-manoeuvred by Ihe more agile Allied tanks which used the simple expedient of ,Iltadin~ from the rear. Iluwc\'cr, once agaill. the presenCt' of the mere SS IIUll gun had lerritic prupaganda value, because its prowess was wildl>' exaggerated by Allied troops. Illdeed il would appear that this combination of gUll and armour imtilled 1:\1' more dre,ld than the actual numbers of "chicles commilled lu the haltlcJicld would ha"e us bdil'\'l'. 111c P/Kpfw VI Tiger 1(' Ausf B. SdKf7 1821in;1 entered ser\'ice with tr.lining units between Febnlarv and \la\' 191-1. \,ith the fir'Sl unit:. alTI\ing in :"l"onnandy in June 1914. These t:mb werc anned \,'ilh the morc powerful \ersion Oflhl' 88mlll gun, "'hich h;ld a barrel length of 71 calibres and "'as ha...ed on the highly successful PaK 43 de~igl1, the KwK 4:\/L71. The cartridgc c;:lses were modified, but the projeClilcs tlwm~cl\'es (I~anzergranalc) wt'rc the S<,llle as IIHlse fired b} lhe:: FlaK 41. The Tiger II carried 78 rounds, and the I'zgr 40/43 shell collld pCnetrillt: lip \0 193 IllIl1 of armour at rangc~ of" 1,000 m. The st'mi-

37

automatic breech mcchaniSrll was a simplified of lhat filled to thc Tigcr I, being based on the same weapon. the 7j !llIll L48 and 88 mm L",6. A.. with all tank guns, they wen~ liLted with "crlkal sliding brecch-blocks and were operated hy ..pring anions of the tH~: Ii lied 10 the PaR and FlaK versions of the 88 IIlIlI Kllll. The j..'l.1Il mOllllled in the Tiger II W;'l~ lilted with a doulJlchallle muale brale lor rccoil cOlllrol and represented lhe largest t} pc uf main armalllcllt IU be fittl."d to a com clliionally dc~igllcd opel-dtional lank in service with dlt.' Cennan ;'Inny. UnfOt"llillaleh. the high \'duciIY ammunition wore down the barrel. ~o later lIIodels were fitled with guns conlitntcled in fWO 1);.lrl.... This \\~d." similar to tlte barrel con'ltruc:riutl of the "landaI'd 88 ml1l alld 1~llllitted Ihe e;.1.\\ replacemelll of \\'orn p."1rlS rather thall the whole ban·el. On I} #I:, unils of ttu.· Tiger II were compleled, but th1.1' S:IW 'l('r"icf" hetwef"tl their introduction in 19-.14 and the end of the \\~lr itl 1~)1,). Th(' L7l \ersion of Ihe RR nUll gun \\
Captured 88s tJe{~ eumlned by British troops jl,rst MKIth of R _ In J .. n~ry 1"",. TheT had fi..-cl on • eGnY07 •• It mowed out of the Anzio DeKfltleaci. Count..... fire foreecl the eI'8W to ab.-ndon the gun ¥lrt~11y ln18el.

THE SELF-PROPELLED UNITS

38

Known variously as citller the ·Sf/.f/W/'II' (nlinoceros) or . Horllisv" (hornet), the SdKfz 164 wa.s lhe rirM ~r('('i;\li'l('-{l tracke-d self-propelled allli-t:lllk gUll to eilln st:nicc \\ith Ihe German army. Fined with lhe PaK 43/1 L/71 vcrsion of the AA mill gUll, the Aut P,,:Jg Ill/IV had been de:sig-Ill.'d ill 19..2 spccifically to provide a 1llObik platform for the anlit;mk j..'l.Ul. O\'<'r 100 lIlli .... were planncd fol' May 1943. Thc Na.'>hom wa.s dcveloped in response to the problems cxperienced by troops lryin,l!; 10 rnm'e the towed \'ersion or lhe PaK 4~\ lhrulIg'h lhe (!l.·ep llllld Oil the: Eastern Front. The chassis came rrom a 1',Kpfw IV hllil and suspensioll. II was fined with a Marh;.tch Ill. 120 TRM V·l~ waler-cooled illlilic petrol e:1I!4ille: which developed 300 hp al 3.00U rpm 10 /{ive specds of 40 klll/h on roads and 24 krn/h CroSS-cOllllll"}. wi1h a combat l'ang:e of llP to 200 km. The carrier chassis had Iu be l110diticet to provide a large fighting (orllpartmem which \\",\S laid uut behind the centrdine of the hull, and Illcaflt lowering the deck of tiwi cotnpartmelil. with the RR mm b'lln InOUIII fixed to Ihe Hoor. \\'Ilell fflullflted, tile 111111.1.11' of llw harrel carne to a height of 2.24 m. sOllie 600 111111 higher lhan when the gun wa.. 011 ib towed cnlcifonn ground moun!. It ('Huld he elevated between -5 degrees and +20 degrcc~, with tra\'erse heing restricled 10 30 degrees. Tilt: "ehide had a crew of four
A completely

destro~

88,

po. .lbfy • flaK 3&, somewhe...

In Hollllncl 1944.

\

88 111111 gUll well enough. It could scale \"enical obstacle~ up to 600 lIlIll ill height, cross tl'enclws up to 2.3 III wide and negotiatc gl'adicnL" of ~O df'gn;cs. III filCt. thi" kind of capability allowed the \'ehic1C 10 be sited ill ideal tank ambush po"itions. With an O\·cr.. l1 IH:ig-lu of 2.95 Ill, the Nfl$h()nI just cOlllplied with the 3 1ll hei~hl regulation, ;111([ indeed. it was this very factor which g<1\'C rhe blTeau'SI c;lll.~C for COlleenl" The arri\'al of the IIro;t units of the No.shQnI Oil !lIC Eastern from. which went to the 6j5lh schwcrc Panle!jagcl
3.

654 and 653 PauLCrjagerabteilungell. Till: vchides gme good account of thcmseh'es .lIld wcn' later uscd in small numbers on lhe Italian front. In appearance the Ferdinand had a large boxlike superstmclllre which extelHlcd over the rear half of the hull, wilh as much slope to the armour as lhe dc~ign would allow. En:n though it was SCI so far hack, the barrel 01 the 88 llIlll gun still O\crhung the from b\' somc 1.2 meu·cs. The gun was laid using hanrl controls and could traverse ~8 dCh'Tec.."S and elc~\~t1e between -8 degrees and +14 degrees. Access to the figlll..ing compartment was through a circular hatch 10 the rear pl,lle, wlu.. re tlw .-;ix-man crew shared 11t(' ~pa("e with 50 rounds of 88 llllll ammunition. The Ferdinand W;l~ ahk to r1estroy mOst Allied tanks'll ranges far grt>;lIcr thall they could dfe("lively relurn fire. The grt'al thicklle~s 0[;11'1110111' me,lIllthat it was virtually ilWulnel" ~llId rcaI',

-

ABOVE AND BELOW TWo photographs showing • British .""r reooo..ery unit seizing .b.ndoned 88$ during the b.ttle of El AJ.meln, Although lett behind br the retreating enemy, ther were stilt serviceable and had to be remo..ed from the battlefield to denr them to the Gennan$ in the ....nl of • count...... ttaek.

I

•

c\. (~-

-.-'

40

•

Whh a combat weight of O\'er 65 tonne<>, the \ehides were in const:lnl dallgcr of bogging dO\m and carefill reconnaissance was 'imllo a\uid Ihis. The Ferdinand was capable of scaling \'crueal obstacles up LO 780 111111 in height. crossing lrenches of 3.2 III in ....idtJl and fording waler obstacles up to 1.2'1111 in depth. 111e bJTe;lt 5i7.c and slow 20 bu/h road speed. coupkd wilh a C(Jlnbal range of onl)' Ii'"JO k.m, made advance reconnaissance douhlr illlporl.:l1lt, Creat thillj.,'S h~ld been expecl(.'"(1 of this highly speciaJ&'(! lank. dl..'Slro'·CI· and th~ pcrfollned well al KUI'Sk before the ad\':lnt;lge of their h'rC:1l si...e was milled against dlem. Initially, thcy led the atl.'lck and broke through the 50\iel defcnc~, bill a.~ Ihe Russi;ms counter....'lltcrsul.'nw-h ofa l}llicalJagdpalllh('r b,.Ul.1Iioll Wd.'i ~ "chick..., bill ill realit), this I\·.L~ only ran:"ly realiSt.xl dill' 10 deli\'t."!1 diflicultiL.... Perhaps the onl) lime ;1 unit was abO\'e combat strength was when till' 6."'4th look de1i\'cl) somc 42 units, '111e \'ehide \\~IS in <;enict.' bctwt..>en 1944 and the I,.ISI da}s of dle war when sollie or the last sllni\ing "chicles were depIO)"L'"(1 10 SCI"C1'a1 Panzer Di\isions. including Ihe Fi"lhrer Grenadier Di,isioll. "111e Jagdp.mthcf had also given lhe AlliL'S a nasI)' surprise dUling Ihe ArdclIlIC'i Campaih'll in December 19·14, at it time \\'hen most considered Ihe \\m' in the WL':o1 I\~L" all but 0\'(:1: Although lI11dersl()(X] to he \"Cfy popular wilh iL" cn'.,\\'S, Ihe production run. which 1:lSled IrOIl1 Jannary 1944 until March I~H5. olll)' managed 10 lum 0111 !\82 w,hick'S.

of

TANK GUNS Penetration of armour plate at 30 degrees from verticat (mm): Weapon

Ammunition Weight (kg)

Muute 100m velocity

SOOm 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m

1m/see) KwK361

Pzgr 39'

10.2

773

120

110

100

91

84

Pzgr 40

7.3

930

171

156

138

123

110

102

1.000

203

185

165

'"

132

7.3

1.130

237

217

193

171

153

L56 KwK36I

L56 KwK431

Pzgr 39-1

L71 KwK431

pzgr 40143

L71 , Pzgr " panzergranate: Solid shot armotK-piercing shell.

41

MISCELLANEOUS 88s

42

TIlt: Schif[~kallolle C/35 and Untcrsccboutlafcllc Cj;"\5 were naval n:rsiolls of 111C weapon, used for arming surface ~Ilips and U-hoaL'\ rcspcCli,·c1)'. Although technically UJlrdalcd to ,lIt' 1110rc pnwerflll and ocltcr-knOlm PaK and FlaK \'cr~iolls 01111(' 8M llllil J.{1I11. and although its pCrfUnllanCe was not as good, lilt lighlwcig-ht C/:\5 \'~I~ "Iill \~Ihlable in hilting targets such as s!ow-Illm'ing landilll-:" emn. Although the \./35 was 01 l..hc :..iIlIlC Gllibrc a.~ thc anlj·;tircran. anrl anlj-lank gUlls. it was a totally dilTcrcllt weapon and its indusion here only really sen'es to illustrate how Ihe 88 llllll calihre gun appeared in variOllS shapes and si£t:"s. In file!. the C/J\5 aetllall~' represelllcd the lasl in a long line of 88 nun calibre ship and ,,"brnarine gun~ which had been used 10 ann Gennau warships in lhe Firsl World War. The gun "'a~ filled to a pedes!....1 mounung- and had a gun ~hield 10 protect the gun crew, complete \\;th chc.!>1 paID. 'L~ filled 10 lhe model for usc on U-boats. The gun was only illlendcd LO be Il-.cd as a "LOp-gap weapon, deploved 10 fill any weak SpoLS ill cffitst.tl dl'fl'nn'~, ;mel "Oille werc sitcd at \'arlous prepared coa~tal artiller"}' positions along Ihe ;-':orllland} coast. In olle en~gemelll on the Illoming- of O-Oa)', a dl'lachmcnt of C..m adian troops landing on Juno Beach found Ih('lll:-t'l\"e" under lire from one such mounting on the harbour exit al C.ollrseulles. The gUll continued 10 fire until it was finally dClolro)"ed h) Shennan tanks. One of the truly alllazill~ thinb'S aboUl the Cerman armamenLS indust!") is the fuct thal it continucd production of \\';u' maleriel until the lasl weeks of the .......11". This lIIay be \·ie.....('c! as a fOl'm of collecthe denial that the 'thousand ycar' Reich \\...l\ I()~illg the war. but for the allnamelllS manufacturers. at least. it \\...l'i hll~illeo;s as usual and \\here\"er possible the lathes kept tlIllling lIlllillhe \·P .....' lasl. Khcillrnetall. for example. was in\"ohcd in a pkm to mount all H8 mill Flal\. 41 on to the chassis of a Parltller tallk to provide anOlher self-propelled 'gonalturrel which would h.tve bet'l1 altlln,~t as long as the I'anther ch;L'isis, more than G rn ill Icllg-lh. Tht, on'rall Iwighl of the \'ehicle was jusl ullder the 3 III restriction placed 01\ arrnullred lighting vehicles dc\'e!opmellts. The whole of the C('nlr(' ~{'ction of the superstructure was removed down to tht' u';Kk"guard'l, and the hllge turrel, with its ~~GO degree traverse capabilily, W;l~ mOllnled 011 the pi\ot Celllre. It was a 1asl g.:ISP frolll a dying giam and complelely unworkable at :lny sl;.lg-e ill the war because of the enormous amount of refitting" involved ill cOJlvcnillg the Panther chassis. Anolher Iau..'-\\~lr weapon progr:Jlllllle \\"'LS the IArllti' Ei"heilsll'ajJmlmf!.IT or 'light st"amlardiscd wC"".dpons carriagc', one \('l"iion of \\hich would h;we bL'Cll cquipJX'd wilh an 88 mill l'aI\.4:-I L/71 \\;lh 34 !'Ulllltilo ofamlllUllitioll. Krupp had o\"cr.dll comrol of the project Wilh, Rheillllll.:tt.llI, Ankh and

l"\T all dnn..,xn~ differelll chassis for producing: the eanier to 111\I1SpOn dismount.lbk artillen. Versions using IO!> mm gllllS had provided lhe concept. ~ on the Panzer III/IV ch~l'i.'iis, as early as 19-13. but the Ordnancr Prm-ing Branch 4 had considen'd the programme lOU costl\'. Production was to have commenced in the spring of 1945. with a production rale 0£350 units per lIIomh b\' September 194.=.. TIle weapon had a full 360 degree If'a\'crse "..tlh the &I.:lllllll \'cr~ioll being filled \\;l1l the

An 88 mm FlaK de9loyed In _ _

near ElaraoY in Russl.II. Capable of destroying Russian tanks at long range, the 88 p " . the Genmln anny an edge over

maned lanl< attacks.

Rblf36 sight uniL It was cap
•

"

43

A FI.K 37 being used In an anti· t8nk role. The gun Is ground emplaced on lis cruciform platform with wheels In the background of picture. Note the m.n .t lett handling ammunition lrom the wtcker boll" for shell•.

44

rigid'1l101ll11cd guns in lhe Jag-dpalll.hcr ~(I) had proved the concept worlablc. hUI in the cnd lhe programme was jusl anolhcr sct of bltlcprim plans for lhe AJlie'; to examine arcer Iheir ,'klOr". Fill:tll\'. lhere is lhe case of the J)winlkll1/01/, a singk--shul recoilless KUII llIoullled in aHacl aircIOlfl :Illd designed for lISC aWlin'it ground tarJ.:"ct.'l. Sc"eral de\"e1opmellt progr,umnes had becn in prugrcs-'i since 1939. bUllhe most promising oflhcSt: was Ihe RJ1einlllct.lll 'DKM4:~' or 'OUK.-\-SR nun', \,·hich. as the term implied, used lhe standard projectile head of the 88 mm high explrn-i\"e 1-1aK shell, bUI filled In a special canridge case. 'n1e weapon ,\~ts filled \\ilh lhe usual sliding breech block. hut Ihe chamber had lwn ,·t'lHuri tubes through which the ernUl' of gases could pass whell fired, greatl)' reducing recoil on firing. '111e "'t"apon \\~IS loaded prior 10 take-ofl' and 011 firing it functioned like >;Iandard recoilless weapon.' in lise \,'itll j.,.....oulld forc(.'S. The f)1lSt'lIkwWII£ packed all the powcr of tht, normal 88 mill, Ihe only drawback lx'ing the fact th;H it had ollly olle ~hot. Developmcllt \\~IS iu h;md to Illanufacture a l1lulLiple-shOl. vcrsiou, hut the \\~Ir ended before it could he produced. The tl8 in all it.s guises had sel'ved the Gentian :ll'llH:d fOl'ces long and failhfully, It had been used on att rronL~, ill all weathers ;md terrain, ami had a record of achic..:n:lI1cnt s('cond to none. \Vhc..:l'c\'cr German troops had been deployed ill tx:cllpied territories, lhe 88 had follOl\'cd. Even ill

Mtd~ me only pan 01 Brili.~h '('ITilOr)' 10 be occupied 1940 iUld I~'-E~. the Cennans deplo)'tOd 96 lIniL" or tht.' 88 10 .serw iL' .lJ1u-am..T 3.ft gun . ,,;!.h a secunda!) role as co.i.slal
the:' (Junnd I

bt.-"",Ttn

BIBLIOGRAPHY The following readily available works are r(,commended for thost: intercSlt'f! in further readillg" 011 this IOpic: Chant. Chri,stopher, TWflllil'/h eel/tur)' War "'(/("illfS; I.owl, Ch:uu't'llor Press. 1999 Davies. WJK.. r.rmum II I'm)' I/alll/book; /9J9-/9-15. Ian Allan Lid .. 1973 Deighlon. Len, Blit::k"t'R",Jon:llhall c..pc Lid .. 1979 Ellis. Cllri~. and Chamlx'dain, I~elcr. nu· 88; nU! !'1(lK/PaK 8.8I'm, l:>arkgale Ikloks Lid.. 1998 Fulter. M"ti0r-GeneralJ.F.C, cl al., muja" "IiJt/(I)'. Odhams Press LIC\. (Publica lion datc unknown, prior 10 diUillg:) Hogg, Ian. nU' 1~l1ryr!()/H'dia ofll'mpon/). Greenwich Editions. 1998 Hom;. Ian. nl' !III/stralm f:1I0'r!o/Jnlia oj IIrtlll")', Quarto Publi~hillg 1~1c, 1987 Hogg. lal1, 'f1w bll)'do/N'{/ill oj II/Jimtr), \1',>II/)OIIS vf l1'vrld Wiu II, Anm & Armour Press Ltd" 1<)77 .Johnson. Curt, Ar'ifln}'; 'I'll" /Jig (;IIIIS (;0 To \\\
45

COLOUR PLATE COMMENTARY A: THE FLAK 37 The FlaK 37 version of the 88 mm gun was used by the Luftwaffe lO( the anti-alrcraft role throughout the whole penod of the war between 1939 and 1945. II was operated by an eleven-man crew. with mobilItY belng provlded by the SdkfZ 7 haH-track prime-rTIOVef". Ahhough tasked primarily with engaging enemy aircraft. for whICh it was eqUipped with either the Zunderste!lmaschine 19 or 37 fuze seller, the AaK 37 was supplied with armour-piercing shells and could engage tanks and fire high-explosive shells al ground t8lgels. Depending on conditions it could be used with or without the gun shield in place. Here the FlaK 37 has had its gun sl'1le1d removed and is free-standing on its cruciform mounted for firing from a static position. The recuperator is clearly visible above the barrel, with the recoil cylinder under the barrel. The equilibrators can be seen protruding from in between the cradle into which the barrel is fitted by means of the trunnions. Elevation was between -3 degrees and +85 degrees with full 360 degree tra....erse either emplaced as here or with the road wheels fitted to the platform. The seat for the controller operating lhe elevation and traversing controls is ....Isible 00 the right hand SIde with the almer's and firer's seat on the left hand SIde, FIlted to the end 01 each leg of the cruciform platform IS a stabilISing jack which ensured a fum gnp when lowered. The bamIl of the flaK 37 was 'stepped' wtwn the ba-rel joints w«e secu-ed, and had an overaIIleogth of 4.9 m with 32 rifting grooves .... a right hand Iwlst.. The ovemlI hetght was 2.42 m and the width was 2.3m. It had an al-up traveb1g weight in the order of 6,861kg with an 0Yef3lI1ength of 7.62 m. The gun detachment compnsed of .....en men, who were detailed off as following: 1) Gun Commander. 2) Tractor dri....er. 3) Layel'" lor eIe....ation. 4) layer for line tra....erslng. 5) Loader. 6) Ammunition handler. 7) Ammunition handler. 8) Fuze setter operator. 9) Fuze setter: round handler. 10) Ammunition handler. 11) Ammunition handler.

46

With a rate of fire at 15 rounds per minute the elevenman crew were kept busy when In action. The number of ammunition handlers were necessary If Ihe gun was to be kept firing during the height of the battle and good training meant they knew unerringly what to do in any Situation. Should any member of the crew be Inlured or killed another crewman would stand In lor that role, which, If1 the case 01 ammunitlOfl handlers, that meant redoubling their efforts to keep up wrth supplying shells. For greater stabiity !he crucdorm platform CCIl.Ad be luther secued in place by means of steel pegs betng harrmered into the !J"Ol..Ifld ttYoogh special slots at the end of each leg. A/ttloI.9l this eosurecI stability when firing, it did mean more

time spent coming out of action. In fact, lhis means of securing the platform probably led to the high number of weapons being abandoned during lactical withdrawals.

8: THE PAK 43/41 When the PaK 43141 .... erslOfl of the 88 mm gun arrWed 00 the Eastern Front in 1943 it was as a direct result of appeals by the army for a more powerful antl·tank gun, whICh would have enough 'punch' to destroy the heavy Russian tanks. Although it was used mamly in RUSSIa, the PaK 43141 did see limited service agaJnst the Western Allies. The gun carriage Itself was formed from a composite design USing components from weapons on to which was fitted the long-barrelled 88 mm gun, with Its distinctive double-battle muzzle brake. Although 01 standard 88 mm Calibre Ihe chamber was enlarged to accommodate the bigger cartndge case which produced muzzle velOCities of 3,282 fps with the standard armour-piercing shell, 3,710 fps with the armour-piercing composite rigid shell and 2,640 fps with the high-e)(p1osi....e shell. In fact, the powerful APCR 'AP 40/43' shell could penetrate 241 mm of vertical armour at 1,000 m and t59 mm of ....ertical armour at 2,250 m ranges. The PaK 43/41 was the only two-wheeled towed ....ersion 01 the 88 to be de....eloped and enter service. Despite its IXIwerlul performance the PaK 43141 was not a popular weapon With the crews who nick-named the gun 'Barndoor' on account of its large size. With a weight in the order of 4,380 kg and an O'Ierallleogth 019.14 m it was a stl\Jggle for the crew to manoeuvre the gun In the snow and mud on the RUSSIan Front. As the rubber shortage in Germany became more critical pneumatIC tyres were replaced by littlng a series of solid rubber bands to pressed steel wttee(s. ThIs IS what IS seen here as the crew prepares to load an armour-Piercing shell, idenitifled by itS black-coloored PfOIOCtde head, In readiness to engage tanks on the Russian Front. The traIl spades fitted to the ends of each arm of the split trail ha....e been lowered into position to assiSt in controlling the recoil of the gun, by digging into the ground as the gun fires.

c:

THE FLAK 41 Responsibility for providing anti-aircraft defence to the German homeland fell squarely on the Luftwatte, which had to pro....ide thousands of extra personnel in addition to those troops serving In frontline units. In the first years of the war the first ....ersions of the 88 mm FlaK guns were sufficient to deal with the Allied bombers, but as hea....ier bombers were introduced the Luftwaffe pressed for the introduction of the long-awaited FlaK 41. As the newer Allied aircralt flew at higher altitudes the FlaK 41 was the only gun for the moment which could be used to engage them With any success. The FlaK 41 had been on the draWing boards since 1941, but It was not until 1943 that the first uOils entered service, by whlch tIme the Allies were nyulQ 'Thousand Bomber' raids Into the Industnal heart of Germany. For home defence $Ill FlaK 41s were formed into a Flakbatterie, which was sub-dMdecl into ttvee platoons or Flakzug, each with two guns. In frontline units the runber of guns 10 a battery was reduced to lour, but had the addlbonal protectlOO of two batteries 01 20 mm AA guns. Each FlaK 41 was served by a crew of 12 men, includIng an assistant gun layer, and under ideal conditions COlIld

achieve a /iring rate of twenty rounds per mll'lute The g..'l had an enlarged chamber to accept the more powetfU cartridge which could be used 10 engage targetS II'l excess of 49.000 feel, which was more than adequate 10 (X)lKIter aircraft of the day. With a muzzle velocity of 3,280 fps the FlaK 41 could be used to engage all aircraft types, I'lCludrlg the escort lighters accompanYIng the dayfight bomber formations 01 the USAAF, whlch is what is seen here. To assist in loading the heavier sheIs when the bamlI was elevated to extreme angles a special mechanical loading d8V1Ce was fitted to the AaK 41. Rubber roIefs gnpped lhe shell and fed it into the breech, whictI greatly speeded up loading tImes. hen! IS part of the tweIYeman Luftwaffe crew serving a FlaK 4 t mounted in a static POSItion on lis cruciform firing platform, With their position protected by sandbags. The loader is preparing 10 insert a yellow·coloured HE Into the breech, haVing first had the fuze set according 10 Informatiofl passed 10 the gun position via the Funkmessgerate, wnich tracks the target and predicts its position for firing. The FlaK 41 was also issued with anti-tank shells, and these, plus the factfhat the barrel could be depressed to -3 degrees, meant that it could be used 10 engage ground targets at ranges comparable to the PaK 43 guns. The gun could also fire HE shells to engage ground targets and to proviOe fire support as conventlOflal field artillery.

seen

0: THE FLAK 18 AmmunillOfl illustrated is High Explosive (HE). This is seen wllh the distinctive yellow-coloured projectile head litted 10 the brass shell case. As the war progressed and economies dWIndled, the drivlng bands on the proteCtlle were dlanged to a SIfltered Iron design. The OO'S&'fuzed Kopfzundung, Kz. wtliCh was slandard ISsue Ofdnance fOl" HE shel.ls. IS seen here. Known as the Sprenggmnale (SprGr), the HE shell we.ghed 9.4 kg and was fired from lhe FlaK 18, FlaK 36 and FlaK 37 guns. This same shell was also fired from the KwK 36 gun as litted 10 !he TIgef I tank. E: THE PAK 43 The PaK 43 was the first purpose'built anti·tank versiOn of the 88 mm series of weapons. Introduced in 1943 it was used 00 all fronts, including Italy where it is SElef1 here, being used to engage tanks while slill mounted on its wheeled carriage. As wilh the heavier PaK 43/41 Ihe PaK 43 was originally designed with pneumatic lyres. but as the war progressed these were replaced with rings of solid rubber fitted to pressed steel wheels. It was fitted with a well sloped gun shield which gave it a distinctive appearance, along with the double-baffle muzzle brake, which assiSled in helping to control the recoil forces on firing. In Italy lhe PaK 43, along with other versioos of the 88 mm gun, look a heavy toll on Allied tanks. The PaK 43 version weighed 5.000 kg and could be towed by a variety of half-track prime-movers, such as the SdkfZ 8 which was designed for such a role. The powerful charge Ifl the cartridge case produced muzzle veIocrties 01 1.000 mlsec when finng the AP 39·1 shell, whlch limited the barrel life 10 only 500 rounds. after which lIme accuracy and range would falloff as !he nlling eroded even further. On its cruciform plalform the PaK 43 had a full 360 degrees traverse, but when firing from lIS wheeled base, as is the

case hefe. the barrel traverse was limited to 30 degrees erther side of centre line. Its low silhouette made it easy 10 conceal, malong good use of any cover available. A well experienced crew could engage targets out 10 2,000 m and even more in some cases where visibility was Ideal. F: THE FLAK 36

All thtee versions of the flaK 88 mm gun were taken into the North African thealre of operatlOl"lS by the Afnkakorps, commanded by Erv.in Rommel. In 1941. seen hef"e IS the FlaK 36 V8fSIOO With part of the crew formed by men of the Afrikakorps, lhe army responsible fOl" anti-alrcrall defence in the field. A lyp4cal army battalion would have !WO 01" Ihree batteries each with four 88 mm guns With 20 mm guns fOl" additJonaJ protecllOfl. The half·track IS the SdkfZ 7 pnrne-mover which would carry !he eleven-mafl crew lor lhe gun, With lheir personal equipment. II was standard operational procedure to tow fhe gun with the barrel facing forwards toward the towing vehicle. In Africa the FlaK 36, and other anti-tank guns exacted a high toll among the lightly armoured Allied tanks, especially at Halfaya Pass, which the Allies referred to as 'Hellfire Pass' due to the number 01 tanks lost there. On 12 June 1941, for example. during the battle of Gazala. the British army lost 250 tanks. out of a total force of some 330 tanks, 10 tank guns and anti-tank guns. The towing vehicle could also carry enough ammunition to permit the gun 10 come into action wllh furthef supplies being brought up by other vehicles. II was not uncommon tor the crews to painl while 'kill nngs' around the barrels of their weapons in order to keep an unofficial tally of !heIr success rate in lhe antI-tank role. Some crews also painled 31rcraft symbols on the gun shields and some examples were captured With shipping symbols also ~yed. This would probably indicate where the gun had been pressed Into servICe as part of coastal defences. The FlaK 36 could also fire standard high explosive shells out 10 almost 15,000 m range to provide fire support 10 cover infanlry attacks. However, the 88 mm was al its most deadliest when formed into defensive 'PAK' Fronts, specifically organised to engage tanks, where it made a really telling mar1l. on the Allies. G: RAfLWAY MOUNTED ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN The versatility of the 88 was such that it could be mounted on various platforms to increase the weapon's all-round mobility. This was never more so than the concept which saw it being mounted on railway truckS to quickly move antiaircraft FlaK-train batteries. known as Eisenbahnflak. en masse from one location to anothef. As the Allies increased Iheir bombing raids against German induslrial centres, such anti-aircraft lralns could be alllXated to wherever they were most needed to counteT Ihe bomber forces. Many such railway mountings were improvised from slandard railway rollrng stock. bulthe Geschutzwagen Ifl (ElSb) Schwefe FlaK was a standardISed ConverslOl1. This is the versron seen hen! and couk:I mounl any model of !he 88 in lhe antr-alrcfaft role. It was fitted WIth drop sides to allow a larger working platform for lhe crew and carried its own supply of ammunrtlOfl in storage lockers. Overall Ieogth was 15.8 m with a fully loaded we'9hl of 45.8 toones including one 88 gun and stock of ammunilion.

.7

INDEX

.......... _."'"', ... -..-...

.,-

RJl . .

t.,..

AD;n. """

M~'"

_

p""

'~I_I. ~~ ~j.

ll
1M, I"

K 1. 7, 7. 16 'I. 1'1. ['nO,

2O~~1.

\"l_~·:.':I.U.17

Mdc,,,~<...,., ,,~,,.I944 '" ............,.....1, ". prod"",,,,,

. . -. .

~

I~I'-)_ :!O.~l

-

"4 . ...,

1". I'

~1.17

I.'.'''''Ill2~. 'I4,.u

I'J,SII\', 1';·1".11 IS

...,,, Ib

t~

tl.K J~ r. F1.oK,", II F'bKi' I~

I~

""I!"".11.1"1"~'llo2131

.-<JI'~r"I~."'.""i7 ~

...... ?!."'.n

...'" 1

I~

L-t.(_t"""ll..-,,I-19it, '''.:,,)

I~

1>••"ld..., I'HIJ

_

.... 1.oo"""'lC'-1'll1 ....3J

.

"~~

·'_w·,.......... ·36, 3I!. "":1"

,,-tuIIoLoo.... ,

...1101, 1M

,"IIoI,I""1~'''''.:I''''1

•.....,""" ' ...""r.ol ..,."" \\ 111,..10" (1AA.!'-19:>t) "

"'~',~

1I."''''W!l'.lM, II t,".",9.IU

... ""," II-I',

.." ...." ,.k~I~' (l"",q'W,1 .\ 'l(l

".10" ll, tl

J..,'I""'''''' ""1o.l.I 17\

"'' 'n.... (.."".n 0 ......'''1 7->1

~_.'~211~ II

:lII.

II

.... ~ ,..... ,'~.., t:l-+t

J1lo~",,,
-~ I"'" I~ 1i-7

" .... 36l ~ '"

"_,,.ol 71 "

I-W;: 11 1... 1<,

""""'" I......-.

1.nw"'.!Llto.nnr..n

... u :1

~

...... '-"'.",1'1.,

..... 0111'\,».»

100.......

........ ~ ".n 31."

,,~..

~5.l>,'''I'.:I'.~

".... -0 ~. ...... -0 ~I '1 !'I!III\', 17

_.11

1 \6 !Ii>,"I".'.' Ii

1'1 71 " ... 11.... 1

I...u.'

....- ' " 16.'IG-I7

_o{jo ......

... ,

, tH3

"""'.IO<-
~nll~.H,11

M,low. ( .. k'. ,10.. ,",

I~AQ~"'~'"~'" ~'" " ",/W, 14-1.~ I

M"",",.",'"" C..

'0'''''''''' lW<

r_

u-....

,.,r,,] Ik-",:"n I... ~' (1)<<7·1Y7fi)

,

,rO••,...

I,'WI!,,,,,>.., ...IK" 171 II I·.. K .3

t~

,,_ .u,-.:.., (........",.

'."""f;

to

~".

17

1\11, 11 11 11 "£>11\',' 17 .'1<1""-1 ..... 31!

10 ""''P'''Ir'.
',

,. t"!-2-",1,\", _ , II. n .... ....-... Ilan ..", 190+2 tt. ...

I~

I...K'lfi I'

~1·1Ii

Mu.'"''.''' ,hi.,.·.. 1.1

l<)",n",,,.,, o.-.a.- ,.... '" r-n. •...,....1hr

"""" '1 " 1M rSI. "'~,.., -a. ~.,. 31 ...-,.... d.lt.~~

..... lI"OO"' ...., 11>1.

I"......... ,_ If!

4~

_4~

1'1-41 t.l

... 17

r.'."

1'I-:12.:IlI '7

...lI.b 1"-1

~

l~~(.

"

(~

"""""""'-.~

\~

, _ , _ , .....-.10. . . . . . . H

I'bI>.lft ,

AM"" II 1~

J4d\"'"hrt ~Io.t, 171 "I

~ ~

T..,.. d. l!tllt I. S

~. \~ ............

_~_'!O

fW>.f1 16

,'""-",

._~(:I'

"'I"p""p"II"I',It,,"', ,.\, I"I~, 17. I~, fl

" ~

l>Itt
!o.'i.

il--'J

I-""'(""ti.." '" 12

I'

.. :;""d,'" """""',"" !;n"

1).0;0" , _

n

r. t, ".~, 9, IU. 17 Iv.......}." ,....\,....I..,'''''ifW I~~I.....,.""

I."'" "".'''.'' hi_'"

"'-""--'110<- 12 '."""''' ,.~ .., ,ltok,.·"" I:\-H....., 17

t'L ,,, '"

'r;~""11 I~'d;"

j~',~

I'" "'......--.

t7

........"1............... ll1h I

I,

fhldlll.'-, P
n.n·".""':» ....

~1"I.'o.lfo.~!'."

FUI; 'Of; Ill-II

1'.1(

I~. ~~.

II ''''1'. "7 A. "'11. II I'i. II. 13 11ilulWl. t3. D. l-l. It, 1...1'. "7 II I~ 1101'.11 C.1•. _ ILIl-Il\.~ ,_ It Il>-Il

.1.0" 1~ '-1\ R.oK 37

IM,':,iJk>,

''''''no

""W'p',,,,,,llnh~

tI."" 'II.

r~

....a._Ill.......'

....... 1000:.......

n,~.~, :.7.

~'H1.'1".1"',1 110 '" ,I". "t""nj'Ci'i1 W.. 7'I"'''''''' r ".". I•. 11).11. ", n. Y,3t 17

II

,\ r.. "' ...

....."""twn'I""'.,,\1 T'Il<"t r ""3. 1' , ....... "1""', \1·1'iI:<, II" 37_"1 11 t. ''''~ , <JI, W.J 'J

I \W,.,n..... ,...,••" b

:1->. !lb. 17. 1/., H C.,, OJ, 11 . .f6, 4<,-17 ...111''''1.-11,,1 ,n.I .. , 17, 18

on''''". n*

1\. 11

"'lloJ,I"'~

.,,0.-.. ,«>11 ,.,j,< 'un,',,","

I'

..~ i:l I'., ~. ...do.U :tOI 'l'l ...1lo.n'L7111 r.1lo.t, .. 1 B.II t. 1"........ 1..._ _ 11

»

II

~11>l""

J'

_..,..... 1. ",. ~1 H. C. II r..6-7.~. IJ. Ii.

..,"'"not

~.I'.'"

Fboh...lo •

6-7. I! li.l4-,t:>,

" ..'I

1'.,," n

"

'7

"

;!\

l~

'>'I~

"

1'..

I_17

~""""' .. \I....... ""7 " •• llltlfIM I

COMPANION SERIES FROM OSPREY ESSENTIAL HISTORIES

Cnl\o,,,,, ".~I.·, or til.,' m<>tiH>. ",."",,,1•• n,' ,,,,,:n:,,,,,,,,.. ,0011""'.n C<>IlII"". 'I"nn,,'f' h",,-'<) 1'"." onci<-JlI """,, ,,, " .. I""",n' 01-. . I~h ,,~U"'" "",I,..

'f"" '" ""f. """''''1/'.''' 'OOisl"'",.hI< pod<' 10 ,he ji~Io"", """'e: ''''1_1 .... the .,.Id .......-..1 It

""" n,,;"'- ......... "",If. lhe ......,'k ,,,,01,«1..00 ," /'lEN-A1"AAMS

"., _lUnn...

...,...pmmt, - . - . .

.. ~ ...... tOn.~ fnJm ntbc.I """"

.

r~ ..,....l ......OV

"'P"""' <Ji Ik .....Id·. It>< d". ,"' ". 'n' onJ . . . . . - ""'" "'.. 5000..,.." 0( ..........

....-idl} 10 W. ~.

TIl" lI umr"""" e< .... I .. \k '·.\""" ...., ." ......... <.I<Md
,r.",

CAMPAIGN ,~«.,.,',"

"r ''''''''Y', p""'"

,,",,10,... J,'",I;", Ih,

""" hI><""'" ,~ rhe '. '" L.'J'<' ... bf«'t>.

<""m,..",1 .".. '1

""io., ....,..",.""••"d ..,,,.'" of ,he '~'I"""'J fOlU" ,11,,,.,,,,.., ,t.. " ".,"" ,4 ""'h ".n'I"iJr>· F.lk........... ",,,k """'" ,"' ...... 1"""""".pM onJ "'"k OUJ'&

48

rrum 'IS ....,"n. ", ,,_ """"I.........

1""'"

.;..J,,,,,,,,,,>iW ·..."r

ORDER Of BATTLE 'n", ~''''t:>' ,n h"".). r.... '''''n~ """.b) n,, ,.,.",,,,,,,.,,,, oof , ,n.~", .nJ ,br" """'.""""...... 011 .. .,..I~";, ,of I.... " ' .... n.k"'· ... ;~".. I <JI .nJ 1tic"mlou, .... p> ,,,,,I.. J>n~ , , _ folJ-out "'.. ""1'. .......'..1.....1 ~._ ,nd """"'V.ph> 1><,1' ,he ........ ,,, ,I>< """'" 0( lhe fi""'ODJ in ..".-'ftlrnI<J
"""....

:".t:>

.,,,".1 ..

,-""
,r_

WAAIUOR

h '" ho.ror)'. fOJN"'f .... -.l "<JmMtt' ,01 ........-. thovuP tIM- ... AIRCRAFT OFTHE ACES ,.,........ of ,I>< elite pok•••01 , .... !Oo, ••,h ."""""~ Xh. I.'"" I",,,,,,,.. ~ ............1 fooll.."""" comb,,,,, .,,10 ,t>< 00., .,du...1 1''''"''V'l'h) ""I.bI< "'I"'''''od<'. ,I,,,;I<J '''';KIo, ,",,, ,I>< "I"""'''''' ,,[ ~., ,to 1h,' ." ~.

r......-- .....

"""l""

.".orl.

.

.,.1 ~<

Ih< rnok, ' h ' " ..... h ""PF""'I\I

COMBAT AIRCRAFT Til< ."w~d·, ~n,.'<'1 ""I",n .u·,~.rt ..'" ,,",,h,,, "',," .",1 ,he•• """". ...m;n<J '" drl<>n'''''' of ,h< ....... ,,,, 1":'U">Io-.J~. m", .nd m..:h,,,,,, ,,r ........'" h,,,,,,, ,,>Uppon<J I>r "nil '''''''1'',00 0110." d.... .........d ....-.1< pl:.,,>..nd ..-ch;,.ol phoo..... plo,

The design. development. operation and history of the machinery of warfare through the ages.

88 mm FlaK 18/36/37/41 & PaK 43 1936-45 The German 88 mm was by far the most famous and versatile artillery weapon of World War II. It was first used

as an anti-aircraft

weapon by the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War and saw further service in the German invasions of Poland and France, where it was first used in its anti-tank role. This role was

Full cololH- artwork

particularly successful and the

88 became fea.red by tank crews from North Africa to Russia. Apart from these two main roles

the 88 mill also served as Ihe main weapon on late·war German tanks, as a self-propelled gun, and even as an aerial weapon. This book covers all these variants, explaining their design, development and Photographs

Unrivalled detail

operational use.

ISBN 1-84176-341-1

OSPREY PUBLISHING www.osprCYI)ubJishing.com

9

tll~lltJ~

88 mm FlaK 18 36 37 41 and PaK 43 1936-45 (New Vanguard 046)

Read more

41

Read more

De Pak Be32

Read more

Panzerabwehr Artillerie (Pak)

Read more

De Man In Het Bruine Pak

Read more

Version 43

Read more

Sunshine 43

Read more

Sunshine 43

Read more

Москва, 41

Read more

Квартира № 41

Read more

Sunshine 43

Read more

Version 43

Read more

Version 43

Read more

Havank 41

Read more

99 (41)

Read more

1 and 41 Submachine Gun

Read more

Loadbooks - 10mm 41 SW 41 Auto

Read more

99 (43)

Read more

Vitamins and Hormones: Volume 41

Read more

De Man In Het Lichtgrijze Pak

Read more

7,5cm PaK 40 auf Raupenschlepper OST

Read more

De Man In Het Bruine Pak

Read more

De Man In Het Bruine Pak

Read more

De man in het bruine pak

Read more

De man in het bruine pak

Read more

The 43 Antarean Dynasties

Read more

The 43 Antarean Dynasties

Read more

بحار الأنوار - الجزء 43

Read more

IMAM Ro 43-44

Read more

43 Team Building Activities

Read more

Recommend Documents

88 mm FlaK 18 36 37 41 and PaK 43 1936-45 (New Vanguard 046)

...

41

...

De Pak Be32

Panzerabwehr Artillerie (Pak)

...

De Man In Het Bruine Pak

Version 43

Sunshine 43

Sunshine 43

Abram hob seinen Arm, benutzte beide Hände und brachte den Stein in die Höhe und stieß ihn so fest er nur konnte zwisch...

Москва, 41

Квартира № 41