Au contrare


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Posted by Brian in Oregon on Friday, April 06, 2001 at 3:59PM :

In Reply to: Re: Ouch! posted by Miles Wagner on Thursday, April 05, 2001 at 4:01PM :

The 88 started as an anti-aircraft gun, the Flak 18. It was used in the Spanish Civil War by Luftwaffe "volunteers" (the Luftwaffe, not the Heeres aka army, manned everything to do with aircraft). Some inspired commander turned them loose on Russian tanks and decimated them.

After the Flak 18 came the Flak 36 & 37, which had dual sighting and range fusing equipment for both ground and aerial targets.

From that point, the Flak 88 was redesigned as a tank cannon (KwK 41 - Kampfwagonkanone) for the imfamous Tiger I, and as a purely anti-tank gun (Pak 43), mounted either in turretless limited traverse vehicles such as the Nashorn (Rhino) or on a standard field carriage (nicknamed "Barndoor"). Many other vaiations were made, including a low mounted dual anti-tank and anti-aircraft field piece, and as the main gun in the Tiger II and Jagdpanther tank destroyer.

Aside from fused anti-aircraft shells and the armor piercing HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds, normal AP (Armor Piercing), the 88 was also issued ordinary HE (High Explosive) rounds, similar to normal field artillary and howitzers.

So, judging from the damage, it is fairly safe to say this was a very near miss probably with 88mm HE or possibly HEAT, with fused AA being an unlikely third. A direct hit would have vaporized the Carryall from either. As for the anti-tank round, it simply would have passed right through. There's a famous photo of an armored Bren Gun Carrier in North Africa that was hit by a AP round. It was drilled clean through the front and back and middle bulkhead, and everything in between. The photo was taken with the holes lined up, like looking through a tunnel.

As for the statement further down in this string that the Flaksveirling (quad 20mm) being forbidden by the Geneva Convention from being used against ground troops, I don't know if that is true or not. However, they were positively used against Soviet ground troops. Note that Germany and Soviet Russia never signed the Geneva Convention nor the Hague Accords with each other.




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