The 88mm FLAK

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An 88mm Flak gun secures an exit road	Loading the 88mm Flak gun

Great demands were made of Flak units, which accompanied the Panzer troops on their fast advances and received alternating air-protection and ground-combat assignments. That often meant moving their positions two or three times a day, including the work of trenching. Very often in this action, motorized units of the army had to be caught and passed, so as to guarantee gap-free protection against air attacks along the advance route. Single 88mm Flak guns were also used by so-called Flak battle troups to wipe out enemy points of resistence.

The strong armor of Soviet tanks like the KV-1 made it almost impossible for German tanks to destroy them during the first years of the war. The anti-tank units could scarcely hold their own against the Russian tanks with their 37mm Pak guns (known to the troops as "army door-knockers" because of their poor penetrating power). Some reports speak of 40 to 50 direct hits by 37mm and 50mm shells simply bouncing off some KVs. Only the "88" was able to deal with them, and could destroy any Soviet vehicle at ranges far beyond 2000m. Thus it quickly became legendary among the German soldiers -and no doubt among the Russians as well.


The 88mm Flak 18 on a 12-ton towing tractor...	... and as 88mm Flak 37 on a special chassis

In order to make self-propelled versions of the '88', 10 of the 88mm Flak 18 guns were mounted on the Zugkraftwagen 12t, and they served with the 8. sPz.Jag.Abt in Poland and France. They carried no battalion markings, only the national insignia and the von Kleist corps letter on the right mudguard. In the Russian campaign the '88' proved so succesful in action against the heavy Russian T34 and "Joseph Stalin" tanks that this gun, in somewhat modified form, was mounted on the chassis of the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV to make it more mobile for Russian road and off-road conditions. These tank destroyers were known by the names of Hornisse (Hornet) and Nashorn (Rhinoceros). Later a derivate of the German PzKpfw V was armed with this "high-velocity cannon", resulting in the Jagdpanther, as was a derivate of the Porsche PzKpfw VI, the "Elefant".


A sudden tank attack must be fought off. Only in exceptional cases was the gun fired directly from its trailor. The side spars are folded down, but the gun has not been lowered.	An 88mm Flak in combat against French tanks during the Allied counter-attack near Arras