The German 88: Not Your Grandfather's Karbine

As I indicated in my last post, Germany in the interwar period did not strictly abide by the rules set by the Versailles Treaty stipulating what weapons Germany could and could not have. Another one of those provisions that Germany bent was that they were not allowed to develop anti-aircraft artillery. In the process of breaking that rule Germany made one of the most versatile and well-known pieces of artillery in history.

A German 88 with its crew in France 1944.
Photo sourced from WikiCommons.

The 88mm 'flak' gun, or more commonly known by the Allied forces as the 'German 88', was originally designed to be a purpose built anti-aircraft gun (anti-aircraft guns of World War I were merely regular artillery pieces modified to point straight up). In this capacity, the 88 performed well all through the war.

However, its most infamous role was as an antitank gun.This was achieved because the 88 was unique from other 'flak' guns by its ability to be aimed below the horizontal plane. The first well-documented use of the 88 in combat was during the Spanish Civil War, but it was in North Africa where its infamy became solidified. Outside the ranges of normal Allied tank guns and surrounded by empty desert, the Allied tanks had nowhere to hide.

It was this stellar success in the use of the 88 that newer German tanks became equipped with the 88 as their primary weapon. It was this gun that spurred new developments in tank design by both sides that are still in use today. Until next time take care, and thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures sourced from "The World War II Desk Reference", edited by Michael E. Haskew, as well as Wikipedia on the 88mm).