12.8 cm Flak 40
| 12.8 cm Flak 40 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 12.8 cm Flak 40 |
| Manufacturer designation: | Device 40 |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Rheinmetall-Borsig , Düsseldorf |
| Development year: | 1936 |
| Production time: | 1939 to 1945 |
| Number of pieces: | ~ 1129 |
| Model variants: | 12.8 cm Flak 40/1 and 12.8 cm Flak 40/2 |
| Weapon Category: | Anti-aircraft gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 7.49 m |
| Caliber : |
12.8 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 61 |
| Cadence : | 12 to 14 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | −3 ° to +87 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 360 |
The 12.8 cm Flak 40 was an anti -aircraft gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
The 12.8 cm Flak 40 was the largest German anti -aircraft gun used in World War II. The gun, which was developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig in Düsseldorf, was a conventional design and actually just an enlarged version of the 10.5 cm Flak 38 . The gun fired its first shot in 1937. In 1940 it was introduced to the anti-aircraft divisions of the Wehrmacht.
The flak was produced by F. Krupp AG in Essen , the Škodawerke in Pilsen , Hanomag in Hanover and the Oberschlesischen Gerätebau GmbH in Laurahütte . The number of 12.8 cm Flak 40 increased in the course of the war. While only 16 flak were operational in September 1942, the number had multiplied to 570 by January 1945. A total of 1129 anti-aircraft guns 12.8 cm Flak 40 were produced.
In general, the shooting was targeted. The determination of the speed and altitude of an enemy aircraft was carried out using an optical distance measurement ( triangulation ) when visibility was good . Flak searchlights were used for detection at night . The "command device" coupled with the range finder, a mechanical analog computer , calculated the lead and thus the duration of the projectile from the recorded values and the course of the machine . A clockwork (type ZtZ S / 30) developed by the Uhrwerke Gebr. Thiel (→ Gerätebau GmbH ) was built into the head of the grenade, which ignited the grenade after an adjustable running time of 1.5 to 29.5 seconds. Before firing, the delay time had to be set in the "fuse setting machine" on each grenade. In poor visibility conditions one had to rely on the values determined by the Würzburg radar units, which were transmitted electrically to the command unit. This could supply entire batteries from four or more anti-aircraft guns with elevation and lateral reference values via multi-core signal cables. Only if no corresponding data were available were sectors determined which the attackers would probably fly through and which were then simply permanently fired at ( barrage ).
Until shortly before the end of the war, the projectiles only had time fuses. However, it often happened that a shell struck an aircraft with almost no consequences and only exploded far behind. With the introduction of additional impact fuses (double fuses, dual fuses from Junghans ), which were not delivered until 1945 despite urgent requirements, the rate of firing could be roughly tripled.
The 12.8 cm Flak 40 could only be transported in two partial loads, although the Air Force pointed out that this type of transport was problematic. A flak should be able to prepare for fire very quickly. However, this was not possible because the mount and tube first had to be assembled. Since most of the guns were used in air defense in Germany itself, this disadvantage was not so significant. She and the 12.8 cm Flak Zwilling 40 were the main guns for use on flak towers . Other guns were mounted on railway wagons so that they could be relocated more quickly. In 1944 the German Air Force used six mobile ( 40/1 version ), 242 fixed ( 40/2 version ) and 201 guns as railway flak ( 40/2 version ).
A four-axle wagon was used for field transport. The mount could simply be lowered, then the barrel was installed and the flak was ready to fire. Innovative - and already introduced in the 10.5 cm Flak 38 - were the loading mechanism and the electrical straightening system. During the raids at heights, which were flown by the Allies from 1944, the heavy Flak 40 also reached its limits.
Further use
As with the 8.8 cm Flak , this gun was also found to be highly effective against armored targets. Therefore, the 12.8 cm flak was also planned for this use, for example as the main weapon of the prototype self-propelled gun L / 61 “Sturer Emil” developed for fighting tanks . For the Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger , however, Krupp was awarded the contract with its newly developed 12.8 cm PaK 44 .
Technical specifications
- Caliber: 128 mm
- Tube length: 7835 mm
- Elevation range: −3 ° to + 87 °
- Side straightening range: unlimited
- maximum operational shot height: 10,675 m
- maximum shot height: 14,800 m
- Firing range: 20,900 m
- Cutting limit: 12,800 m
- Rate of fire: 11 rounds / min
- Weight in driving position: 27,000 kg
- Weight firing position: 18,000 kg
- Muzzle velocity high explosive shell: 880 m / s
- Tank shell muzzle velocity: 860 m / s
- Weight of the high explosive shell: 47.7 kg
- Weight of high explosive grenade: 26 kg
- Weight of the tank shell: 46.5 kg
- Tank shell weight: 26.6 kg
literature
- Ian Hogg : 20th Century Artillery. Gondromverlag, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1878-6 .
- Alexander Lüdeke : Weapons Technology in the Second World War. Infantry weapons, unarmored vehicles, armored vehicles, artillery, special weapons, aircraft, ships. Parragon Verlag, Bath 2007, ISBN 978-1-4054-8584-5 .
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945. 2nd edition, special edition, Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
