8.8 cm FlaK 41
| 8.8 cm FlaK 41 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 8.8 cm FlaK 41 |
| Manufacturer designation: | Device 37 |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Rheinmetall-Borsig , Düsseldorf |
| Development year: | 1939 |
| Production time: | 1941 to 1945 |
| Model variants: | 8.8 cm FlaK 41/1 (cross mount) 8.8 cm FlaK 41/2 (base mount) |
| Weapon Category: | Anti-aircraft gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 6.293 m |
| Caliber : |
8.8 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 74.4 |
| Cadence : | 22 to 25 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | −3 ° to +90 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 360 ° |
The 8.8 cm FlaK 41 was an anti-aircraft gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
The 8.8 cm FlaK 41 was a completely new development that was created to keep pace with the increasing altitudes of the opposing aircraft. Although it had the same caliber of its predecessor as the 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37 , it used different ammunition than the earlier models. It had a longer tube (6.293 m instead of 4.930 m = 27.6% longer), another mount , weighed about 8 tons (instead of 5) and had an electric fuse setting machine. The anti-aircraft gun developed under the design name Device 37 at Rheinmetall-Borsig in Düsseldorf was presented in 1941 and was only used two years later. It was loaded onto the special trailer 202 for transport .
The 8.8 cm FlaK 41 was manufactured in significantly smaller numbers than the earlier versions, especially as it was complex to manufacture. The flak manufacturers were Rheinmetall-Borsig in Düsseldorf and Škoda in Dubnica (Dubnitz an der Waag). The highest number in the Wehrmacht was reached in January 1945 with 318 pieces.
In terms of performance, the 8.8 cm FlaK 41 was superior to the 8.8 cm FlaK 18, 36 and 37 : it achieved
- greater heights (14,700 m instead of 10,600 m) and distances (19,800 m instead of 14,860 m)
- higher fire rates (22 to 25 rounds per minute instead of 15 to 20).
- a higher muzzle velocity : 1000 m / s (instead of 820 m / s) with HE shells; 980 m / s (instead of 795 m / s) tank shells.
But it was also much more difficult to maintain. For example, projectile cases that got jammed repeatedly caused problems .
Depending on the ammunition, different tubes were used: initially five-piece (for brass sleeves ), later four-piece (for tempered steel sleeves ) and one-piece tubes (for non- tempered steel sleeves).
ammunition
The 8.8 cm FlaK 41 could fire 9.4 kg high explosive shells, 10 kg tank shells 39 or 7.5 kg tank shells 40 up to 14,700 meters high. The life of a tube was approximately 1500 rounds.
Target facility
Ground combat
The Flak41 was - used because of its high penetrating power mainly in ground combat - contrary to the original planning. The first devices were sent immediately to relieve the North African front on Hitler's personal instructions. Half of it was lost when it was translated to North Africa. In ground combat (mainly against tanks at a distance of 600 to 1500 m), the directional gunner "K2" aimed at the target through a narrow viewing slit in the gun mantlet with the "Flak rifle scope 20". This value was transmitted electrically to the directional transmitter, but the gun was manually cranked with double handwheels up to the position overlap. A second man ("E-Messmann") with the distance measuring device ("E-Messgerät Basis 1 m") determined the distance to the target. This value was used by the gunner "K1" on the leveling machine for raising the pipe. When released when the target was covered or when the gun leader (“GF”) gave the command, the gunner “K2” released the shot with the pedal.
Air defense
Due to the great distance to the target and its high speed in connection with constant course and altitude changes, direct aiming was excluded.
- During the day, the target was optically recorded and tracked using the spatial image rangefinder (Em4mR) based on 4 m. These values were automatically entered into the command computer ("command device 41"). For the measured point “M” of the targeted aircraft, this calculated the lead values for the target point “T” using integral equations and cam disks that match the ballistics of the gun using the “anti-aircraft shooting gauge”. These values were transmitted electrically to a distribution box in the gun emplacement using a 108-core cable. From there, the values were transmitted in a star shape to the four guns of the anti-aircraft battery to the side straightening devices, height straightening devices and ignition actuators. The gunners cranked the guns by hand until they were covered with the electric command transmitter. Four guns (or 8, 12, 16 cascading) were always aimed synchronously at a single calibrated aircraft. For safety reasons, the command unit was mostly 500 to 600 m away from the gun emplacement.
- When it was cloudy or at night, the height, direction and speed of radio measuring devices ( FuMG "Würzburg" ) were initially transmitted by telephone to the command device , later by the corrector "Malsi" automatically and thus electrically to the Kdo.Ger.41 . The guns were aligned as described above.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Length in firing position | 9658 mm |
| width | 2400 mm |
| height | 2360 mm |
| Pipe length | 6548 mm (L / 74.4) |
| caliber | 88 mm |
| Mass in firing position | 8000 kg |
| Mass in transport position | 11,200 kg (including Sd.Anh. 202 and protective shield) |
| Pipe elevation | −3 ° to + 90 ° |
| Swivel range | 360 ° (unlimited due to sliding contacts) |
| Muzzle velocity | 1000 m / s (high explosive grenade) |
| 980 m / s (tank shell) | |
| Bullet mass | approx. 9.4 kg |
| Max. Range of fire | 19,800 m |
| Maximum shot height | 14,700 m |
| Penetration performance (tank shell 40) | |
| at 100 m | 237 mm |
| at 1000 m | 192 mm |
| at 2000 m | 127 mm |
| practical rate of fire | 20-25 rounds / min. |
Ballistic data
Shot board from September 29, 1942 for 8.8 cm Flak 41, Pzgr.39, bullet weight 10.2 kg
| Distance in m | Flight time (s) | Summit height (m) | Dispersion width (m) | Dispersion height (m) | Speed (m / s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 980 (Vo) |
| 100 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 970 |
| 1,000 | 1.06 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 883 |
| 1,500 | 1.64 | 3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 836 |
| 2,000 | 2.26 | 6th | 1.0 | 1.0 | 790 |
| 3,000 | 3.60 | 16 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 704 |
| 4,000 | 5.13 | 33 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 623 |
| 5,000 | 6.86 | 58 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 548 |
| 6,000 | 8.80 | 96 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 481 |
| 7,000 | 11.04 | 150 | 4.1 | 8.4 | 418 |
| 8,000 | 13.63 | 230 | 4.9 | 12 | 366 |
| 9,000 | 16.54 | 340 | 5.9 | 16 | 327 |
| 10,000 | 19.82 | 510 | 6.9 | 22nd | 300 |
| 11,000 | 23.49 | 730 | 8.2 | 28 | 284 |
| 12,000 | 27.47 | 1,000 | 9.6 | 36 | 275 |
| 13,000 | 31.66 | 1,350 | 11 | 44 | 271 |
| 14,000 | 36.06 | 1,760 | 13 | 54 | 270 |
| 15,000 | 40.84 | 2,250 | 15th | 75 | 271 |
| 16,000 | 46.12 | 2,860 | 17th | 86 | 275 |
| 17,000 | 52.05 | 3,640 | 20th | 112 | 283 |
| 18,000 | 58.68 | 4,690 | 23 | 150 | 293 |
| 19,000 | 67.50 | 6,030 | 27 | 216 | 305 |
| 19,500 | 76.95 | 7,640 | 32 | 313 | 314 |
Annotation:
- A Vo measured on the pipe of 980 meters per second corresponds to 3528 km / h
- The greatest firing range of 19,500 m was achieved with a pipe elevation of 45 degrees.
- This table applies to tank shells 39 and 40 used in ground combat.
- The lighter, less armored grenades weighing 9.4 kg were used for air defense.
- These anti-aircraft grenades reached a Vo of 1000 m / s. (Converted: 3600 km / h)
- The highest altitude of 10,600 m with 85 ° tube elevation of the "8.8 / Flak 18" was clearly exceeded by the "Flak 41" with 14,700 m.
- The ballistic performance of the “Flak 41” with anti-aircraft shells was roughly the same as that of the larger 10.5 cm and 12.8 cm anti-aircraft guns .
literature
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945. 2nd edition, Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
- Werner Müller: The guns, locating and fire control devices of the heavy flak. Podzun-Pallas Verlag, Friedberg 1988, ISBN 3-7909-0331-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Caliber length 74.4 instead of 56: the ratio of length to caliber was 74.4: 1
- ↑ a b c Werner Müller: The guns, locating and fire control devices of the heavy flak.
- ↑ Werner Müller: The guns, locating and fire control devices of the heavy flak.
