FlaK.18 (88 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Krischan der Große

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

Describe the shells that are available for the weapon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

Cons:

History

The FlaK 18 is the first variant of the venerable Flak 88 as the Allies taken to calling it. One of the most venerable weapons the arsenal of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) during World War II, it was intended as an anti-aircraft gun and while it served in that capacity throughout the war, it also had a successful career as an anti-tank gun due to its powerful cartridge. The development of the FlaK 18 traces its roots back to World War I. The new field of air combat led to a pressing for anti-aircraft which was achieved in most nations by simply adapting medium-caliber cannons to fire at higher elevations.

This was not an optimal solution however. These guns struggled even against the slow-moving aircraft aircraft and observation balloons of the time period so Germany soon needed a high velocity anti-aircraft gun. Using the 8.8 cm caliber already used by the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the FlaK 16 adopted in 1917 was the first dedicated anti-aircraft gun of Germany and their AA weapon of choice during World War I. However, the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war forbid German arms development in several areas including air defense. However, the arms conglomerate Krupp soon exploited a loophole in the terms of the Treaty to continue developing the design.

The Treaty of Versailles banned Germany from developing anti-aircraft weapons but did not forbid the development of such weapons in other nations. In 1921, Krupp bought a majority share in the Swedish Bofors company and continued development and continued development of a 75mm anti-aircraft gun through Bofors. However, it was later decided to switch back to the more capable 88mm caliber. In 1928 the first prototypes of the FlaK 18 were created with a single-piece, 56-caliber barrel. The "FlaK 18" designation was another deception tactic by the Wiemar Republic implying that the gun was at some stage adopted during World War I and not from after the Treaty of Versailles. With a cruciform gun carriage, and a semi-automatic system that automatically ejected spent casings, the FlaK 18 started seeing widespread production after the Nazis came to power in 1933. It was deployed by German "volunteers" supporting Franco's nationalist faction. Intended to protect the airfields of the German Condor Legion, the FlaK 18 was found to be effective not only against aircraft, but the powerful 8.8 cm gun was an effective anti-tank or bunker-buster weapon and actually exceeded compared to its intended purpose as an anti-aircraft gun. The FlaK 18 saw action in 377 engagements during the Spanish Civil War, but only 31 were against aircraft.

The FlaK 18 also could be fired directly from its wheeled carriage and lacking an stabilizing outriggers. While not the most optimal configuration, this was still an excellent design feature along with a the 2 and a half minute time needed to convert it to stabilized firing. However, the weight meant only large prime movers such as the Sd.Kfz. 7 could transport the gun.

The FlaK 18 would see service during World War II along its successor designs the Flak.36 and FlaK 37 where it served both in the German Air Defense, and as an anti-tank weapon for the Heer (Army) on multiple fronts. The RLM (Reich Air Ministry) also mounted the gun on the Krischan der Große, a prototype anti-aircraft boat produced for low-altitude air defense of the Dutch and French coast and supporting Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of the United Kingdom. The guns were not effective on this boat as they weren't stabilized for naval use and the prototype while accepted for service, it never saw combat.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• Flak.36 (88 mm): improved variant of the FlaK.18
• Flak.37 (88 mm): further improvement of the FlaK.18

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.