It was an 8 pound blank charge. Youll notice that the action didnt cycle since there was relatively no recoil compared to a live shell - however this exact gun is filmed doing live fire if you do a search. Also, the recording doesnt do it justice. Saw it live, and it was awesome. Being that it was utilized for AT work, the rounds didnt typically produce the explosion one would expect... unless it hit the magazine of a T34 which certainly happened.
Getting the projectile for an 88 is quite hard, i don't think there's any molds left...The casing portion is even HARDER to get now, hence the no recoil when they fired, they wanted to keep the casing in good condition.
@@someguyfromfinland4239 Pretty sure the owners of that 88 looked at any surviving pieces and had parts custom made to keep it in a usable and fireable condition (Same applies to any WW2 tank that runs under its own power today, a lot of the parts for most of them aren't originals but are custom made so the tank can actually function like it used to), those things are relatively easy to procure but the projectile and casing aren't.
Mhmm. Deadly guns. Terrifying. In France, Russia, North Africa, Italy, and all over Europe, they killed untold thousands of Hitler's enemies. I've always looked upon them with very mixed emotions, realizing that. An effective weapon that earned great respect from it's enemies, but one entirely lacking in- and undeserving of- glorification, considering what it was used for, and by whom.
My father served as a Flak (anti aircraft gun) instructor for the Luftwaffe from 1940 to 1945, his main business was to train young gunners on the 88. He told us so many stories about that time, in fact WW2 and his survival in Soviet gulags remained his main topic to talk about until his passing ten years ago. And yes, my father went deaf in his early 70s, the 88s must have been extremely loud guns, ear protection wasn't common in those days.
All Howitzers and big Guns are loud, in them days they did not use ear plugs. I was in the Artillery, 155 Howitzers but we fired everything, but later served in Germany in a Honest John Rocket battalion. no earplugs. my ears are damaged and still ringing but I am not completely deaf, Served in Germany after the war in a Honest John rocket Battalion. PS we had a 88 on our Casern left over from the war.
There's a story from Monte Cassino that a German 88 team had their gun trained on a tight corner. Every time an American tank came round the corner it was blown off the road. 'The problem was', said the gunner, 'we ran out of shells before the Americans ran out of tanks'.
My dad was conscripted in the fall of 1944 at 16yrs old and was on a crew with an 88, I have some photos of him and the crew with it. One of the guys looks to be about 14, he is almost a ft shorter than my dad who was 5’10” his uniform is way too big for him. He told me a story of when they were moving the gun and was sitting on it and fell asleep, they hit a big bump or hole and he fell off and it ran over his upper thigh. I guess the ground was a bit soft, so it didn’t crush or break the bone but he said his leg swoll up twice its size. He went to an infirmary for treatment but other than checking it over and a bandage there was not much they could do for him especially as there were so many wounded soldiers with far more grievous injuries. So he made himself a crutch and walked home, 120kms. This was in 1945. No one stopped him the whole way until he got almost to his home in witzenhausen, he was stopped by an American on the bridge a couple blocks from his home. The guy ended up letting hi pass. And that’s how the war ended for him.
Did he shoot down any planes, he didn’t say, I’d imagine they were were too busy loading and firing to watch where the shells ended up, maybe the guy firing would see that. There was eight or ten guys operating it, probably doing there job, keeping there heads down and scared shitless
The were a very powerful gun. I am 77 but spoke to soldiers who were on the receiving end of the 88. The velocity was such the at extended range the shell arrived well before the sound of the gun.
@Sweep The Leg ! Thanks, No BS but know that like you what a "monster" it was. It is the "crack" then "boom" which caught my attention. The Condor Legions in Spain uses early Flak88-18 more effectively as anti-tank and ground targets than anti-aircraft during '30's Civil War. So the story I was told of a flak battery in France turning the guns on "field targets" during a rear guard action during WW2 was not as original as I had thought. Cheers
@@davidbaron8330 ye, there's a reason to as why it's full name is Flak 88MM AA/AT. :) or Fliegerabwehrkanone/Flugabwehrkanone 88MM if Google is to be trusted....
Amazing to know that the 88 had a muzzle velocity of 3,400 feet per second with a 17 pound projectile. A 30-06 rifle with it's lightest bullet (100 grains- less than 1/4 of an ounce) can achieve that same speed.
“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.” ― William Tecumseh Sherman
We shot with one of these in the army in early 90´s. It was still being used by coastal artillery for training purposes. A target raft was toed along the coastline maybe a kilometer or two away from us. The scenery was quite spectacular. There were about 70 meters high splashes around the raft. We wore good ear protection, but I guess the gunners in WW2 must have been half deaf. It felt like somebody would hit your helmet with a piece of plank when we shot. But this practice was very interesting indeed. Every man acted in each role in the gun team: commander, loader, etc. aiming and shooting according the orders from the fire command.
Yes, indeed. A neighbor, who died long ago was and an artillery man in II WW and as far as my memory reaches, one had to shout all the time to him cause he was nearly deaf. After second thought, i think they might use some kind of stopper, like a little chunks of cotton (used in textile industry since XIX) though i am not sure how effective it was in the mass cannonade.
I remember my Father (who was involved in the Sicily landings) said that the Allies were held up for weeks on the plains of Catania. All the roads there were fairly straight with right-angle turnings and a few important bridges over the rivers - the Germans just put an 88mm on each corner/turning and guarding the bridges, and they held up the Allied advance for weeks. The Air Force (flying at very low leveL) tried to find the 88's but the Germans had them well camoflagued and also plenty of quick firing light AAA guns aiting for the Allied fighter-bombers, and shot down loads of them.
I remember talking to a WWII vet I've met. He said, by the time you heard an 88, it was too late. He also told me how he lost a friend to one. Thank goodness we live in a time where weapons like this is fired only for amusement.
"we live in a time where weapons like this is fired only for amusement."??? Are you kidding?!? There are currently dozens of wars and armed conflicts going on in the world, with thousands of deaths each year.
My Grandfather was in the 8th Army (British). He didn't talk about it much but when he did tell a story, everything that went bang on its way towards him was a German 88. That's how fierce this things reputation was. To him every other direct and indirect fire weapon in the German inventory was an 88.
I was privileged to speak with a former German soldier in a grocery story parking lot. He liked my MC. Asked me if I knew Auto Ordinance company. Yes I said, they made cars between the wars. I asked him of his wartime service. Holding 2 bags of groceries he told me of his experience. 1942 - 1945. He worked on a field artillery gun, an 88 converted from AA to land. We talked for a long time. At one point he spoke of the trajectory, he made a level swipe with his hand. I saw his eyes flash! Trust me, it was a great story. The gun must have fired flat, level and accurate. He clearly recalled little details. His stories of post war were deeply moving. I enjoyed my time in the parking lot. Extraordinary moments.
well, what people forget to understand is that history has been written. Whether people like it or not. How ever we can respect it as such. it is excellent that these old artillery cannons are still in good condition! We should not forget what happened during these terrible times.
My late father-in-law was in 79th INF Div (Artillery) and unfortunately was on the receiving end of these guns.. He said 'the shell arrived before the report'... and that it was like the end of the world...
The muzzle velocity was unbelievable on this thing. All of the allied soldiers will tell you they hated and feared the crap out of this gun. The mg-42. Machine gun was probably second on that list.🇺🇸✌👍
My uncle was a door gunner in a B25 during the raid on Remagen. They came in low as a second wave and bombed the 88s on a ridge that were a threat to the approaching Americans along the river. The 88s were busy looking up and trying to hit the first wave of bombers who had come in at high altitude. Once they hit the 88s, the bombers flew down the streets of the town to avoid AA fire. As they did, the delayed fuses on both waves of bombers started going off and removing the ridge where the 88s had been. At one point, he said he had to look UP to see a woman in her second story window. She had poked her head out to see what was going on and they locked eyes for a hot second. That is how you fly low, boys. The original Zoom and Boom. The greatest generation.
" fire in the hole", I once had a lady friend that used to like to say that a lot. I found it to be disturbing, as she use the expression at very inopportune times. I understand it was originally something miners yelled as they lit the fuse to blow dynamite bore holes. It is not something to describe bodily functions after eating Mexican food.
My grandfather had an 88 shell explode overhead, just outside of Falaise France in WW2... part of the Canadian army. Ended his time there and was in a hospital for weeks... I believe he had shrapnel in his body till the day he died.
As an anti aircraft cannon, it can fire a shell up to 34,000 feet altitude. That required a tremendous velocity and kinetic energy, the same velocity and kinetic energy that made it such a flat shooting terror as an anti tank cannon.
This reminds me of a show I went to at the Sandringham royal estate. They had a 105mm artillary gun demonstration going on but I was busy looking at something else, until they fired a blank round. Then my thoughts were split between Did I just shit myself and WTF was that?!!!
Try standing between two 155 mm howitzers firing at the same time, and not prepared to plug my ears! Hurt twice! First the noise, then the ass chewing from my sergeant for standing there. Good memories!😁
@Samuel Davidson No, Sammy, it was used by psychopaths being led by a racist nut and cult leader. There were no "globalists" then, the Marxists overran the guns and the Zionists were being slaughtered by the guns' operators. Clear?
@Samuel Davidson Actually its even more entertaining when we point it at nazi xenophobe racists like you. Now go put some air into the tires on your home.
@@caribman10 there was indeed globalist at the time. You can only find the answers in books. Once they (books) are gone the internet is your only source of thy so called truth.
My Father, Cdn Armed forces WW II, said he hated doing counter battery against the '88' with the 25lber as this German gun was highly accurate if operated properly. Working distances were about the same, slight edge to the '88.' Sometimes they'd fire a few quick rds and load up and get out of that spot before tabulation could be made on their location. Commanding one troop (4 cannon) of 25lbers.
@@jasonlemuel5078 That's like a 1/20th load blank. That's not a real shell being fired. The recoil almost makes the breach hit the ground and the whole gun stands up for a second. That's not even 1/20th of a real load. Look up actual footage from ww2 the gun is unreal.
The 8.8 was feared by the Allies. Not only as Anti Aircraft Gun also in direct targeting on Tanks and Bunkers. The Powerfull 8.8 was able the destruct every Tank when hit. The Anti Tank shell was wth about 800 m/s very fast and Powerfull.
Even though it was just a blank, the gun got rocket back quite good, and actually didn't sound that bad nor silent. Of course it's no match for the real deal, but at least it's a real blank and no firecracker...
@@Dodo-ze5ep I welcome you to watch the weapon in real action. The recoil action is over a meter, and violent. The rest of my comment is intended to be comical. I apologize if you didn't catch it.
@@zigwil153 I did catch it and know very well how the weapon works when firing a real round. In the video they just didn't fire one prosumably because it was no firing range, the gun may break or it would have just been to expensive... I just did an comparison to other Flak 18/36 demonstrations, where the gun doesn't even move at all when fired.
Hans von Luck writes in his book "Panzer Commander" that during the D-day invasion he commandeered a Luftwaffe AA division with 4 88's to face the oncoming British tanks. At first the Luftwaffe officers disagreed but were persuaded by the speed of the enemy advance. Anyway they killed about 60 tanks in as many minutes with 4 guns ... look up "Operation Goodwood". This gun was feared and respected.
why ofcours??, by the looks of it, that is america, we now have become used to expecting a bit more from americans in the field of shooting things, you kinda spoiled us in this regard!.
@@SDeww Yeah you just go shoot an arty piece with live round while not at arty range. I am sure when it lands in someone house or business they wouldn't care at all.
Perhaps worth mentioning is that the 88 mm was not so much special, compared to similar guns, but that Germany produced it as early as 1933. So, when the war broke out and bigger guns were required, no need for expensive research and testing was needed, and the 88 mm factories were pumping out those guns pretty fast. It's similar to the story of the T-34 which was a lucky shot too. Sometimes, countries produce something that seems okay but proves to be crucial at war, where you then are lucky to have it around and being familiar with it long time. Btw, the 88 mm, in particular, became important 1941 onwards when the Wehrmacht realized that their tanks were inferior to the Russian, i.e. KV1 or (technically, even though the early models had early production problems and also crew experience issues) T-34, and some British, i.e. Mathilda. The production then increased until 1945 with 1944 having the most produced, even more than pre-war, but almost none were produced 1939, interestingly. Many WW2 enthusiasts do not know that the American 90 mm M1/2/3 was far more successful and mass produced (133,000 units, compared to "only" 21,000 88 mm); same for the British QF 3.7-inch AA that gave the Wehrmacht headaches but the British did not have the resources to mount it on a new tank design (though they tried). The idea that the 88 mm is sort of an early Wunderwaffe was created by German generals after WW2 but is, technically, not true, though it was a good weapon, of course, and it was smart to mount it on a tank.
The 88mm became crucial already in 1940 when Rommel decided to use it against French armor, since already there the German panzers couldn't do much against their armor, and their designated AT gun, the Pak 36 was just as useless.
The germans actually fielded and utilized the 88 in combat because they had them and needed them to be used. The american 90 wouldnt see the extensive combat the german 88 did. You dont hear about the american gun because it wasnt knocking out waves of panzers the way the 88 was knocking out waves of T-34s or shooting down bombers over western europe. The active combat never arose to the same level as what the germans put their guns through. Other forces were winning the war. Mass tanks and troops and air superiority. The american 90 mm wouldn't need to be used as extensively.
@@admontblanc the pak 36 had value. There were so many available at the start of the war that they might as well use them. They couldn't penetrate the armor of medium tanks, but they were good combined with other heavier weapons and combined arms. Maybe they were a good distraction while the better 5.0 cm pak 38s and 7.5 cm pak 40s took their shots. .
Imagine using a gun made to knock down bombers from 30,000+ feet & now using it on enemy tanks & other targets, an German soldier was interviewd & he was telling like how his crew basically took out about 30 + American tanks within an hour, using the 88...
There is a lot of misinformation about the legality of owning a live cannon. If You meet the requirements similar to owning a mg and it is not prohibited by state or local laws You can own or reactivate a destructive device once You pay for the transfer and ATF returns Your approved paperwork. There is a $200 fee for an individual. If You are a DD dealer or manuf. then there are different requirements. You can shoot live (non explosive) shells. These are usually machined out of aluminum ,brass or sometimes a even a zinc alloy for low velocity rounds. If You have a HE round or ap with bursting charge You then have to have a permit for each live round.
Originally created by the German Army as an antiaircraft gun, it was Rommel who originally saw their superiority in firing heavy shells and told his troops to aim them at the better armed counter attacking British and French tanks during their invasion of France, wiping out many of them. The Nazis continued to use them for the rest of the war in that way and in bringing down Allied Bombers.
the barrel had a small section taken out of the barrel to render them useless some ha a patch put on the hole which allow basically blanks to be fired (8 lb charge) if an ap shell would be fired from one of these barrels the stress would break the barrel in two
I remember when i was in high school in germany Germany (54 years old now) my English teacher had a finger missing on his hand...he was an old guy in his late 60ies.....i asked him where he lost his finger...and he told me in the last year of the war they drafted him as a young kid to help on the 88 as a helper....and he lost his finger due to shrapnel in the fight....didn't mean much to me then as a 16 year old...
thank you sherlock Holmes for solving that mystery. super sleuth of the century goes to you. they would've gotten away with it if weren't for you meddling kids. How did you solve it without the aid of a hi-tech super computer at your disposal?
a multipurpose gun the designer..Krupp.. designed it for field artillery armour piercing but it evolved to AA , mounted on tanks and even deck guns. the Abrams tank borrowed it's main gun from the 88 set up
@@johnbender5356 other way arround... designed as AA but its second purpose was to fight heavy entrenchments. the guns for tanks were generally shorter and hadnt as much impact as this flak.
When i went to basic at Ft Sill. (best post in the army my ass) we had an Army pride demonstration. They rolled out all manner of artillery and fired it off. Paraded shells in front of us and everything. Never been so motivated in my entire life.
Started as a flak gun and ended up being the most effective anti-tank gun in the war. Comparable competing technology finally caught up, but by then the war was already decided.
The British 3.5 AA gun had a similar performance but we were slow to learn .The 17 pounder tank gun was fitted to Sherman Fireflies at a rate of one per troop to combat Tiger tank 88 s but was used in anti tank units having a flat trajectory and high velocity .We had thousands of anti aircraft guns all over UK and oddly controlled the skies over Britain ,but lacked a powerful tank gun.Oh well hindsight is wonderful.
Sherman tank has left the chat
Mstilda tank says, Hold my beer!
@@theHentySkeptic Matilda tank dies just as easily.
@@theHentySkeptic If a Churchill could get one tapped easily by a 88 you think the Matilda would fare better lol.
Undoubtedly the best usage of "has left the chat" I've ever come across.
Sherman has been "kicked" from the server
Looks like they're shooting blanks, a proper shell would create more pressure in the barrel and result in a stronger bang sound
And recoil.
I can't imagine what a real shell would be like. Our ears rang and we were at least 100 yards away
It was an 8 pound blank charge. Youll notice that the action didnt cycle since there was relatively no recoil compared to a live shell - however this exact gun is filmed doing live fire if you do a search. Also, the recording doesnt do it justice. Saw it live, and it was awesome. Being that it was utilized for AT work, the rounds didnt typically produce the explosion one would expect... unless it hit the magazine of a T34 which certainly happened.
use a real shell!!!
solid shooting
The most famous piece of German artillery in WWII, the so-called "triple threat": antitank, antipersonnel, and antiaircraft.
Necessity begets ingenuity.
@@HafdirTasare Exactly!
curiousbynature1968 - The Tiger tank: an amazing gun mounted to a mistake.
Wasn't such a "triple threat", they still lost the war.
@@tigrotom7312 yeah, fighting the Brits, Americans, French and Russians... how could they not win? Such losers..
in second World War my father served at the 88 gun. He told me a lot of stories about it.
Can he still hear?
Wow! We all hope he either is still with us or if he has perished, he will rest in peace. Thanks for sharing.
Please, continue.
write a book for god's sake!
Youre father is a great man, American here, respect to you Germans who held the line.
Incredible weapon in its day. Firing a blank is not the same, but keeping history alive is very important.
Getting the projectile for an 88 is quite hard, i don't think there's any molds left...The casing portion is even HARDER to get now, hence the no recoil when they fired, they wanted to keep the casing in good condition.
@@MegaRazorbackalso the gun is so old and worn out that firing a projectile at full power would mean damaging or even breaking its hydraulics
@@someguyfromfinland4239 Pretty sure the owners of that 88 looked at any surviving pieces and had parts custom made to keep it in a usable and fireable condition (Same applies to any WW2 tank that runs under its own power today, a lot of the parts for most of them aren't originals but are custom made so the tank can actually function like it used to), those things are relatively easy to procure but the projectile and casing aren't.
its not hard to make molds just expensive @@MegaRazorback
Mhmm. Deadly guns. Terrifying. In France, Russia, North Africa, Italy, and all over Europe, they killed untold thousands of Hitler's enemies. I've always looked upon them with very mixed emotions, realizing that. An effective weapon that earned great respect from it's enemies, but one entirely lacking in- and undeserving of- glorification, considering what it was used for, and by whom.
When your plane doesn't have a permission to land in Germany.
Those planes were called B-17's.
Or drop it's load.
@@tiggersdad6878 Call me a quibbler, but I seem to remember they didn't have the habit of actually trying to _land_ in Germany ... as such. 😉
As a German I can confirm this is true
@@LEJapproach Should probably change it to "You don't have permission to enter German airspace" then :3
My father served as a Flak (anti aircraft gun) instructor for the Luftwaffe from 1940 to 1945, his main business was to train young gunners on the 88. He told us so many stories about that time, in fact WW2 and his survival in Soviet gulags remained his main topic to talk about until his passing ten years ago. And yes, my father went deaf in his early 70s, the 88s must have been extremely loud guns, ear protection wasn't common in those days.
All Howitzers and big Guns are loud, in them days they did not use ear plugs. I was in the Artillery, 155 Howitzers but we fired everything, but later served in Germany in a Honest John Rocket battalion. no earplugs. my ears are damaged and still ringing but I am not completely deaf, Served in Germany after the war in a Honest John rocket Battalion. PS we had a 88 on our Casern left over from the war.
what a guy!
Очень жаль что твой отец не остался в России мы много кому подарили кусок земли нашей. Повезло ему.
@@Dioptriy-ow5nm WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE STAY IN A COUNTRY WHO IMPRISONED HIM.
@@MUZZER81 Мы таких каждый год откапываем. Его отец не среди них, жаль
"They just didn't want to give up those 88s..."
got a new one for ya, straight from the top
"You'll need that"
That's why we can't take children!!!...
I'm a school teacher, I teach English composition.
Look Melish
..its a Hitler youth knife.
That cannon is a masterpiece of design and engineering.
And that's just the medium AA gun. There was also a 10,5 cm and a 12,8 cm gun.
There's a story from Monte Cassino that a German 88 team had their gun trained on a tight corner. Every time an American tank came round the corner it was blown off the road. 'The problem was', said the gunner, 'we ran out of shells before the Americans ran out of tanks'.
Probably just a story
Spawn camping 👀
They stole that from the russians who used a KV2. Feckin germans, stealing ideas from others. How unoriginal😔😔
😂😂😂
@@Jleed989Du bist Geschichte wenn Du vor der 88er gestanden hättest 😂😂😂
My dad was conscripted in the fall of 1944 at 16yrs old and was on a crew with an 88, I have some photos of him and the crew with it. One of the guys looks to be about 14, he is almost a ft shorter than my dad who was 5’10” his uniform is way too big for him.
He told me a story of when they were moving the gun and was sitting on it and fell asleep, they hit a big bump or hole and he fell off and it ran over his upper thigh. I guess the ground was a bit soft, so it didn’t crush or break the bone but he said his leg swoll up twice its size. He went to an infirmary for treatment but other than checking it over and a bandage there was not much they could do for him especially as there were so many wounded soldiers with far more grievous injuries.
So he made himself a crutch and walked home, 120kms. This was in 1945.
No one stopped him the whole way until he got almost to his home in witzenhausen, he was stopped by an American on the bridge a couple blocks from his home. The guy ended up letting hi pass. And that’s how the war ended for him.
What a story... 🤘
He was lucky in that way-
Did he get to shoot down any bombers or destroy any allied tanks?
Thanks for sharing. That is quite a story.....and lucky for your dad.
Did he shoot down any planes, he didn’t say, I’d imagine they were were too busy loading and firing to watch where the shells ended up, maybe the guy firing would see that. There was eight or ten guys operating it, probably doing there job, keeping there heads down and scared shitless
Only a blank, but still quite impressive, but all the Sherman tanks ducked....
The British tanks ran back to the beaches
@@tripletimeace609
I Shermans.....because the Shermans were scared of the 88's....:)
Jakob Abrahamson some British tanks had thicker armour the ‘sainted’ Tigers possessed!
@@pcka12 yes but the Tiger had a better gun than what any of the british tanks had
Jakob Abrahamson until the Centurian arrived at the very end, but tanks take a long time to develop.
The were a very powerful gun. I am 77 but spoke to soldiers who were on the receiving end of the 88. The velocity was such the at extended range the shell arrived well before the sound of the gun.
And the 88mm shot straight, like a rifle!
The 88 was designed as an AA gun , hence high velocity , but it was so good , it was utilised for all other applications ie Anti tank , on a Tank etc
@@laverdajota8089 The KwK36 was some of the first 8,8cm guns used on Tigers. Some of the most advanced include the KwK43.
the panthers 77mm had an ever higer velocity ;)
@@Plard1337 You mean 75mm?
Truly one of the most iconic weapons of the WWII!
No wonder Tankers were all afraid of this beast. One big sniper rifle.
Big anti-aircraft gun, too.
@Sweep The Leg ! Thanks, No BS but know that like you what a "monster" it was. It is the "crack" then "boom" which caught my attention. The Condor Legions in Spain uses early Flak88-18 more effectively as anti-tank and ground targets than anti-aircraft during '30's Civil War.
So the story I was told of a flak battery in France turning the guns on "field targets" during a rear guard action during WW2 was not as original as I had thought. Cheers
"Laughs in 90mm M3"
A modified 8,8 cm FlaK was stripped on the Tiger Tank.
@@davidbaron8330 ye, there's a reason to as why it's full name is Flak 88MM AA/AT. :) or Fliegerabwehrkanone/Flugabwehrkanone 88MM if Google is to be trusted....
This gun is very impressive in person, both still and while firing. Huge amounts of smoke and pressure when it fires. Beautiful gun.
Dude loading the round better watch his hand with that intense partner of his lol
Thinking that too!
Typical buffoon, not caring about the safety of others.
Looking a bit twitchy and self important. I'd get him to load the next round.
Was thinking the same thing. That guy almost lost some fingers
I thought so, e bit keen for a demonstration.
Amazing to know that the 88 had a muzzle velocity of 3,400 feet per second with a 17 pound projectile. A 30-06 rifle with it's lightest bullet (100 grains- less than 1/4 of an ounce) can achieve that same speed.
This is what my male fantasy looks like.
FIYA
“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”
― William Tecumseh Sherman
@@chrisperceval193 ok, keyboard warrior.
Here's my male fantasy ua-cam.com/video/SPUO83tTRFo/v-deo.html
One of the better looking blanks I've seen!!
Look at those three marks of excellence
Adidas!
95% WoT)))
8 marks, that guy must be a unicum for unicums!
Soory I couldn't like ur comment.
*eight (I know someone else already mentioned it, just getting the massage across)
We shot with one of these in the army in early 90´s. It was still being used by coastal artillery for training purposes. A target raft was toed along the coastline maybe a kilometer or two away from us. The scenery was quite spectacular. There were about 70 meters high splashes around the raft. We wore good ear protection, but I guess the gunners in WW2 must have been half deaf. It felt like somebody would hit your helmet with a piece of plank when we shot. But this practice was very interesting indeed. Every man acted in each role in the gun team: commander, loader, etc. aiming and shooting according the orders from the fire command.
What army?
@@aceisto2268 Finnish army. We still had some of those 88s left from WW2.
@@tapiorissanen7652 cool!
Yes, indeed. A neighbor, who died long ago was and an artillery man in II WW and as far as my memory reaches, one had to shout all the time to him cause he was nearly deaf. After second thought, i think they might use some kind of stopper, like a little chunks of cotton (used in textile industry since XIX) though i am not sure how effective it was in the mass cannonade.
That's exactly how well trained unit members should act - in the flesh cooperation to enable personal engagement.
Person in Video : "THATS AWESOME"
Person inside Sherman : "I WANNA GO HOME!!"
I remember my Father (who was involved in the Sicily landings) said that the Allies were held up for weeks on the plains of Catania. All the roads there were fairly straight with right-angle turnings and a few important bridges over the rivers - the Germans just put an 88mm on each corner/turning and guarding the bridges, and they held up the Allied advance for weeks. The Air Force (flying at very low leveL) tried to find the 88's but the Germans had them well camoflagued and also plenty of quick firing light AAA guns aiting for the Allied fighter-bombers, and shot down loads of them.
I remember talking to a WWII vet I've met. He said, by the time you heard an 88, it was too late. He also told me how he lost a friend to one. Thank goodness we live in a time where weapons like this is fired only for amusement.
"we live in a time where weapons like this is fired only for amusement."??? Are you kidding?!? There are currently dozens of wars and armed conflicts going on in the world, with thousands of deaths each year.
That... is... awesome !!! It's no wonder the allies feared the 88. Thanks for posting.
My Grandfather was in the 8th Army (British). He didn't talk about it much but when he did tell a story, everything that went bang on its way towards him was a German 88. That's how fierce this things reputation was. To him every other direct and indirect fire weapon in the German inventory was an 88.
I was privileged to speak with a former German soldier in a grocery story parking lot. He liked my MC. Asked me if I knew Auto Ordinance company. Yes I said, they made cars between the wars. I asked him of his wartime service. Holding 2 bags of groceries he told me of his experience. 1942 - 1945. He worked on a field artillery gun, an 88 converted from AA to land. We talked for a long time. At one point he spoke of the trajectory, he made a level swipe with his hand. I saw his eyes flash! Trust me, it was a great story. The gun must have fired flat, level and accurate. He clearly recalled little details. His stories of post war were deeply moving. I enjoyed my time in the parking lot. Extraordinary moments.
The mighty 88, another piece of German engineering perfection.
Yes, it's funny how they got a good hiding.
I remember my uncle Byron talking about the "88s".
He was on the receiving end at Anzio.
I befriended a 11th reg of the 5th ID(WW2) soldier(D+2 all the way to Czechoslovakia). It was an infantry regiment. The 88 was his biggest fear.
As a german im happy to hear so mutch positiv thoughts about my country😇
....classic German name there....
my grandfather from the father side is spanish my grandma is german and my mother is full german allsow born amd raosed there 😇
well, what people forget to understand is that history has been written. Whether people like it or not.
How ever we can respect it as such.
it is excellent that these old artillery cannons are still in good condition! We should not forget what happened during these terrible times.
We always admire German engineering! Glad that our countries are now at peace and you make good cars instead of good artillery guns :)
@@matthewcoombs3282 .....so naive.
T-34 has left the chat. . . Apparently he is looking for his turret.
@paulmetzgar2604 : Partiendo de los cañones de los Tigers a los T-34 los hacían literalmente pedazos ....
Remember this gun was built 80 years ago.... It can be used now and can kill any medium size modern tanks.... German technology man....
My late father-in-law was in 79th INF Div (Artillery) and unfortunately was on the receiving end of these guns.. He said 'the shell arrived before the report'... and that it was like the end of the world...
No projectile; recoil just isn’t there.
Yep that's just a small-load blank casing. My dog can fart more violently than that.
@@petetimbrell3527 poor boy/girl,
should have been a proper HE or AP and a full ATM over a mile away....if you can open it you can have it!
The lock the breech to prevent wear and tear on the recoil mechanism.
one of the all-time greats, for sure.
The muzzle velocity was unbelievable on this thing. All of the allied soldiers will tell you they hated and feared the crap out of this gun. The mg-42. Machine gun was probably second on that list.🇺🇸✌👍
3,400 feet per second with a 17 pound projectile- higher than most hunting rifles.
I remember my grandfathers eyes get big when anybody mentioned the big 88's as he called them. I could see the fear in the strongest man I ever met
My uncle was a door gunner in a B25 during the raid on Remagen.
They came in low as a second wave and bombed the 88s on a ridge that were a threat to the approaching Americans along the river.
The 88s were busy looking up and trying to hit the first wave of bombers who had come in at high altitude.
Once they hit the 88s, the bombers flew down the streets of the town to avoid AA fire.
As they did, the delayed fuses on both waves of bombers started going off and removing the ridge where the 88s had been.
At one point, he said he had to look UP to see a woman in her second story window. She had poked her head out to see what was going on and they locked eyes for a hot second.
That is how you fly low, boys. The original Zoom and Boom. The greatest generation.
" fire in the hole", I once had a lady friend that used to like to say that a lot. I found it to be disturbing, as she use the expression at very inopportune times. I understand it was originally something miners yelled as they lit the fuse to blow dynamite bore holes. It is not something to describe bodily functions after eating Mexican food.
The female lead said that to James garner when he kissed her at the end of one of his movies.
If I remember correctly this was an anti-aircraft gun but was extremely successful against tanks mainly in the Eastern front
and western front............. Flak 88 was used in the west as well
My grandfather had an 88 shell explode overhead, just outside of Falaise France in WW2... part of the Canadian army. Ended his time there and was in a hospital for weeks... I believe he had shrapnel in his body till the day he died.
Fun Fact: The 88m Flak Cannon was dual purpose, those purpose was to shoot down planes, and can also be used to an anti tank weapon at the same time
That looks like the gun we brought back several years ago.. We restored it for firing blanks, The breach had been cut..
no Sherman tank was hurt, in the making of this video
I served in an 8 inch gun battalion in the army long ago (peacetime, late 70's). It gets your heart racing the first time you "pull the tail". 😉
Even a blank round cost real money. Give them a break. A real round would eject it's self.
Even with real rounds, most people that own cannons like that disable the automatic ejection to save wear and tear on the casings.
One of the most terrifying weapons of WW2, also the MG 42.
"Those are not Mulligan's mortars anymore. Those are German 88's"
Great movie.
Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, etc.of great actors, "KELLY'S HEREOS", awesome movie...
As an anti aircraft cannon, it can fire a shell up to 34,000 feet altitude. That required a tremendous velocity and kinetic energy, the same velocity and kinetic energy that made it such a flat shooting terror as an anti tank cannon.
This reminds me of a show I went to at the Sandringham royal estate.
They had a 105mm artillary gun demonstration going on but I was busy looking at something else, until they fired a blank round. Then my thoughts were split between Did I just shit myself and WTF was that?!!!
Try standing between two 155 mm howitzers firing at the same time, and not prepared to plug my ears! Hurt twice! First the noise, then the ass chewing from my sergeant for standing there. Good memories!😁
@@michaelnelson9140 he must of been screaming really loud to be heard after that, wait he's an artillery sergeant so hes probably always loud.
this could be the coolest thing ive ever seen on youtube.
You obviously haven't seen the video of the Jagdpanther firing then. That is truly awesome
This isn't a german 88 mm, but rather an american toy for amusement.
It was a german 88...now we use it as a toy for our amusement.
@Samuel Davidson No, Sammy, it was used by psychopaths being led by a racist nut and cult leader. There were no "globalists" then, the Marxists overran the guns and the Zionists were being slaughtered by the guns' operators. Clear?
@Samuel Davidson Actually its even more entertaining when we point it at nazi xenophobe racists like you. Now go put some air into the tires on your home.
How do you know that?
@@caribman10 there was indeed globalist at the time. You can only find the answers in books. Once they (books) are gone the internet is your only source of thy so called truth.
My Father, Cdn Armed forces WW II, said he hated doing counter battery against the '88' with the 25lber as this German gun was highly accurate if operated properly. Working distances were about the same, slight edge to the '88.' Sometimes they'd fire a few quick rds and load up and get out of that spot before tabulation could be made on their location. Commanding one troop (4 cannon) of 25lbers.
a bunch of military enthusiasts fires historic german 88 mm cannon
France: "We surrender!"
*France rights bravely in WW2*
Haha lol France Go surrender
Australia is to buy a French designed submarine, the joke is that its quicker in reverse.
Cool video but there is a better one of a real shell being fired, made the ground shake.
link it ya dum dum
@@luciab4331 this what i can find
ua-cam.com/video/GJd9qaGm92I/v-deo.html
@@jasonlemuel5078 That's like a 1/20th load blank. That's not a real shell being fired. The recoil almost makes the breach hit the ground and the whole gun stands up for a second. That's not even 1/20th of a real load. Look up actual footage from ww2 the gun is unreal.
@@jasonlemuel5078 ua-cam.com/video/IeqeUyPlRRs/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Spektr
@@2147B yes i know what an 88mm firing look likfe the vid is just what i can find and thx for the link btw
My Dad was hit twice by an 88. We saw one at a museum and said, "You almost gotme, but I'm still here🇺🇸. Rest in peace Dad 🙏🇺🇸🍺.
The 8.8 was feared by the Allies. Not only as Anti Aircraft Gun also in direct targeting on Tanks and Bunkers. The Powerfull 8.8 was able the destruct every Tank when hit. The Anti Tank shell was wth about 800 m/s very fast and Powerfull.
Round had the charge of a firecracker.... I'm surprised a "pow" flag wasn't sticking out of the barrel
Even though it was just a blank, the gun got rocket back quite good, and actually didn't sound that bad nor silent. Of course it's no match for the real deal, but at least it's a real blank and no firecracker...
@@Dodo-ze5ep I welcome you to watch the weapon in real action. The recoil action is over a meter, and violent. The rest of my comment is intended to be comical. I apologize if you didn't catch it.
@@zigwil153 I did catch it and know very well how the weapon works when firing a real round. In the video they just didn't fire one prosumably because it was no firing range, the gun may break or it would have just been to expensive... I just did an comparison to other Flak 18/36 demonstrations, where the gun doesn't even move at all when fired.
Hans von Luck writes in his book "Panzer Commander" that during the D-day invasion he commandeered a Luftwaffe AA division with 4 88's to face the oncoming British tanks. At first the Luftwaffe officers disagreed but were persuaded by the speed of the enemy advance. Anyway they killed about 60 tanks in as many minutes with 4 guns ... look up "Operation Goodwood". This gun was feared and respected.
Everyone "it must have been a blank"...uhh, did you guys not watch them load it...of course it was a blank.
why ofcours??, by the looks of it, that is america, we now have become used to expecting a bit more from americans in the field of shooting things, you kinda spoiled us in this regard!.
@@SDeww Yeah you just go shoot an arty piece with live round while not at arty range. I am sure when it lands in someone house or business they wouldn't care at all.
Perhaps worth mentioning is that the 88 mm was not so much special, compared to similar guns, but that Germany produced it as early as 1933. So, when the war broke out and bigger guns were required, no need for expensive research and testing was needed, and the 88 mm factories were pumping out those guns pretty fast. It's similar to the story of the T-34 which was a lucky shot too. Sometimes, countries produce something that seems okay but proves to be crucial at war, where you then are lucky to have it around and being familiar with it long time. Btw, the 88 mm, in particular, became important 1941 onwards when the Wehrmacht realized that their tanks were inferior to the Russian, i.e. KV1 or (technically, even though the early models had early production problems and also crew experience issues) T-34, and some British, i.e. Mathilda. The production then increased until 1945 with 1944 having the most produced, even more than pre-war, but almost none were produced 1939, interestingly. Many WW2 enthusiasts do not know that the American 90 mm M1/2/3 was far more successful and mass produced (133,000 units, compared to "only" 21,000 88 mm); same for the British QF 3.7-inch AA that gave the Wehrmacht headaches but the British did not have the resources to mount it on a new tank design (though they tried). The idea that the 88 mm is sort of an early Wunderwaffe was created by German generals after WW2 but is, technically, not true, though it was a good weapon, of course, and it was smart to mount it on a tank.
Tiger 'ace' Otto Carius might disagree as in interviews his mention of his tanks primary weapon always accompanied with a vindictive smirk.
The 88mm became crucial already in 1940 when Rommel decided to use it against French armor, since already there the German panzers couldn't do much against their armor, and their designated AT gun, the Pak 36 was just as useless.
The germans actually fielded and utilized the 88 in combat because they had them and needed them to be used. The american 90 wouldnt see the extensive combat the german 88 did. You dont hear about the american gun because it wasnt knocking out waves of panzers the way the 88 was knocking out waves of T-34s or shooting down bombers over western europe. The active combat never arose to the same level as what the germans put their guns through. Other forces were winning the war. Mass tanks and troops and air superiority. The american 90 mm wouldn't need to be used as extensively.
Dude! The acht-acht (as we say in German) was based on the Flak 18, which was adopted for service in 1918!
@@admontblanc the pak 36 had value. There were so many available at the start of the war that they might as well use them. They couldn't penetrate the armor of medium tanks, but they were good combined with other heavier weapons and combined arms. Maybe they were a good distraction while the better 5.0 cm pak 38s and 7.5 cm pak 40s took their shots. .
Those guns are monsters, man
Imagine using a gun made to knock down bombers from 30,000+ feet & now using it on enemy tanks & other targets, an German soldier was interviewd & he was telling like how his crew basically took out about 30 + American tanks within an hour, using the 88...
Tommy tanks felt the wrath first.
There is a lot of misinformation about the legality of owning a live cannon. If You meet the requirements similar to owning a mg and it is not prohibited by state or local laws You can own or reactivate a destructive device once You pay for the transfer and ATF returns Your approved paperwork. There is a $200 fee for an individual. If You are a DD dealer or manuf. then there are different requirements. You can shoot live (non explosive) shells. These are usually machined out of aluminum ,brass or sometimes a even a zinc alloy for low velocity rounds. If You have a HE round or ap with bursting charge You then have to have a permit for each live round.
Originally created by the German Army as an antiaircraft gun, it was Rommel who originally saw their superiority in firing heavy shells and told his troops to aim them at the better armed counter attacking British and French tanks during their invasion of France, wiping out many of them. The Nazis continued to use them for the rest of the war in that way and in bringing down Allied Bombers.
And they still lost
that weapon, especially with modern ammo, would still be lethal as hell today....
the barrel had a small section taken out of the barrel to render them useless some ha a patch put on the hole which allow basically blanks to be fired (8 lb charge) if an ap shell would be fired from one of these barrels the stress would break the barrel in two
The breech block is the registered part on an 88. That is what is listed on Your ATF destructive device tax stamp form.
Wish I had one of these after some of my work meetings
"They just didn't wanna give up those 88's"
i cant image how deadly the fight in WWII..
Swedish and German collaboration at its finest. Krupp and Bofors.
everythings cool until they start loading actual rounds, yelling in german and screaming about a Panzer
"Mach schnell!! Der Panzer kommt hier an!!"
My dad said that the 88mm gun was probably the best weapon of WW2. He said the Browning M-2 machine gun was probably the second.
This is an impressive tank buster & Anti-Aircraft weapon , when it's modified to prone in it's tranformer stage !!!!!
I remember when i was in high school in germany Germany (54 years old now) my English teacher had a finger missing on his hand...he was an old guy in his late 60ies.....i asked him where he lost his finger...and he told me in the last year of the war they drafted him as a young kid to help on the 88 as a helper....and he lost his finger due to shrapnel in the fight....didn't mean much to me then as a 16 year old...
Im guessing the lack of a recoil is due to the shell being a blank
Yes.
also the reason why you aren't Deaf luckliy,
thank you sherlock Holmes for solving that mystery. super sleuth of the century goes to you. they would've gotten away with it if weren't for you meddling kids. How did you solve it without the aid of a hi-tech super computer at your disposal?
The guy slamming the breech block shut doesn't worry about the loader's fingers. Good grief, man, wait a few seconds!
Yep. Just blanks. Probably the best artillery of WWII.
Yes, but it was a AA gun...
@@vdv_snp5414 also an AT gun
a multipurpose gun the designer..Krupp.. designed it for field artillery armour piercing but it evolved to AA , mounted on tanks and even deck guns. the Abrams tank borrowed it's main gun from the 88 set up
@@johnbender5356 other way arround... designed as AA but its second purpose was to fight heavy entrenchments.
the guns for tanks were generally shorter and hadnt as much impact as this flak.
@@Abensberg thanks for the correction. I knew this but I guess I'm getting old
When i went to basic at Ft Sill. (best post in the army my ass) we had an Army pride demonstration. They rolled out all manner of artillery and fired it off. Paraded shells in front of us and everything. Never been so motivated in my entire life.
"They just didn't want to give uo those eighty eights..."
“They just didn’t wanna give up those 88s……..” Captain Miller
Ich liebe deutsche Technik. I love German technic.
(Du meinst "technology")
Und ich liebe die Deutsche Kunde
No M4 Sherman tank was harmed in the making of this film.
*"That was total legitness!"*
I love the kill markers painted on the barrel.
"THATS AWESOMEEEEE"
Hmm the recoil stroke on this is MUCH shorter than I would have imagined! Learn something every day.
That was a blank. I have been at an artillery range where they fired a 88 flak gun and WOW
Bob Parsons yes..no way would you be allowed to fire live rounds....toooo dangerous
That sound never gets old.
Meanwhile in some British tank several kilometres away: why do I hear boss music?
Started as a flak gun and ended up being the most effective anti-tank gun in the war. Comparable competing technology finally caught up, but by then the war was already decided.
Don't let Brad Pitt near this event. Hed have a hay day.
"Was ist deine Lieblingsfarbe?? Bist du ein gute Tanzer?? Stehst du auf dicke Weibe??"
FURY for real...
Fantastic engineering in the era.
damn them 88s!
an oft used line in WWII
My grandfather ran a flak battalion of 88s .
Action from 0:32.
If you heard this and saw either a Churchill, Cromwell, T-34, KV-1, or Sherman blow up, you knew it was the 88 of a Tiger
“They just didn’t want to give up those 88s”
Saving private ryan ?
@@tut8623 yep.
The British 3.5 AA gun had a similar performance but we were slow to learn .The 17 pounder tank gun was fitted to Sherman Fireflies at a rate of one per troop to combat Tiger tank 88 s but was used in anti tank units having a flat trajectory and high velocity .We had thousands of anti aircraft guns all over UK and oddly controlled the skies over Britain ,but lacked a powerful tank gun.Oh well hindsight is wonderful.
Wrong. 6pdr was the best mid sized at gun of the war by far