German use The 88 mm was used in two main roles: as a mobile heavy anti-aircraft and as an anti-tank gun. Other uses included firing in support of the troops at the front and as a more static anti-aircraft gun for
home defence.
Anti-aircraft defense of the Reich '', the rangefinder and mechanical analog computer for directing anti-aircraft guns, Manege Military Museum, Helsinki, Finland (2006) After 1935, the anti-aircraft defense of Germany was controlled by the
Luftwaffe. Radar aiming systems were also developed to complement these systems. The
Würzburg radar series of radars was produced in the thousands and used widely. It allowed general area fire without line of sight, but had poor accuracy compared to the visual systems. This resulted in the Giant Würzburg, which had sufficient accuracy to precisely control guns without direct visual contact. The financial costs associated with anti-aircraft cannon were substantial, especially when compared with
fighter aircraft. Its success was due to its versatility: the standard anti-aircraft platform allowed gunners to depress the muzzle below the horizontal, unlike most of its contemporaries. As the war progressed, it was becoming increasingly clear that existing anti-tank weapons were unable to pierce the armor of heavier enemy tanks and ground commanders began increasingly to use the 8.8 cm Flak against tanks. Similarly to the anti-aircraft role, as an anti-tank weapon the 8.8 cm Flak was tactically arranged into batteries, usually four guns to each. The higher-level tactical unit was usually a mixed anti-aircraft battalion (
gemischte Flak-Abteilung). It totaled 12 such guns on average, supplemented by light guns. The German
Condor Legion made extensive use of the 8.8 cm Flak 18 in the Spanish Civil War, where its usefulness as an anti-tank weapon and general artillery piece exceeded its role as an anti-aircraft gun. For the
Battle of France in 1940, the army was supported by eighty-eights deployed in twenty-four mixed flak battalions.
Erwin Rommel's use of the gun to blunt the
British counterattack at Arras ended any hope of a breakout from the encirclement of May 1940. In the entire Battle of France, the weapon destroyed 152 tanks and 151 bunkers. They were mostly The weapon saw continuous use on the eastern front. The appearance of the outstanding
T-34 and the later
KV tanks shocked the German panzer crews and anti-tank teams, who could only penetrate the Soviet tanks' armor at extremely close range on the order of 200 yards when using the standard
37 mm and
50 mm guns, while the Russian 76 mm gun was effective out to 1000 yards. The 8.8 cm Flak in the anti-tank role was arguably most effective in the flat and open terrain of
Libya, Egypt and the
eastern front. The less open terrain in
Italy and Northern France was less suitable for long-range AT guns. The success of the German anti-tank weapons caused the Allies to take steps to defend against it in new tank designs. On July 18 and 19 1944 a
Luftwaffe 8.8 cm anti-aircraft battery was re-purposed by then Major
Hans von Luck to attack British tanks near Cagny taking part in
Operation Goodwood. Twenty tanks were destroyed by these guns within the first few seconds and at least 40 tanks were knocked out by 8.8 cm Flaks during the engagement. Just as important, the success of the 8.8 cm Flaks spawned the development of dedicated 8.8 cm caliber PAKs (see below) which were even more adept at anti-tank mission due to their lower silhouette design. By February 1945, there were 327 heavy anti-aircraft batteries facing the Red Army, which was 21 percent of those used for anti-aircraft defense. In the proposal presented by the German authorities, the Italian supply of mechanical parts for anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns was also envisaged, so the production of components for artillery was started in the workshops
Ansaldo in (
Genoa and
Pozzuoli) and
OTO. The batteries were supplied complete with a Zeiss firing station Mod. 36 and related auxiliary equipment. The batteries began arriving in Italy a few days after Italy entered the war, and were initially assigned in part to the
Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (Voluntary Militia for National Security, MACA), for the protection of the Italian main cities and partly sent in
Libya, for the protection of ports. Some groups were subsequently assigned to mobile motorcycle sections. However it was immediately evident that the
Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) did not have at its disposal a
tractor with characteristics suitable for towing this piece, given that the task was entrusted to
Lancia 3Ro, without all-wheel drive. At the end of 1940, 44 pieces and relative firing stations were available. Starting from October 1942, several batteries, while remaining in German possession, were used by Italian personnel (officers and troops) for the protection of military infrastructures and cities, this practice was further intensified in 1943, reaching more than 100 batteries. In addition to the cannons that arrived for the canals established in 1940, in 1943, 24 pieces and their tractors were transferred to Italy intended for equipping the
1ª Divisione corazzata "M" (1st Armored Division "M"). The 88/55 in the
Regio Esercito was used in its natural role, that is, as an anti-aircraft weapon, its use as an anti-tank cannon was limited to the theaters of Northern Africa (Libya and Tunisia) and only for a few
gruppi autocampali (self-transported field artillery groups).
China In 1937, the
Chinese Nationalist Government imported 20 Flak 18 guns and used them to defend the fortifications along the
Yangtze River. The Flak 18s were extensively deployed during the all-aerial combat of the
Battle of Chongqing and Chengdu.
Finland In 1943–1944 Finland bought 90 8.8 cm FlaK 37 cannons from Germany and they were used for air defence of largest cities in Finland. These cannons played an important role against Soviet air raids in Helsinki in
February 1944. After the war these cannons remained in Finnish use as AA-guns until 1977 and after that as coastal guns until the early 2000s.
Spain Four batteries (16 guns) of 88 mm guns (Flak 18) initially reached Spain as AA with the
Condor Legion in 1936, but it was soon used as anti-tank, anti-bunker and even for counterbattery fire. More guns were sent later, and some 88 mm guns were also supplied to Spanish army units. At the end of the war the Spanish Army was using all of the Flak 18 guns sent, some 52 units. Initially, the Flak 18 batteries were deployed to protect the airfields and logistics bases of the German Condor legion. The scarcity of artillery among the Nationalist forces and the general low proficiency of the Spanish gun crews forced the usage of the Flak 18 gun in a variety of roles, including as an artillery piece and as an anti-tank gun. Given appropriate ammunition it proved quite capable in both roles. The war in Spain, with its wildly fluctuating front lines and the presence of Russian tanks, forced the Germans to employ the Flak 18 guns in a direct fire mode against ground targets. By the end of the war the 88 mm guns had performed far more missions as an anti-tank and direct-fire Field Artillery gun than as an anti-aircraft gun. During the war German 88 mm guns were involved in 377 combat engagements, only 31 were against enemy aircraft. The use of the 88 mm in direct support of the infantry brought the gun crews in close proximity to the enemy and made the crews susceptible to infantry fire. Casualties among the legion's 88 mm gun batteries in the Spanish Civil War were second only to those among the bomber pilots. In early 1937 in the fighting around Malaga, a battery of 88 mm guns was assigned to support an infantry brigade. Bad weather grounded the main bomber force, but the assault succeeded, mainly because of the concentrated and accurate fire of the supporting 88 mm guns. Flak 18 batteries were used by the nationalist army at the
Battle of Ebro, both for
direct fire against pillboxes and also for
indirect fire in the advance towards Barcelona. Following the Spanish Civil War, more Flak 36 models arrived in 1943 (88 guns 88/56 mm Flak-36) and since 1943 they were manufactured under license in Trubia under the denomination FT 44 (about 200 guns).
Allied The Flak 36 guns were briefly issued in late 1944 to the American Seventh Army as captured weapons. The 79th Field Artillery Battalion (Provisional) was formed from personnel of the 79th and 179th Field Artillery Groups to fire captured German artillery pieces at the height of an ammunition shortage. Similarly, the 244th Field Artillery Battalion was temporarily equipped with a miscellany of captured German 88 mm guns and 105 mm and 150 mm howitzers. By December 31, 1944, the 244th Field Artillery Battalion had fired a total of 10,706 rounds through captured German weapons.
France In March 1945,
France equipped its 401st, 403rd and 407 Anti-Aircraft artillery regiment with captured German 8.8 guns, associated with British
GL Mk. II and
GL Mk. III radars. The guns remained in service with second-line units until 1953 and then were used for training for a few years.
Yugoslavia During the
Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, various Flak guns were used, mainly by the naval artillery of the
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). The Yugoslav Army (VJ) also used Flak carriages mounted with double 262 mm rocket launch tubes from the
M-87 Orkan MLRS, instead of the 88 mm gun. It was capable of deploying cluster bombs, as well as anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, at up to 50 km. Only a few were built in mid-1993, the entire project was generally regarded as unsuccessful.
Greece Greece had at least 24 guns (8.8) that were used against the
Regia Aeronautica during the Italian invasion of Greece in 1940. Later these guns were used against the invading German forces in April 1941.
Vietnam Beginning in 1954 the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam received a number of Flak 88s from the Soviet Union. These cannons were used against US fighter jets in the early 60s. == Comparison with similar anti-aircraft guns ==